The Differences between the French Electoral System and the American One

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The Differences between the French Electoral System and the American One
Elections are very important in every democratic society because they give the public or commonly referred to as the public the chance to choose leaders that they feel has their best interests at heart. Elections ensure that the mandate of choosing leaders lies with the people and as a result, the decisions of the majority are respected. People are happy when they exercise their rights to vote by ensuring that they choose the leaders the like and deny those they feel that are not in position to serve them well. In addition, elections ensure that the public is able to remove from office leaders who are not performing. Although most countries in the west practice democracy it is of paramount importance to note that the electoral systems that are practiced in these countries are quite different.
In France, the head of state or the president is elected directly by the people as opposed to the United States of America where the people indirect elect the president through an electoral college. Initially the term of the president in France was seven years but this was reduced to five years after a referendum that was conducted in the year 2000. More than five hundred elected officials who are mostly mayors must sign presentations for a candidate who is seeking for the presidential post in France. It is worth noting, "Each official may present only one candidate" (Cole and Campbell 122). Funding and financing of campaigns is strictly controlled by the government and it haws put a cap on the amount that a candidate can spend in an election. Moreover, the government is able to reimburse 50 % of the amount the candidate has spent if s/he is able to garner 5% of the total vote. However, a candidate receives €800,000 if s/he gets less than 5% of the total vote. This acts as a means of ensuring that candidates who are unsure of their popularity do not waste their time in campaigns. Although candidates are given time to air their views on TV, adverts are prohibited meaning one cannot use the television to air his/her views via adverts (Elections Today 12). In order to achieve a 50% majority vote for the presidential candidate the French insist on a runoff. However, "The French double- ballot runoff makes the polity less sensitive to the electoral distributions, in the sense that the electoral system invariably under-represents the extremes" (Sartori 139). The law should be changed to ensure a clear-cut representation of the extremes that are associated with French politics.
In the US, a president is elected for a term of four years. The people indirectly elect the president through an electoral college. In recent times, it is worth noting, "The electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state" (Gierzynski 24). On the other hand, members of the congress are elected directly by the peo...