Opinion
Party-Based Elections
The roots of the current American electoral system date back to the days of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Undoubtedly, many things have changed over the last 221 years and I would like to pose the question: Are major reforms of the national election system sensible and overdue? The way that America conducts its elections is very different from that of many other countries in the Western world. Comparing the American system to other strong democracies, such as Germany, unveils a number of fundamental — and very interesting — differences in the representation of candidates, the party system and general voting procedures themselves.