Comparing+Australia+and+USA

Please read and take notes on criticisms of and proposed reforms to the Australian system of political parties in this article by Jaensch so we can compare with the USA [|democratic audit] Please try to have this done for Friday's lesson

[|Presidents and Prime Ministers]

[|President vs. Prime Minister]

A fabulous campaign ad from a superPAC for you to watch and enjoy - [|1 minute ad]. Let me know what you think of it!

Similarities between US and Australian electoral system

-Free, fair and frequent elections

-secret ballot

-scrutineers

-Country divided into electorates with an approximately equal number of voters

-single member electorates for the HOR

-Elect members in HOR to represent electorates/districts

-redistribution of electorates so approximately the same amount of voters

→AUS: Redistribution by the AEC

→USA: Redistricting by state government

-Elect senators to represent states

-6 year term for Senators

→re-election of portion of Senators in stages

-2 party system/2 party preferred system

-Australian and US government offer campaign funding to candidates

Diffferences between US and AUS electoral system USA: House of Representatives elections →every 2 years →2 year //fixed// terms AUS: House of Representatives elections →at least every 3 years →3 year terms USA: Senate elections → 1/3 Senate elected every 2 years →6 year //fixed// terms AUS: Senate elections →1/2 Senate elected at each HOR election →6 year //fixed// terms

Organisation of elections →AUS: Australian Electoral Commission →USA: Organised by each state. No centralised, independent body

Voting AUS: →HOR: Preferential voting →Senate: Proportional voting USA: →HOR + Senate: First past the post

Campaign Funding and Political Donations →USA: No transparency laws →AUS: Disclosure threshold $10,000

USA: Primaries and caucuses Aus: Pre-selection

USA: Electoral College USA: Presidential election

Aus: Vote for the party USA: Vote for the person

Similarities in extent of franchise

-Universal Franchise → voting age at 18 years old

Differences in extent of franchise

Aus: Compulsory voting

USA: Optional voting

→effectively, minorities, non-English speakers etc. do not usually vote and are under-represented

USA: many prisoners are prohibited from voting

→only Maine and Vermont allow incarcerated prisoners to vote

→14/50 states ban anyone with a felony conviction from voting for the rest of their lives

AUS: Prisoners serving a 3+ year sentence cannot vote for the duration of their sentence

→Roach vs. Electoral Commissioner

Similarities in extent of political equality Differences in extent of political equality
 * Broad franchise – no legal discrimination based on race, gender, age or association.
 * Right to vote is protected explicitly in American Bill of Rights, and as an implied right in the Australian Const. ‘representative of the people’
 * Senate malapportionment.
 * Bogus majority, value of votes are skewed because of voter concentration in demographic areas in SME (districts, or electorates).
 * Two party system (or in Australia’s case, two major parties) prevent broad, open participation in political affairs
 * Voting options such as postal vote, pre-voting for U.S. increases accessibility for voters
 * Frequent elections increase participation and accessibility of government
 * Congress and Australian Parliament both open to public

> *artificially creating bogus majority *especially as political culture does not view compulsory voting as imposition
 * America || Australia ||
 * * States determine voting qualifications and methods
 * FEC is part of federal bureaucracy and has limited jurisdiction on electoral processes, primarily acts in voter registration and campaign funding
 * Gerrymandering – redistricting so as to maximise party chances of being elected (and diminishing opposition’s chances)
 * civic apathy and optional voting work together to reduce participation in electoral process (voting)
 * Voter turnout is low due to optional voting, apathy and narrow representation
 * 15 states banned any citizen with felony conviction from voting, even after sentence is served
 * Wastage of votes from smaller states by Electoral College processes
 * First past the post used throughout country in elections at state and federal level– votes for the loosing candidate are effectively wasted || * Independent body (AEC) organises, conducts processes and enforces one national voting method
 * AEC is independent, only govt funded and has broad jurisdiction over electoral processes
 * Redrawing electoral boundaries conducted by AEC, not politicised. A population cap within 10% variance (1975 Whitlam Govt)
 * Compulsory voting enforces voter participation, which increases representation and decreases likelihood of civic apathy, encourages civic culture.

Organize branches of government. Executive: responsible for appointments of secretaries, bureaucracy officials and officials in judicial branch. Similarities in roles of political parties
 * High turnout due to compulsory voting
 * (Roach v. Electoral Commissioner) once the sentence served still have right to vote.
 * Wastage of votes in safe seat electorates
 * Proportional voting - the value of each vote is not wasted
 * Preferential voting in Senate – winning candidate has absolute majority ||
 * Legislature - “facilitate wheels of government” turning public preference into policy and policy into legislation,
 * Provide a source of leadership (by selecting candidates for primaries in the U.S. or party leaders in Aust. ) and direction
 * Reach out to voters, inform citizens of issues, and democratic values
 * Raise funds for campaigns of party members
 * Advocate party positions on issues that is according to their core values. (Although to different extents due to varying strength of party discipline.)

Differences in roles of political parties

Political parties serve a purpose of campaigning for the candidates and rallying support for them during an election. They provide policies to link like-minded voters, and target specific demographics with certain policies. In the USA, raising funds is an extremely focal element of political parties as campaign finance laws allow a greater scope for fundraising. Additionally, due to the system of optional voting, money can be used as a tool to encourage voter participation. In the USA, parties do not have to follow party discipline in parliamentary divisions.

Similarities in selection of political candidate


 * Role of political parties to some extent
 * Candidate variety – Even within the same political party, candidates can have varying policies.
 * Any individual can stand in elections (even with no previous political affiliation)
 * Pre-selection occurs

Differences in selection of political candidates
 * USA operates on grassroots level
 * USA has primary elections, caucus
 * Australia only allows party members to influence candidate selection
 * Australian political parties are a mass movement


 * __ Impacts of first past the post voting __**


 * How it works: **

Also known as Simple Majority voting:


 * Requires voters to place a tick or a cross against the name of only one candidate they support. All such votes are counted as formal.
 * A winning candidate needs to secure a higher total of votes than any other candidate. This is also known as a "plurality". There is no requirement to secure an absolute majority, merely a simple majority.

Advantages:


 * it’s easy not to make a mistake in voting, hard for it to become an informal vote
 * It is easy and quick to count.
 * ===It promotes a two-party system, ensuring stability in the parliamentary process===
 * Minor parties and independents can sometimes win against the major parties without needing to secure 50% of the vote.

Disadvantages:


 * It supports a limited two party system, as voters vote for the 2 parties as they know their votes will be wasted by voting for minor candidates
 * A winning candidate may secure only a minority of the vote without taking into account that majority of voters do not support the candidate
 * Minor parties and candidates can find it difficult to win against the combined weight of major party candidates.

__** Impacts of preferential voting **__ Preferential voting is used in elections for the House of Representatives and all State lower houses in Australia.
 * How it works:**

Advantages: Disadvantages: Similarities in accountability of legislature
 * It ensures that only a candidate with the support of an absolute majority of the electorate can win, eliminating the possibility of minority winners i.e., the winning candidate is the "most preferred" or "least disliked" candidate.
 * No wastage of votes. It ensures that voters can support minor parties, knowing that their preferences may be used to decide the winner.
 * It allows parties of like-minded philosophies or policies to "exchange preferences" in order to assist each other to win.
 * It promotes a strong two-party system, ensuring stability in the parliamentary process.
 * It is more complicated to administer and count.
 * Increases chances of informal votes and donkey voting
 * It promotes a two-party system and limits the opportunity for minor parties and independents.
 * Voters are forced to express a preference for candidates they may not wish to support in any way.

** Differences in accountability of legislature ** - As a result of the Executive sitting separately from the Legislature there is no opposition in the Congress. Opposition helps to keep the legislature accountable - Due to First Past the Post (FPTP) voting in America there is usually no representatives of minority parties or independents in the Congress. Therefore they cannot keep the legislature accountable - Political parties in America do not enforce strong party discipline; therefore the public cannot hold their representatives accountable to their party platform. - The legislature is also not accountable to other members of Congress because they do not have the principle of responsible government. Therefore members do not need to stay in favour of their fellow Congressmen in order to retain their position. ** Similarities in role of Constitution as protector of rights and freedoms **
 * AUSTRALIA || USA ||
 * Individuals and groups can bring a complaint that an act infringes on their rights set out in the constitution. || Individuals and groups can bring a complaint that an act infringes on their rights set out in the Bill of Rights. ||
 * Rights specified in the Australian Commonwealth Constitution can only be altered, removed or added by amending the constitution through a referendum. || Rights can only be altered, removed or added by amending the Bill of Rights in the constitution. ||
 * The rights protected in the Constitution are fully enforceable by the courts, and parliament cannot override a High Court ruling relating to these rights. || All rights are fully enforceable by the courts. If the Supreme Court declares legislation invalid because it infringes a particular express right, then Congress cannot override that ruling. ||
 * The Australian Constitution contains structural protection of the right to representative government. || The US constitution contains structural protection of the right to representative government. ||
 * The Australian High Court has found that the Constitution includes an implied right. (The right to freedom of political communication.)S.7&24 || The US Supreme Court has found that the Constitution includes implied rights. (eg: the right to privacy.) Griswold Vs. Connecticut (1965) doctor was arrested for giving information about contraception even though the Connecticut law stated that you cant use any drug or thing as a contraception. ||

**Differences in role of Constitution as protector of rights and freedoms**
 * AUSTRALIA || USA ||
 * Australia has not Bill or Charter of Rights || US has a Bill of Rights ||
 * There are only five express rights specified in the Australian Constitution.S.51(xxxi) – the commonwealth can acquire property on ‘just terms’.S.80 – the right to a jury for commonwealth indictable offences.S.116 – freedom of religion.S.117 – the right for citizens to not be discriminated against on the basis of where they live.S.92 – the right to freedom of trade, commerce & movement between states. || The list of express rights is extensive. Eg: freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, the right to petition the government. It protects individuals and groups against abuse of rights by both federal and state governments. ||
 * The rights specified in the constitution can only be removed by amending the Constitution through the procedure outlined in S.128, which states that the constitution can only be amended after a successful referendum. || The procedure for amending the Constitution is very complex and can take a long time. Each state considers the proposal in its own time, so the process can spread over many years before a final result is known or the proposal expires. Eg: in 1972 it was proposed that the Constitution be amended to include a separate ‘equal protection clause’ specifically addressing gender equality. By 1982 an insufficient number of states had approved the proposal, so the proposal expired. ||
 * Executive powers and legislative powers are combined but judicial powers are separate. || Executive powers, legislative powers and judicial powers are all separate. ||
 * Australia has a system of responsible government because the government is elected by the people and are responsible to the parliament- if they lose the confidence of the people they cannot govern || USA does not have responsible government because their President is elected separately from the Congress and the President appoints his own Cabinet. Therefore the President and Cabinet are not responsible to the Congress. E.g. Bill Clinton Democrat- Congress-Republic ||

Similarities in roles of committees in legislature -**Standing** – created for the life of a government (these can be drawn from either the senate or the house of representatives) -**Select(Aus)/Special(USA)-** committees created for a specific purpose and dismantled once they have carried out their investigations (these can be drawn from either the senate or the house of representatives) -**Joint** – committees with members taken from both houses of parliament/ congress Differences in roles of committees in legislature Similarities in roles of Speaker in legislature Differences in roles of Speaker in legislature
 * Committees are drawn from legislature in both the US and Australia
 * In both legislatures there are three types of committees :
 * In Both countries they are given the role of investigation
 * Committees are given the power to call any person of interest as witness in the case, and are both given the power compel a witness to make a statement and to punish those mislead them.
 * In addition to the role of investigation, the committees in the US are given the role of drafting up legislation to be presented to congress
 * In the US every piece of legislation must pass through a committee investigation before being passed, adding an extra level of accountability. This is not required in Australia for a bill to pass; therefore in the event of a ‘rubber stamp’ senate legislation may pass even without the proper investigations and amendments.
 * Both Speakers have the role of presiding over the lower house and enforcing standing orders in the house
 * The speaker is drawn from the majority party


 * The main difference is that in Australia, the Speaker is a neutral umpire whilst in the US he has a political role.
 * //Australia://
 * 3rd most powerful individual in the Parliament
 * Maintains order and ensures that proceedings go according to standing orders
 * Must remain bipartisan
 * Must maintain the respect of his fellow representatives who have elected him
 * //The US://
 * 3rd in line to the Presidency
 * Sets the political agenda of the HOR and therefore determines what appears before and is debated by the HOR. Thus, he can single-handedly control the efficacy and efficiency of the President.
 * Example of an individual who manipulated this power is Newt Gingrich during Clinton’s term as President.

Similarities in roles of political parties in legislature

Differences in roles of political parties in legislature
 * __Common aims and objectives:__
 * Win elections
 * Raise money for their party
 * Provide policies to link like-minded voters
 * __Other similarities:__
 * Recruitment of candidates
 * Campaign support for candidates, such as providing research and strategic counselling
 * Advocacy of political issues- parties design a party platform and take stands on political issues in accordance to their core values. This gives voters a political solution to problems whilst also offering political direction and guidance.
 * Party alignments in voting patterns within the legislature (but in the US less binding)
 * Committees are bipartisan but are chaired by a member of the majority
 * In the US, candidates are pre-selected through primaries and caucuses whilst in Australia it is primarily left up to the party executive and its branches.
 * In Australia, the party forms the Government and determines the Executive. In the US, the political party in the legislature does not necessarily form the Executive (trias politica- separation of power)
 * Raising money in the US is more important because:1) The Campaign Funding Laws allows more scope for private funding and 2) the electoral system forces parties to spend large amounts of money to convince voters to turn up to vote.
 * Chairs of Committees go according to seniority within the majority party.
 * In Australia, as part of the New Paradigm, minor parties have the opportunity to chair certain committees (eg: Sarah Hanson-Young, a Greens’ Senator, was the deputy chairman in the 2012 joint committee that held an inquiry into the 90-day limit on the internment of asylum seekers)
 * Party discipline is less rigorous in the US since Congressmen owe their positions to their state or district and therefore make more individualistic choices. This is one of the causes of pork-barrelling. BUT if a vote is tight, members can be ‘reeled in’ to support the party platform.
 * In the US, candidates for the legislature are selected through primaries and caucuses whilst in Australia pre-selection is done solely by the party.
 * In the US (because of voting methods) there is a 2 party domination in the Legislature, unlike in Australi


 * Similarities in roles/ powers as Heads of Government**

- Both President and Prime Minister are essentially party leaders, even though this is not an official role of the President. Their views and agenda can shape the parties philosophy and policies.

- Chief legislator is a role which both the PM and President have. The President plays a leading role in proposing new legislation to Congress. Whilst the PM actually introduces legislation onto the floor of Parliament.

- Head of Cabinet is a role which both the PM and President have.


 * Differences in roles/ powers as Heads of Government**

- The President as Head of State which symbolises the government and the unity of the nation. In Australia this role is performed by the GG.

- The President as Foreign Policy Leader, under the US constitution the President is granted extensive influence in foreign policy. In Australia DFAT and the Minster responsible for foreign affairs may have a larger role in formulating policy than the PM.

- The President as Commander-In-Chief, he is the commander of the United States military forces this is a role of the GG in Australia


 * Differences in powers as Heads of Government**

- President has veto power

- President can issue Executive Orders

- President can select their own Cabinet

- President can grant reprieves and pardons


 * Impacts of compulsory voting**

- Very high turnout rate therefore Government has a greater mandate

- Less time and money is spent on getting people to vote

- Political parties must take the entire population into account rather than just those who choose to vote

- Election results are less likely to be affected by large, well-organised groups or parties with the abilities to mobilise large blocks of votes.

- Encourages people to be involved in the political system

- The voting system can be skewered by the votes of uninformed voters

__Legislature to Executive__
 * Similarities in accountability of the other branches by the legislature**

- congressional/parliamentary committees are able to investigate the government and scrutinise their activities

__Legislature to Judiciary__ - AUS Legislature gives approval to the Prime Minister’s nominations of High Court judges- US Legislature gives approval to the Presidents nominations of Supreme Court judges - Impeachment of Judges

__Legislature to Legislature__ - All legislation must pass through both houses

__Legislature to Executive__ - In Australia, because the Executive sits in the Legislature, the legislature can keep them accountable through Question Time - As a result of the Executive and Legislature being separated in America the Legislature has the ability to override a Presidential veto, thereby ensuring that the President’s actions are accountable - Due to executive dominance in the Legislature in Australia the House of Reps is unable to adequately scrutinise legislation- therefore the Senate plays a larger role as an effective government legislation scrutiniser
 * Differences in accountability of the other branches by the legislature**