Investigation 1: A Global Perspective on Federal Political Systems
Mattie and Misia
Part I: Different Countries’ Federal Systems and Voter Eligibility- Canada
Select a country and investigate the following questions. Record brief answers using full sentences or short paragraphs (where appropriate).
- Legislative branch(es): Canada has a Parliament
(i) Is the country unicameral, bicameral or other? It is Bicameral- meaning there are two houses. There is the appointed house which is the senate, and the House of Commons which are voted in by the people.
(ii) How many members are in each legislative body? In the House of Commons there are 338 members and in the Senate there is 105.
(iii) Who do the members represent? Do members represent single districts? Are there any multi-member districts (where several representatives represent a larger area)? Members of the Senate must live in the area in which they represent, which means they represent single districts.
(iv) Is there a system of proportional representation? It is proportional in the house of commons each district has more or less members in the House depending on population, and voting is considered with plurality.
(v) How many major political parties are there? 5 Major ones- Liberal Party, Conservative party, Democratic Party, Bloc Quebecois party, Green Party
(vi) If a system of proportional representation is used, is there a party list system? (A party list system is when each party’s potential representatives are listed in order before the election. Then after the election, if a party receives 10 seats, for example, the first 10 individuals on the list are selected to serve in the legislative body.)
(vii) How long are the terms for each representative? Up to 5 years for House of Commons and until the age of 75 for the senate.
- Executive branch or leader of the country:
(i) Is there a president or prime-minister (or other figure) who is voted into office separately from any legislative body? If not, how is the leader determined? There is the Queen who is the head of state. A prime Minister who is the head of government- currently Justin Trudeau
(ii) How long is the term for the leader?
There is no term limit or length, but an election takes place every 4-5 years, so a prime minister might be voted out.
- Voter Eligibility (who gets to vote?):
(i) age restrictions? (ii) citizenship restrictions? (iii) other restrictions?
Must be 18 years or older, and a Canadian Citizen, resident in Electoral district, and registered to vote.
- Identify 3 things in your investigations that surprised or interested you.
- Surprised that there’s no term limit for the prime minister
- The fact that the queen is head of state, for multiple countries
- Fact that you vote for a party not a person.
Part II: Registering to Vote
In this part, you will may investigate how to register to vote either in your own state (if you are a resident in the U.S.), or in another country. Summarize your findings in a short paragraph.
In the state of Illinois where I used to live, there is an online voter application that can be filled out to register to vote at this link https://ova.elections.il.gov/
You must be 18 by the time of the General Election, and must live in your precinct for 30 days prior to election, as well as being a US Citizen
For those of you investigating other countries, what is the registration process? Is it possible for students studying abroad to vote in these countries?
For those of you investigating a state in the U.S., what is the registration process? Can a student be a resident of that state while attending school in another state? Can they transfer their registration to their state of their institution, and if so, how?
So basically, theres two things that can be done. One is sending in an absentee vote which is sending in your vote by the mail or, students can register with their school to vote, which registers them in the state of their school. However, they can not be registered in two places at once. At the new school, you can register to vote via this link: https://www.newschool.edu/student-development-activities/register-to-vote/
