International Students Find Flaws in U.S. Election System

As the controversy over the election of the next president of the United States deepens, international students bring more diverse perspectives to the current election debates.

Because of the confusion, lawsuits, and debate, many believe that the United States has lost a measure of the respect it once had in foreign countries.

"A lot of people were very confident with the United States, and rightly so, but when this happens, it shows that even in a country on top of the world there are flaws that need to be dealt with." said Ricardo E. Jimenez-Kimble '02, a native of Mexico.

Hunter A. Maats '04, who lives in France and went to school in Great Britain, agreed, saying "the United States traditionally felt they had it right, but now they must look and question their system."

Maats said the United States is "too cocky, and must realize that it hasn't perfected democracy."

"The U.S. and its president were seen around the world as great titans, but now their image has been sullied," he said.

"Latin America usually gets a bad rap for having crazy elections," said Jimenez-Kimble, "but now the tables have turned."

"It's a shame, but it may be a good wake-up call," he said.

According to many international students, the international media has centered its attention on the recounting of ballots.

Edoardo Gallo '04 of Italy said, "My favorite joke is that in Italy we are not able to keep the same government, but at least we are able to count the votes."

Maats, said "there needs to be more standardization of procedures."

"Europeans can't understand how a 'united' country calling itself the United States of America can be so disparate," said Maats. "There are so many tiers and levels with their own autonomy that led to this election chaos."

Charmaine H. Lee '03 of Singapore criticized the politicization of the recounting process.

"Both candidates want to win so badly that the fuss is more about the candidate than electing a president and maintaining the stability of a government," said Lee.

But other students pointed out the importance of ensuring an accurate count.

"We need to be patient," said Don Charnsupharindr '03 of Thailand.

International students also found interesting comparisons between politics in the United States and in their own countries.

The dominance of only two parties seems to offer "little freedom of choice and lack of flexibility," according to Marian H. Smith '04 from Denmark, Somalia, and Luxembourg.

German student Martin Kanz '04 said, "the third party issue is what I find strange."

"It's striking that people are voting for Nader even though there is no chance of their voice being heard," he said.

Kanz said in Germany people voted more along party lines and less for the personality of a candidate.

In contrast, "American campaigns focus on people rather than issues, and there is a lot of changing among parties," he said. "It doesn't happen to that extent in Germany because of strong loyalties to parties."

Many international students also found fault with the United States' unique Electoral College system, which in this election, could put George W. Bush in office despite a defeat by Al Gore '69 in the popular vote.

"All other democracies seem to use the popular vote to choose "the United States seems to elect one candidate, but the Electoral College elects another one, this seems undemocratic to me," said Dennis M. Munene '04 of Kenya.

But in the end, just like American citizen, international students are simply awaiting the outcome of the election.

"Oh well, America will have a new president and we'll see what happens next," said Bonnie M. Poon '04 of Hong Kong.