The French Elections...

Now, I will admit that I did not follow the French elections all too closely, though it certainly seems that every single person in France did. I personally was leaning toward Royal to win, as she seemed the more likely leader to side with the Union and give the EU the power it needs to become an actual forceful body in this world.

What struck me as truly amazing was the voter turnout: 85%. Now that's an election. A number that high lends itself to the phrase 'the people'. Not just who wanted to, but most everyone got out and voiced their opinion via ballot. It amazes me.

To contrast, the United States has not touched the 60% mark since 1968 (though it seems to be on the uptick, as 55% made it out to vote in 2004). I think it is a rotten shame that the centuries old shining beacon of democracy only turns out half the percentage for a Congressional election year compared to most anyone else's parliamentary elections.

It's a slightly maddening thought that someone elected by a total population, only half of which shows up, and then only half of those actually voted for them, means the one person representing the whole group was in fact chosen by about one quarter of the people. Sadly, there is no way around this, as voting is voluntary (once some has a right to it, of course) and cannot be coerced or ordered in any way. If elections are of that bent, then they cannot be considered free and therefore not legitimate.

One of my favorite ideas for how to improve voter turnout in the US is to make Election Day a national holiday. No businesses are to be open, the entire government would shut down, and the only thing to do is to vote and wait to see whether your choice of candidate won. We could even add fireworks or some other special tradition to go with the whole idea of all adult citizens going out and simultaneously doing the act that makes us a free republic. It would be such an exciting and inspiring scene, and something universally American.

And I still feel it would be even more fun to root on your local district's little old ladies counting the vote and sending in the results!