Voting day system and controls
It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting. Tom Stoppard
Before election day, some of the taxpayers' money to finance the elections goes to sending out campaign flyers to the voters. I got envelopes for both rounds of the presidential, as well as the first round of the legislative elections. Inside each envelop were nice color A4 folded brochures, where each candidate laid out why I should vote for them. I did not get all ten of the presidential brochures, so I suspect the candidates must need to send them to each city hall or embassy, at their choosing. I also got close to 10 different one page color flyers for the first round of the legislative elections. As well, there are government and journalistic websites where you can consult and see the complete platforms of all the candidates.
Hollande's and Sarkozy's back pages of their
4-page campaign brochures received in the mail, along with most of the others'
from the smaller parties. Hollande promises change. Sarkozy a strong France. Change won over strength.
By law, each voting station must have the mayor present during the entire proceedings, acting as president of the "voting office", or the mayor can designate someone from their office or within the community. In embassies, the consul takes the place of the mayor. In addition, there must be at least two "assurers", who are designated by the candidates (parties), as well as someone acting as a secretary. So, there must be a minimum of four persons witnessing and processing the voters and their ballots. This is a minimum. Any candidate can put a representative at any voting station to witness the entire operation, including the counting of the ballots. In fact, in Beijing, I saw about 15-20 people watching the entire operation. Little chance of any shenanigans with so many eyeballs on the scene.
I went to the (brand new) French Embassy in Beijing to vote, about 20 minutes from where I live in the suburbs. Once you show your picture ID (they even accept expired passports and national ID cards, as long as the photo is your resemblance), you pass through embassy security and line up to vote in the consulate. It is a very sociable and light hearted atmosphere. Friends are saying hello, giving each other the famous French bises on the cheeks and warmer, longer hugs, depending on the relationship. A few have not seen each other in ages and catch up on news. Of course, people are texting and going online with their mobiles, or calmly reading ebooks.
There were two lines to queue up, A-M and N-Z. As you stand in line, 10 big color campaign posters of the candidates are hanging on the walls of the foyer. So you have this eerie feeling of these people watching you and reminding you, "Be careful who you vote for!", as you wait your turn. They are the same covers of the color brochures I received in the mail.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
2
1
