Chair: Ms.
Lea Newfarmer,
Project Assistant for Non-Governmental
Process of the Community of Democracies
Ms.
Maureen McTeer, Professor of Law, University
of Ottawa; Visiting
Professor and Senior Fellow, Center
for North American Studies, American University
Dr.
William Cross, Carleton University
and Mt. Allison
University in New Brunswick
Dr.
Louis Massicotte, Professor, University
of Montreal
Panel
II: Evaluating the United States
Chair: Chellie Pingree, President, Common Cause
Nkechi
Talifa, Esq. Senior Policy Analyst, The Open Society Institute
Mark
Schmitt, The Open Society Institute
Robert
Pastor, Director, Center for Democracy and Election Management and Center for
North American Studies, American
University
Luncheon Address: "The State of Freedom
in Mexico,
the U.S., and Canada:
Freedom House's Perspective"
Jennifer
Windsor, Executive Director, Freedom House
Panel
III: Evaluating Mexico
Chair: Dr. Gisèle Yasmeen, Senior Director of National and International Research and Policy
Development, Elections Canada
Jacqueline
Peschard, former Counsellor, Federal Election Institute; Fellow, Wilson Center
Silvia
Alonso, Alianza Civica
Carlos
Heredia, Advisor for International Affairs to Governor Lazaro Cardenas of Michoacan
Panel
IV: Summary and Next Steps on Democracy Deficits at
Home and Abroad
Morton
Halperin, Director of US Advocacy, Open Society Institute
Joe
Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada; Distinguished Statesman in Residence
and Senior Fellow, Center for North American Studies, American
University
Carlos
Heredia, Advisor to Governor Lazaro Cardenas of Michoacan
Robert
A. Pastor, American University
Nancy
Boswell, Managing Director in U.S.,
Transparency International (inv)
Rapporteurs:
-
Richard C. Rowson,
President, Council for a Community
of Democracies
-
Dr. Miguel Carter,
Assistant Professor, School of International Service
- Some
of the participants argued that the criminal justice
system discriminates against minorities thereby undermining
equal treatment under the law. Furthermore, in Mexico, the criminal justice
system has been inadequate to the task of prosecuting
a drug oligarchy, which in many communities has become
"the law," replacing the national system of law and justice.
In
Mexico,
entire states are under the sway of drug lords who
carry on their drug-trafficking with impunity and gain public
support by running health clinics, schools, and job training
programs, funded by their illicit operations.
Many of these activities have replaced the normal
functions of the state and its legal governing structure.
- Discussion
at the workshop about the respective election systems
in North America indicated that each faces a set of
daunting challenges.
The
principle of one person-one vote is undermined by the Electoral
College system in the United
States.
As occurred in 2000, the winner of the presidency
can lose the nation-wide popular vote, but still win the
office because of a system which gives disproportionate
power to states with lower population. The highly decentralized election system in
the U.S.
often impedes the development of fair and uniform national
electoral standards. Also,
while the United States has sent observers to monitor elections
throughout the world, most states and counties in the United States
do not permit qualified election observers unrestricted
access to election sites.
Common
Cause, a nonprofit "watchdog" organization in the U.S., evaluated these conditions and received over
200,000 complaints of voter fraud during the last
U.S. Presidential election. These
were believed to represent only the "tip of the iceberg".
A study undertaken by American
University's Center
for Democracy and Election Management, on the quality of
the election systems used by North American countries, ranked
the U.S.
third behind Canada
and Mexico.
Among recommendations for reform of the U.S. system, were the following:
- switch
to a nonpartisan election management system, including
an independent electoral commission
- establish
inter-operable, integrated, and interactive state-wide
electronic registration lists
- hire
and train more election workers
- use
electronic machines with a voter verifiable ballot and
a code that is transparent and certified by nonpartisan
election authorities
- standardize
"provisional voter" procedures in all states
- finance
civic education ($232 million more spent abroad than
at home)
- abolish
the "18th century" Electoral College system
so all votes count equally
- grant
Washington,
D.C. residents full voting representation
in Congress
- provide
open access by observers to all polling stations as other countries do
The
study concluded with a question: What are the reasons for
this poor U.S.
standing, relative to Canada
and Mexico? First, the study found that the effectiveness
of the U.S.
election system has been taken for granted in
the U.S. and is assumed to be superior,
despite evidence to the contrary. Second, the decentralized
nature of the electoral administration (there are 13,000,
locally controlled election authorities, which are quite
independent) creates a dysfunctional system that by inadvertence
disenfranchises many eligible U.S.
voters and hampers US
voter registration and participation. Furthermore, the system
is under-funded and inadequately staffed.
A
Canadian panelist called for reform of the
election system there, which, the person argued,
does not serve adequately the needs of the public and does
not reflect the "modern face of Canada" -- a diverse society of many
ethnic groups with differing viewpoints on politics and
culture. Proposals included: (a) that Canadian history be
a required course and include "on-site" instruction in ethnic
areas and involvement with "activist" groups; (b) that citizen
involvement be based on "real roles, not manipulation;"
(c) that links be established between elected representatives
and their constituents, not only with lobbyists; and (d)
that "Oprah Winfrey type democracy" where everyone talks
but there is no direct impact on policy-making, should be
replaced with real dialogue between people and their representatives
in government.
Another
Canadian panelist described a "democracy audit" project
in New Brunswick designed to overcome a general "malaise"
among voters young and old caused by the absence of political
education and the prevalence of "misinformation" on the
issues, by increasing "participation, inclusiveness and
responsiveness" among the electorate. Another participant
noted that apathy amongst voters, especially the youth,
was prevalent; however, it was more a case of them tuning
out rather than turning off. A similar effort to the one in New Brunswick is taking place in Quebec
with respect to elections to Quebec's
legislative body, called the National Assembly. Participation by the female population is the
highest in Canada
and thus representation is also higher.
The
concept of a "democracy audit" employed in Canada
is an example of an innovative, transferable idea. These audits are being expanded nationally
by Elections
Canada, the country's electoral commission. The "audit" has been used to good effect in
Costa Rica
where it focused a public spotlight on previously intractable
problems, enabling the government to employ new approaches
utilizing the national consensus the audit created. In similar
fashion, state-by-state audits could be employed in the
United
States as a means of raising
the level of citizen participation in government. A participant
also noted that in order to increase participation by women
and minority candidates, greater incentives are need to
assist minority groups in overcoming financial barriers
to their involvement.
- Advocacy
of "democracy abroad" is enhanced by the quality
of "democracy at home."
This is a serious problem for he U.S.
where its position as a world leader in the promotion
of democracy could be impugned by electoral flaws, a lack
of civic education in schools, and - until this past election
- declining voter participation. The conclusion reached was that consolidated
democracies in North America
should not be complacent; democracies require constant
engagement and monitoring.
One
panelist dramatized this linkage by stating that if the
chief U.S.
law enforcement officer believes the President can authorize
torture in violation of internationally accepted
norms that undermine the moral credibility of U.S.
efforts abroad. More
generally, the failure to abide by international standards
weakens the United States. For instance, opposition by the U.S.
to binding provisions in the United Nations anti-corruption
treaty undermines its ability to advocate for adherence
of these international standards by other countries.
There
is a need for education in the culture of democracy
and better understanding of the public's responsibilities,
based on fact not propaganda and on the role individual
citizens play in ensuring that institutions work on behalf
of the general public. While "institutional reform" was
a common theme of this workshop, its limitations also were
recognized. The sine qua non of true, lasting reform is
societal change, i.e., maintaining a democratic ethos, something,
which all three countries in North
America, as well as all democracies, need to
constantly seek. Democracy education must extend beyond "institutions"
and deal with the realities of democratic politics and its
"'non-institutional" principles.
The belief that "all politicians are liars" and can't
be trusted to carry out their campaign promises is not a
sign of healthy democratic skepticism, but an attitude that
fuels cynicism -an unfortunate condition reflected by some
North Americans. This disposition poses a danger for democratic
governance. It poses a basic challenge to citizenship education
and offers a necessary reminder of the importance of "ethics
in politics."
- The
"democracy deficit" in North America
takes several forms: (a) disproportionate influence by
the wealthy through their ability of finance campaigns;
(b) the corrupting influence of drug trafficking money;
(c) an increasingly closed system run by insiders because
of a lack of competitiveness in elections for the U.S.
Congress due to a combination of redistricting and campaign
finance.
With
respect to the first point, as "money is the milk of politics,"
it has lessened the key role the public must play in the
political process. On the other hand, recent "campaign
reform" in the U.S. has opened the way for an imaginative
use of the new technology of "internet contributing," which
has greatly expanded the political base of campaign funding
and expanded individual citizen and activist organizational
involvement.
Regarding
the second point, drug trafficking, the tremendous
amount of money generated worldwide by this illicit trade
(estimated at $150 billion) cannot help but corrupt the
political process. As stated in a previous section, drug
lords are setting up "fiefdoms" in several Mexican states.
Third,
"insider" control: There is a smaller turnover in
the U.S. Congress than there is in Communist China's legislative
body. To open up the system, states like Maine
and Arizona have introduced
new policies for public funding.
In Arizona "$5 campaign parties"
are proliferating as a way of generating a support base
for matching public funds.
According to Sweden's
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 63% of
democracies provide free access to media.
In Brazil,
there are no paid television broadcasts, only free public
time slots. Participants were concerned that in Mexico
the lack of regulation for pre-campaign expenses and bank
secrecy laws hampered the system's electoral transparency.
However, recent transparency laws providing access
to government documents has increased the effectiveness
of Mexico's civic reform organizations
favoring. Also,
there are many efforts to change the redistricting process
and rules in the United States - still one more example
of how problems often elicit reforms in a democracy.
- A number of participants argued that self-serving
broadcast and print media "playing" to a poorly educated
and inadequately informed citizenry regarding the practice
and culture of democracy reflects another part of the
"democracy deficit." This not only works against "democracy
education" efforts at all levels, but actually contributes
to the problem of declining public participation in the
political process. Concentration
of ownership and control of the media complicates the
problem further and reduces public leverage on the media
to perform its "public service" obligation.
Mexican participants were particularly concerned
about Televisa's near monopoly of the country's television
market (with 80% of the country's channels), and its collusion
with the government to thwart reforms in the nation's
outdated media regulatory framework.
The
public's ownership of the airwaves, which it licenses to
commercial and public broadcasters, constitutes an obvious
means of influence over the use of this license. Devising
means of linking citizen education to the legal obligation
of the media to serve that interest is one key to solving
this problem. Without an educated public, the present "dumbing
down" and oversimplification of the real issues by the media
is bound to continue.
- Political
parties are losing their credibility and impact on
the political system in varying degrees in all three countries. While common to other regions of the world,
this shortfall appears to have increased in the United States and Canada. The low standing of politicians and political
parties may increase the apathy of citizens.
In
North America, this "democracy
deficit" is related to the basic shortcomings in the election
systems described in an earlier section of this report. The decline in competition for US congressional
races has diminished the prospect for civic engagement in
local party affairs. Citizens'
disinformation and disinterest are fueling a similar trend
in Canada. High levels of distrust among Mexicans towards
its political institutions, and the failure of many reform
initiatives under President Fox, has led large segments
of the population to see its new regime as a replacement
of one set of ruling elites for another. Another factor
generating cynicism in Mexico
is the inability of the political system to carry out economic
reforms, which will serve the interests of the majority.
As one participant observed, political parties of different
persuasions have continued the same policies, such as bailing
out private banks and protecting powerful interests, perpetuating
thereby, the monopoly of these interests over entire sectors
of the economy.
Proposals
to strengthen political parties include measures that would
enhance electoral competition, fortify civic education,
and reduce the role of money in shaping the outcomes of
the democratic process.
- Several
key problems, which bear on "democracy deficits" and have
their derivation in U.S.-Mexican relations were
raised by the panelists from Mexico.
The
first concerns the fact that Mexican migrant workers
in the U.S.
cannot vote in Mexican elections unless they return to
Mexico.
Second,
there is a need for congruence of labor laws in Mexico
and the U.S.,
so that equal justice can be administered and racial discrimination
policies eliminated.
- The
workshop received a report on the state of democracy
in North America from the Executive Director of Freedom
House, Jennifer Windsor. She reported that according
to Freedom House guidelines, Mexico
has entered the "free" category and Canada has been judged a "top
performer." The U.S., despite the 2000 flawed Presidential
election, the restrictions on freedom represented by the
Patriot Act, the treatment of prisoners of war, immigrants
denied asylum and growing income inequality has maintained
its position as a consolidated democracy because of its
free and vigorous media, its system of government "checks
and balances" and the improved 2004 Presidential election
process.
At
the conclusion of the workshop, Robert Pastor
of American University, which hosted the event, noted
that Ms. Windsor's report suggested that the problems we
face in North America are
not as bad as they may appear. To the contrary, the "democracy
deficits" identified by this workshop convey a very real
sense of democracy's strengths.
The groups represented at the conference are passionate
to improve the quality of democracy in each o the countries,
and that is the essence of democracy and offers promise
for the future.
The
U.S.
election in 2000 is a good example.
It pointed out many flaws with the process.
Some believe the U.S. Supreme Court acted unwisely
to pre-empt the full vote recount in the state of Florida. Albert Gore, the Democratic Presidential candidate,
said that he disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision,
but he respected it and would abide by it.
By that statement, he showed the strength of American
democracy. A second illustration was that private Commissions,
including one chaired by former Presidents Jimmy Carter
and Gerald Ford, proposed numerous reforms, and the Congress
passed the first law in U.S. history on election administration,
including many of the Carter-Ford recommendations.
In brief, democracy's strength lies in its self-correcting
mechanism.
It
was agreed that the workshop assembled by Canadians, Mexicans
and Americas
demonstrates that we in this region of the world face the
same problems of democratic engagement (the election process),
inclusion (minority rights) and transparency (of effective
government vs. corrupt practices), as do our colleagues
elsewhere. We are proud to have played a role in this global
evaluation of democracy, and pledge our collective efforts
in overcoming the challenges to democracy we have identified.
Dick
Rowson, rapporteur
Council
for a Community of Democracies
Dr.
Miguel Carter, rapporteur
American
University
19
February 2005
