08:20 on 2012/08/28 Reply  

• walkerp 09:35 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  I voted yesterday. Thanks to the heads-up from this blog (and my wife getting us motivated).

  The act of voting itself is always very pleasant here. Neat to see your community and the people working the polls are always so friendly and interesting.

• Matt 09:49 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  I liked the photos of the candidates on the ballot. Hey, it influenced my vote!

• ant6n 10:16 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  Why doesn’t voting happen on Sunday, anyway? You’re more likely to be home (i.e. near your polling stations), and you’ll have plenty of time etc.

• Ephraim 10:23 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  Photos of the candidates on the ballot? You mean we have to see Mme Moustache on the ballot?

• Kate 10:36 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  ant6n, municipal elections are on Sundays, but they’re fixed, whereas federal and provincial elections are at the whim of the first minister, although technically with permission of the Queen’s representative. I know there’s been some move to fix our elections to the calendar as in the U.S. but I think parties are too fond of the option to hold snap elections at strategic moments to give that up easily.

• jeather 11:02 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  There is nothing I want less than fixed elections. I don’t care if it means the incumbent party can call snap elections at their convenience. If it means our election seasons are 6ish weeks long instead of 18 months, it is worth it.

• Kate 11:09 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  Oh good point, jeather. Just having American friends on the web I sometimes feel weary of their seemingly unending campaigns.

• ant6n 11:16 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  There are other countries with fixed elections and relatively short electoral battles. The US system is stretched because it’s not just elections, it’s also the primaries, with the tours and everything; a system that pretends that people have to travel the country in horse carriages.

  If there are fixed elections, as you get closer, there will be more coverage etc.; but consider that we had that in Quebec as well – for example the CAQ forming with all its associated news could be considered part of the electoral campaign.

• jeather 19:46 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  I lived in the US during the tail end of a federal election cycle and throughout a senatorial cycle and, I can swear to you, the news of the CAQ forming barely registers compared to the overwhelmingness of a US election campaign.

  I agree that not all countries have long electoral battles, but I think that Canada is more likely to copy the US than any other country, especially while Harper is in power.

• Faiz Imam 21:41 on 2012/08/28 Permalink

  Fixed elections are one thing, but our system currently has a set period between the announcement of an election and the day itself. Instead of simply “the election will be in X days/weeks” This law could easily be amended to say “the election will be on the sunday X weeks ahead”.

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