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International US elections

Let's all have a go.
  (+6, -9)
(+6, -9)
  [vote for,
against]

I should prefix this idea by pointing out that originates with my clonal daughter, an embryonic half-baker.

The US is the only superpower for now, and has global influence. Yet, bizarrely, only Americans are allowed to elect the US president.

I am not going to make any comments on the aptitude of those fine colonials at choosing their leaders. However, I do feel it would be jolly decent of them if they'd let the rest of us vote too. After all, we'd be more likely to vote on a balance of issues (including international ones in which the US incumbent is likely to become embroiled), and would generally bring a wider perspective to the whole thing. It might even help you lot to choose someone who is more in tune with international politics, as well as domestic.

As a bonus, the US is very keen on giving developing nations a taste of democracy and the opportunity to vote in free elections. What better way to start than by allowing them to cut their teeth on the election of the US president?

MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 26 2008

you mean like this? http://www.voteforpresident.org/
[zeno, Jul 27 2008]

Global Vote for UN President Global_20Vote_20for_20UN_20President
[theircompetitor, Jul 27 2008]

Invasion - Eric Harry http://www.amazon.c...d=1217211087&sr=1-1
novel where China invades USA [simonj, Jul 28 2008]

joyriding european organizationalists http://www.unomig.o...954&y=2008&m=1&d=14
"Making statements of this type equals to lying 950,000 Georgian citizens, who have voted for Levan Gachechiladze," MP Dzidziguri said and added that "most of the OSCE observers were drunk" and ignorant. [mylodon, Jul 28 2008]

[link]






       Whatever next? Allowing a non-US national to run for office?
Jinbish, Jul 26 2008
  

       what exactly is an embryonic half-baker?
po, Jul 26 2008
  

       "what exactly is an embryonic half-baker?"
A bun in the oven?
phoenix, Jul 26 2008
  

       Hmm. So the election of a president could be easily decided by a Chinese forced voting regime? How do we police for free and fair? The triune system in the US republic would not survive having a politically foreign executive branch. The courts and congressional branches would gut the powers of the executive. I'm pretty cynical about our government but this seems like an even worse (wow) way of choosing our dictators.
WcW, Jul 26 2008
  

       //I'm pretty cynical about our government but this seems like an even worse (wow) way of choosing our dictators.// I dunno. Speaking as an outsider (half American), I'm far from convinced that we couldn't have picked you out a better president the last few times around. Actually, you lot might have picked us a better P.M. (you could hardly have picked a worse one).
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 26 2008
  

       US is only superpower? You are more than half american by heart. Imagine a war between china and the US. There is no way the US will win. Ofcourse as wars go nowadays there really are no winners at all.
zeno, Jul 26 2008
  

       Whoooee, it'd be quite the show, though. I'd rather stay somewhat friendly and have a space race. Superpowerdom can be measured by moonwalks as well as nuclear bombs.   

       I was actually thinking about this idea today. While I think it'd be foolish to allow the rest of the world to manipulate the USA into a potentially self-destructive path; allowing fractional, or partial voting would absolutely manipulate the world into believing the USA is the de-facto chosen ruler of the world. Hell yeah!   

       So this is my proposal: The world gets no vote at all in the primary elections.   

       The world can likewise create no parties or nominate anyone for the federal elections.   

       International voters have their registration confirmed by the CIA to prove against fraudulent or duplicate votes. Only foreign voters belonging to approved countries with a unique national ID can vote. The vetting process would be equivalent to seeking a travel Visa to the USA, however they do not necessarily have to have passports.   

       International votes are weighted to 1/2 the total of eligible US voters. For instance, in 2004, the number of eligible voters was 214 million. Halved, this is 107 million. Say 3 billion international votes were cast. Weighted, the final value of an individual international vote is 0.03 US citizen votes.   

       This means that only 33 angry Welsh farmers and a sheep need to band together to counter 1 angry Texan.   

       Recounts would be horribly difficult and vote fraud, especially from hooligan countries with 'organized' voter turnouts, would certainly affect the perception of the validity of the election, especially in close races. However, I'm sure all these problems can be easily solved with increased vetting procedures.   

       The result: The entire world becomes invested emotionally in the USA. More Americans will actually vote to counter the foreign influence. All international voters who don't vote, no longer have the right to complain.   

       [+]
mylodon, Jul 27 2008
  

       Are you sure? Once you have a single world government, you no longer have any alternatives. The only thing that can challenge a single world government, is open revolution.   

       In this situation, as proposed by M. Max, alternatives can be trialed before you experience them. Foreign voters do not experience the lawful consequences of their actions.
mylodon, Jul 27 2008
  

       We used to have a "Global Vote for US President" idea, which had prompted me to post the linked idea at the time.   

       To the extent that there's any need for external input, isn't polling data sufficient?
theircompetitor, Jul 27 2008
  

       //Vote for the US president and lose the right to be sanctimonious about US foreign policy?// Awwww, c'mon. We nonamericans have always whinged about whoever we elected.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 27 2008
  

       Obscure fact: After the U.S.'s 2000 election cock-up and coup d’état, international observers were sent in for the 2004 election. They didn't make the news, much, but they are added evidence that we are becoming a third-world country.
baconbrain, Jul 27 2008
  

       //US is only superpower? You are more than half american by heart. Imagine a war between china and the US. There is no way the US will win.   

       see link
simonj, Jul 28 2008
  

       [baconbrain] They just came over for the hamburgers. And beer. See link.
mylodon, Jul 28 2008
  

       //Imagine a war between china and the US// There is already a Chinese/USA war, only this one is between these two climate wreckers and the environment. It takes this format:
"We're not cutting our emissions until you cut yours."
"We don't accept that our emissions are the cause of global warming, but we still want you to cut yours first."
"You started it, so you must cut back before we do." Now guess which countries are making each statement?
xenzag, Jul 28 2008
  

       [mylodon], thanks for the link. My briefcase is an OSCE election monitor's bag, but I really don't know much more about them than my earlier annotation.
baconbrain, Jul 28 2008
  

       //So we're letting the americans into Eurovision now, is that it?// Dear god and little fishes - I'd not thought of that.
MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 28 2008
  
      
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