So this is my first diary. And I think I should probably quickly introduce myself before I go on with it. I am a 31-year-old French man, I live near Paris, I'm interested in politics, especially American politics, and I sort of have mastered English enough in order to read it and write it. So if there is anything confusing about what follows, oh well, pardon my French...
This diary will be about voting in France and about what it means to actually run a free election where the will of the citizens truly decides who is going to be the next president. I felt compelled to write it because I just saw the excellent film Free For All by John Wellington Ennis. You can watch the film for free here : Free For All Movie.
So I will start with a simple question :
Why are American presidential elections so fascinating for us, from here in France?
Is it because a lot is at stake? Like, the future of the world?
Sure.
Is it because most of us (if not all of us) would like to see the end of the war in Iraq (a war even one of our dullest presidents ruled out because he thought it was the stupidest thing to do?)
Of course!
Is it because we can't wait to see George W. Bush out of office?
Naturally!!!
I should say first that we elected a dangerous president too a year ago. The greatest liar you can imagine, fantastic fearmonger, amazing hypocrit, and, last but not least, someone who's as close as fascism as possible without making himself too far right for the common (dumb) voter. Think about it, the man managed to make people think he would do great things for everybody especially the poorest people. And what is he doing now? (Except marrying a former Top Model only month after he divorced the first lady -which only the press gives a damn about?) : Making sure his rich friends take control of everything that's is usually run by public (and sometimes very efficient) companies.
One example? Making sure, little by little, that what we call here social security, (which is actually free healthcare for anybody including homeless people, or even illegal immigrants), works less and less well so more people have to pay for extra private insurance.
Another one? 12 billion euro tax cuts for the 140,000 richest people in France and no help for the minimum wage earners.
Sound familiar?
I could go on and on.
But there is one (and probably only one) reason I am proud to have him for president. Even if I didn't vote for him : I am sure he was elected fairly.
My president, who I don't like, who I want out of office as soon as possible, whose politics I utterly despise didn't steal last year's election.
I am sure my vote was counted. I am sure everybody who cast a vote can say the same. I'm sure the 53% of the votes that elected him were actually his.
How?
- We directly vote for the (wo)man we want to see as our next president.
- The election happens in two rounds.
- The electoral process is very simple.
- The electoral process is the same for everybody.
France is divided into 100 "départements" which could be translated as counties for the sake of the discussion.
Some "départements" are more or less populated than others. For instance Paris which is a département on its own is overcrowded, while "La Creuse" which is basically in the middle of nowhere is almost empty.
What is important is that it doesn't matter where you vote. Your vote equals the vote of any other citizen.
This is true also inside any given state in the US. But since each state doesn't have the same weight in the general election, winning North Dakota or Montana barely matters. You need to win some states among California, Florida, Ohio, New York or Texas in order to win the general election.
Now, how does this work practically in France?
When you turn 18, you are automatically registered on the voters lists of your birth place if you still live there. If not, you have to go to the city hall of your new place of residence and register. Same thing if you move.
You can only ask for registration during the last three months of the year preceding the next election but it is a very easy process. Basically all you need is some ID (ID card, Passport, Driver's licence) a phone or electricity bill at your name that proves you live in town, and you're done. They will also make you sign a form in order to delete your previous registration so you can't vote twice.
Also, towns, cities, and the government issue informative ads on the streets, the internet, the radio and on TV (public and private networks) in order to remind you to register if you haven't. These ads also tell you that voting is a right and a duty and that your vote is important.
Once you have registered, you receive you electoral card by mail . On it you'll find all the important information you need in order to vote such as the address of your polling station.
Votes always happen on Sundays so more people can actually go to the polling station which is almost always within walking distance and easy to find. If you live in a town of 5000 inhabitants or less, you don't need to provide ID, your Electoral Card is enough. If not, you need to provide ID.
Polling stations impose rules. Once you're inside the polling station, you're not really supposed to speak to anyone except the officials so you won't influence other voters.
Voting booths have to allow every one to vote secretly. You just pull the curtain behind you.
Ballots are the same size and weight all over the territory. Depending on the election, there is one ballot per candidate or per list and you have to choose one ballot and fold it into an official opaque envelope.
Inside the booth, there is a poster that tells you all the things you MUST NOT DO if you want your vote to be counted. For instance :
Don't write anything on the ballot.
Don't put more than one ballot in the envelope... and so on.
The instructions are VERY CLEAR.
Ballot boxes have to be transparent (it is required by law).
In the polling stations, you have officials from every major party in order to prevent fraud.
Polling places close at 6 PM in small towns and at 8 PM in cities.
During our last presidential election, 12 candidates (yes, 12 candidates) competed for the first round.
Here are the offical results for the first round of April 22, 2007.
Registered : 44,474,519 (out of roughly 60,000,000 French Citizen, if you rule out everyone under 18, you end up with basically everybody. You cannot vote if you have commited some kind of crime but that's basically it)
Abstention : 7,213,721 i.e. 16,22 % (Here are the people who didn't show up. It was very low, and it broke a record. The reason was that five years before, Jean-Marie Lepen, an extreme right-wing candidate made it to the second round. So we all freaked out that it would happen again).
Voters : 37,260,798 i.e. 83,78 %
Blank or Invalidated : 535,953 i.e. 1,44 % (Votes you can't count)
Actual votes: 36,724,845 i.e. 98,56 % (Votes you must count)
M. Olivier BESANCENOT 1,498,835 i.e. 4,08 % (Some kind of communist)
Mme Marie-George BUFFET 707,327 i.e. 1,93 % (Communist party, yep, they still exist)
M. Gérard SCHIVARDI 123,711 i.e. 0,34 % (Don't ask me what he thinks)
M. François BAYROU 6,820,914 i.e. 18,57 % (Center party)
M. José BOVÉ 483,076 i.e. 1,32 % (Good food party (not the real name of his party) which is against GMOs and Monsanto)
Mme Dominique VOYNET 576,758 i.e. 1,57 % (Green party)
M. Philippe de VILLIERS 818,704 i.e. 2,23 % (Extreme right)
Mme Ségolène ROYAL 9,501,295 i.e. 25,87 % (Socialist party) Made it to the second round.
M. Frédéric NIHOUS 420,775 i.e. 1,15 % (Hunters' party)
M. Jean-Marie LE PEN 3,835,029 i.e. 10,44 % (Extreme right of the extreme right)
Mme Arlette LAGUILLER 488,119 i.e. 1,33 % (Some kind of communist)
M. Nicolas SARKOZY 11,450,302 i.e. 31,18 % Made it to the second round. (Right or so he says, some kind of neocon)
Votes are counted at the polling stations right after the closing of the place by people from different parties.
Then, a few days after, the Ministère de l'Intérieur (Secretary of State) gives the official result after a global recount of all the ballots in Paris. (There never was any difference that was significant enough in order to invalidate an election, although errors occur sometimes).
The same thing happens for the second round (two weeks after for a presidential election). Oh, and guess what. On the Fridays before the election at midnight until 8PM on the day of the election when every polling station closes, no network, radio, tv, newspaper and so on has the right to talk about the election and the candidates so the citizens can take some time to decide for whom there are going to vote for. The only thing they can tell you is : "Don't forget to vote!"
Here we're having some trouble with people trying to make us use voting machines. They are legal and some places use them.
But most people feel concerned about the dangers of those.
And about fraud, yes, it happens. But the last guy who got caught, was arrested, and will probably go to jail for a long time. (He had put some ballots in his socks and tried to stuff the ballot box with them, a hilarious protest occured with people wearing flip flops on their feet).
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In 2000, it wouldn't have mattered much that George W. Bush had won the election if he had really won it. These are the principles of democracy. Whether you like it or not. Disappointment is part of any political commitment. Sometimes your guy doesn't win. What's serious is that your guy DID win but that he didn't became your president because of massive fraud.
So I don't know what will happen this time with the election in November, but please, all of you Americans who believe in democracy, in the right to vote, in the Constitution of the United States, be careful and pay attention. Don't let anyone steal this election, it is too important.
And I have only one piece of advice to give you. Try to reform the American voting system in order to make it simple for everybody to detect fraud when it happens. This is the only way you will restore democracy in the US.
I want to thank Bridget for the corrections.