The large, powerful western democratic nations are always prepared to help smaller, less powerful nations at election time.  We will provide impartial observers to ensure that there is no intimidation, that those who wish to vote can do so, and that the votes cast are properly counted.  What a pity we cannot manage our own democratic process.

Whoever is finally declared the winner in the US presidential elections, there is no doubt about the loser ~ credibility.  Will the President have been elected by a majority of the population, a majority of those eligible to vote, a majority of States?  Or will he be elected at some arbitrary point when it is deemed that the count in Florida is ‘near enough’? Will the decision be at the mercy of the court’s deliberations?

Democracy, like justice, needs to be seen to be done.  When the flaws of the voting system provide very public entertainment for the rest of the world, the people’s trust in the democratic process is undermined.

It is difficult to know why the US should find itself in this predicament.  In a country where technology is relied upon to perform every conceivable task, pieces of paper are used to decide who shall be arguably the most powerful man in the world.  In a country where every man, woman, child and pet goldfish seems to have access to the internet, the government steadfastly refuses to take advantage of the ability of computers to count large numbers, instantaneously, without mistakes.  It should surely be possible to devise a secure system whereby voters can register their preference from the comfort of their own homes, or at centralised polling stations with on-line terminals.

Perhaps those who wield power are scared of the consequences.  If voters can quickly register a vote for a president, they could just as easily vote on other issues.  Perhaps, eventually, voters will realise that they do not need politicians at all, merely administrators to carry out their wishes.  Ah, now that would count towards a true democracy!