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French Presidential Election Voter Turnout: 84%
By
Jen Chung
Published May 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 7, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Yesterday, conservative Nicholas Sarkozy won the French presidential election over the Socialist Party's Segolene Royal (who was attempting to become France's first female president). Besides the violence that erupted, what we found interesting was the fact that voter turnout was 84% in France.
Sure, France is a smaller country than the U.S. and there isn't an Electoral College equivalent, but the voter turnout for the Bush-Kerry 2004 election was 60% - and that was 6.4% higher than the 2000 election. One possible reason why French voter turnout is very high: The election was held on a Sunday.
Some people have proposed that the U.S. Election Day be moved to a weekend or be made a holiday, though some states, back in 2001, told the Commission on Election Reform that it was doubtful Americans would actually prioritize voting on a free day. People who work for public offices, as well as some schools and unions, do get the day off.
Did you know that after the very close Democratic mayoral primary in 2005, some election reformers believe that NYC should switch to instant runoff voting? (Here's more from Gotham Gazette.) The 2005 mayoral election between Bloomberg and Ferrer had a 30% turnout. At any rate, if you haven't registered to vote yet, you should. Here's information on voter registration in NYC.
Photograph of riot police with a protester at Place de Bastille in Paris by Michel Springler/AP
Tagged
bloomberg
bush
college
election
election day
electoral college
Gotham Gazette
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News: World
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paris
people
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Politics
presidential election
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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