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“I like our voting system in France,” my husband, Vincent, said as we sat in front of the television tonight.
Like everyone in the U.S., and many all over the world, we have been glued to the screen for the past 48 hours.
I have stayed up until 2 a.m. for the past two nights, to no avail.
Election day was Tuesday, November 3, and today is Thursday, November 5. There is still no result, still no winner, still no president.
We wait, and we wait, and we wait.
“I like our voting system in France,” Vincent said.
We are a bi-cultural, bi-lingual home, French and American. I thought it would be fun to do an interview with my husband, Vincent, about the French voting system and the differences with our American system.
The Cultural Story-Weaver (CSW): France is a democracy, right?
Vincent: Yes, but it is a republic too.
CSW: What’s the difference?
Vincent: A democracy is an ideology that helps shape how a government is run. A republic is a system of government that allows a country to be democratic.
CSW: So, it sounds like France and the US are both democratic republics.
So, why are there such big differences between the voting systems?
Vincent: Each country has chosen a different election procedure.
CSW: Like I say all the time, “It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s not better. It’s not worse. It’s just different.”
What do you think about the American voting system?
Vincent: I don’t understand the system of the grand electors. It seems that they are doing that in order to balance the states who have less people. I don’t understand why they don’t just count the votes of the people, the popular votes? It would be much easier.
CSW: How is our American voting system different from your system in France?
Vincent: The presidential vote in France takes place in two rounds.
Anybody who has collected 500 or more signatures from elected government representatives can run for president.
CSW: How many candidates could there be in that first round?
Vincent: There could be 10, 15 candidates, going from the extreme left to the extreme right. There are parties who even represent the hunters, “La Chasse,” and the fisherman, “La Pêche.”
In the first round, if one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, he is elected president directly in the first round.
If no one receives the majority, then there is a second round with the two top candidates. The people vote between those two candidates, and the winner is announced. It’s very simple.
We say, “Un vote, une voix,” “One vote, one voice.”
CSW: What are some of the other differences between the French and American voting systems?
Vincent: In France, there is no system of grand electors. It’s called the “suffrage universal,” which means that the people vote directly for their president. The person’s vote goes directly to the person he voted for. Whereas, here in the US, someone who voted Republican in a Democratic state will lose his vote or his voice.
In the US, it doesn’t seem that it’s an accurate reality of the will of the people. For example, if I voted Democratic in a state that is a majority Republican, then the full count of grand electors goes to the Republican party . . . even if that’s not who I voted for.
In the US, there are presidents who have been elected even though they did not win the vote of the majority of the people, the popular vote. It seems that the system is skewed.
For a country to keep this type of system, there must be some reason. Perhaps it worked in the past, but it doesn’t work well now. There must be a reason that I’m not understanding.
Why is there a system of grand electors? I’m going to ask google right now.
CSW: In France, does it take days and days to count votes like it does here in the U.S.?
Vincent: No, at 8 p.m. on the day of election, the name of the president is announced. All the votes are counted during that day. People vote at the town hall of their town or village. The votes are counted there directly, so it doesn’t take much time. In big cities like Paris, people vote in their neighborhood town hall.
CSW: Do they count the votes by hand like here?
Vincent: Yes, there are a lot of volunteers that count ballots all day.
CSW: What is the population of France right now?
Vincent: 67 million, so about 30-40 million people who would be of age to vote.
CSW: I guess that makes for a faster count than in the US with its 328 million people.
Can you do mail-in ballots in France?
Vincent: Yes, for special circumstances. However, French citizens overseas don’t mail-in ballots like in the U.S. Rather, they go to their French embassies in the nearest city to cast their vote.
CSW: Would COVID-19 be considered an exception for mail-in ballots?
Vincent: Probably, in the case of a presidential election right now.
CSW: What is a French president’s term?
Vincent: 5 years
CSW: Is there a vice president?
Vincent: No, a prime minister.
CSW: What happens if a president dies or can no longer assume his responsibilities?
Vincent: The president of the National Assembly takes over the presidency.
CSW: Does everyone exercise their right to vote in France?
Vincent: For presidential elections, there aren’t a lot of people who don’t vote. For other, smaller elections, there are a lot of people registered who choose not to vote.
CSW: What is the age requirement to vote in France?
Vincent: 18
CSW: Could a losing candidate file a lawsuit or demand a recount of votes like Trump is wanting to do here?
Vincent: I think they could, but I don’t believe it’s ever happened for a presidential election.
CSW: Any final thoughts on the American voting system?
Vincent: I think the system needs to change, allowing for more diverse opinions and parties to be represented. For instance, the debates were only between the Democrat and the Republican candidates. There were other candidates that should have been present in the debates, no matter how small their parties are.
CSW: So, here’s my big, final question. Did you vote?
Vincent: Yes, I exercised my right to vote as an US citizen.
CSW: May I ask who you voted for?
Vincent: You can ask, but I won’t tell you!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
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What is the voting system like in your part of the world? What are some of the things you would like to change?
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Fondly remembering watching the results of the last election while eating taco salads <3
The last election in France, that is 😉
You have an amazing memory! 🙂
Yes I agree with Vincent that we need to cut out the electoral votes.
It should be determined by popular vote only.
Yes! And it’s a much simpler system!
It was interesting to hear your husband’s take on the election. I agree with him about the American voting system, and there are many who would do away with the electoral college, but to date, no petition has ever gotten off the ground.
My first election was in 1972. It was a presidential one, and I was very excited as we wanted to end the war in Vietnam. As the years have gone by, I have come to believe that my New Jersey vote doesn’t really count anymore because the elections are determined by only a handful of ‘battleground’ states. The young may feel that they are becoming involved in politics, but I think the lawyers have ‘mucked up’ the workings of government.
However, I really do hope that Joe Biden will be able to restore sanity and peace to this country.
What an interesting story, Hillary! The vote of 1972! Wow! Yes, I certainly hope and pray that sanity and peace will return to our nation. You can read my “international” perspective in the article I just posted . . . “I am Proud to Be an American—Again!”