The US electoral system is a disgusting mess from head to toe. [View all]

[DetlefK]

Let me compare the electoral systems of the US and of Germany:

Who gets to vote?
- In the US, people have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to get registered as a voter.
- Germany has automatic voter-registration and automatically updates the voter-rolls whenever someone moves or dies.

What's proof that they can vote?
- In the US, every state has their own rules what does and what does not count as voter-ID.
- In Germany, you get an election-notification by mail and you show that together with your national ID. (Which you also automatically get.)

Where do you vote?
- In the US, you can choose from a variety polling-places.
- In Germany, there is one fixed polling-place for you, within walking-distance, right in your neighbourhood.

When do you vote?
- Tuesday.
- Sunday.

How do you vote and how are votes counted?
- In the US, you may choose: You can vote via a hackable, worn-out, error-prone touchscreen. Or you can vote by paper-ballot and have your vote counted by a hackable, worn-out, error-prone optical scanner.
- In Germany, you vote by paper-ballot only. They are counted by hand only. And any citizen is allowed to witness the vote-counting in person.

How much is your vote worth?
- In the Electoral College, each vote from a rural state is worth as much as 2-3 votes from an urban state.
- A Two-Vote-system: You have one vote for whom you want to be your local Representative and another vote for which party you want to win nationally. The make-up of the parliament is calculated form a combination of both results.

What about federalism?
- In the US, every state has 2 Senators, independent of the number of people they represent.
- In Germany, every state sends 3-6 Reps. to the Upper Chamber, to represent how many citizens they represent.





I don't know about you, but if my vote were only worth 1/3 votes compared to some other guy, that would piss me off. Royally.