Elections in DENMARK vs. Elections in AMERICA
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ต.ค. 2022
- Elections in DENMARK vs. Elections in AMERICA
#denmark #usa #election2022
In this video we take a look at how elections are organized and held in both the United States and in Denmark. Each country has some unique rules for holding elections and many similarities. When it comes to elections in Denmark and elections in American, things aren't quite as different as you may expect, but where they differ - it's pretty far apart.
We start by taking a look at when election day in Denmark and election day in America is held. Both countries have different ways of deciding when an election is to happen.
Voting in Denmark and voting in America is another area of difference. We talk about how you can vote, how simple or hard it is to vote in each country and what happens after you vote in Denmark vs America.
We also take a look at how the government is formed in Denmark and how the government is elected and formed in the USA. This is where there are again, differences in the structure of government in each country.
We also take a look at some of the parts of the system that can be confusing or ineffective in both countries. This includes the idea that, American's two-party system isn't that different from Denmark's multi-party system.
Let us know what you think and make sure you're going out to vote wherever you live!
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I see a big difference in the culture of the law making: It is customary in Denmark for the government to propose new acts, but then ask the opposition: "What compromises can we make so that you will uphold this act once you get into power?". That is stability and inclusion which like very much
Yes, this is so important. Not ramming things through even if you have the majority to do so.
It's also about strengthening the bills. Each party that was part of it, will have veto rights in case some wants to change it or get rid of it before time
Usually you try to get as many parties involved as possible. In that way you can't complain about the bill afterwards.
But in some cases you do see bills passed with the smallest margin possible and then you risk that a change in power will result in a repeal.
Make Denmark 60x the size and population, and all that good stuff fails. There would much bigger money on the table and much more greed as result.
@@Girtuczi I'm not sure that's true. It's more of a cultural thing than size. Big and small can be corrupt and vice versa
What I find disgusting in US election, is that people have to stand in line, sometimes for hours. I am 61 years old, and I have never been queuing.
Now I have got an illness, so I don't know how my health is on election day, I just go to Borgerservice or the library to cast my vote. Don't even have to have an appointment. I did it for over a week ago.
Actually that's how it was in Sweden this year. Ok not for hours but over 30 minutes did occur at many places. The reason was a change for increased secrecy.
Gert-DK, here in the state I live, there are no queues and have not been for YEARS! Why not? Well, because we have mail in ballots. We get Voters Pamphlets sent to us, then our ballots. We vote how we please then, post the ballots back to the address on the front of the envelope -- Oh. and the postage is FREE, too.
Gert, du ved vel godt at det danske politiske system er fyldt med spindoktors og falske forhåbninger? Der er ingen grund til at overhovedet bruge sin tid på at stemme, de snyder og bedrager konstant uanset hvad.. kan du ikke se det er lidt komisk at mink skulle aflives når deres største købere var rusland og kina :)? og mærkeligt at 1-2 dage efter nordstream1-2 blev sprængt. så åbner Mette F. pludseligt op for en helt ny gasledning fra norge... EL priserne stigerne pga der nogle oilebanditter som har meget ondt i røven over at Elon Musk og hans EL biler sælger så godt, så de prøver at bremse tesla's udvikling hermed også spacex. Det er så nemt at se hvad der forgår, du skal bare lade vær med at sidde og se de korrupte nyheder i tvet
If you value mail in voting. I do hope, that it's one of the things you check opinion of your preferred candidates on, before voting. It's one of the many ways, access to voting is being tried restricted in different states.
You can mail vote in both Denmark and the US.
I like that in Denmark our Folketing has the actual power. If enough people can agree on something it can be passed, no matter which parties are apart of the decision
Yes, that's a good thing about both countries.
Yeah, and if it's really needed, the parties can work together. I noticed when the Covid was on the highest level, the PM actually praised the opposition for good teamwork. Rarely heard in politics.
Exactly. Like how back in the previous decade the left wing parties were able to make a funding deal on improving the railways in Denmark called Togfonden together with Dansk Folkeparti, a pretty right wing party. Although they since then have left the agreement, and their ultimatum, a new railway line to Billund has been cancelled due to poor economics in the studies about it.
Still I don't think a government coalition across the middle would work out well at all, I'd much rather it be the current way where one side may agree with their collaborators and form a majority there, but if they can agree with the opposition on stuff they can make a deal with them for that one cause.
50K Was it? Any and every single one - was shut down by the Folketing....So...hvem vandt Arthur..folket eller MF'erne?
@@Gert-DK In Denmark most legislation is agreed by most of the Folketing, and the parties tries to make broad agreement, so they don't changed after an election. Everybody bend a little, to make a broad agreement, which than last for a long time.
Lately a traffic agreement with highways and trains - the lefties liked the trains, and the liberals the highway, but came together and made a negotiated law, with a broad backing, thus standig for the next 10 years or more
I lived in Texas in the early 90ties, when Ann Richards was governor. I met her a couple of times, and she seemed a very lovely, granmotherly lady. Then, in her tv campaign to get reelected there were these big cutouts of criminals, and she walked between them saying "I got this guy executed, and I got this guy executed. And this guy." For a Dane, this was a somewhat unsettling way of running for office.
Yeah, American politics in the 90s, especially around crime, is HARD to look at with a modern eye.
Texas is a red state. Texans tend to be plain speakers (blunt, often). I know some of them personally. Ann Richards hated crime and criminals.
@@SuiGenerisAbbie Texas may be a red state today, but it wasn't back then. Ann Richards was a Democrat and Pro-choice.
@@RobeTrotting
As an outsider, I still find it hard to watch.
And sadly, as you hinted at in the video, Danish politics is turning more and more in that direction.
Just like Truth is becoming political. Personal truth is often more important to politicians and voters, then Universal Truth.
@@soul0360 The truth is always hard to take.
It's still absolutely wild to me that you have to REGISTER to vote in the US. Why on Earth is it not just a right you're born with as a citizen of the country o.O
And sometimes the registration "disappears" so you can't vote when you show up. Besides I find it weird that you have to tell which party you belong to when you registrer.
It is a birth right. Problem is that with no folkeregister the government has no consistent way of locating people. Things like addresses for driver’s licences, car ownership papers, tax papers and such mean they probably could, but there’ll be privacy laws preventing the various agencies involved from sharing information. Main issue, of course, is Republicans actively trying to make it as difficult for some people to vote as possible, and the gerrymandering of districts so the votes of those who do manage count for less.
Because voting is considered a privilege, not an option
No CPR - so you need to register. Like that in most countries.
@@davidpax What!? That sounds very weird. I think the U.S.A. is not really a full democracy. A Presidential candidate can for instance win even if he has much fewer votes than his opponent. As far as I know Trump had about three million (!) less popular votes that Hillary Clinton. It all depends on WHERE the votes are cast.Absolutely hilarious.
Did you have to mention Manchin? West Virginia suffers already 😅
One of the weirdest differences in my opinion is the election of judges. It seems to me to be too political. A judge in Denmark is separated from politics as they should be. They are not judges because they are well-liked but on their merits and by their peers.
true. and we VERY clearly see that it is a dissaster atm clarence thomas especially ...
100% agreed - judges and sheriffs shouldn't be elected.
True. It is very hard to explain to Americans how utterly dysfunctional it is to openly speak of and campaign on the political orientation of judges.
They seem to have a hard time comprehending that it isn't seen as "normal" in functional democracies.
I think the difference is that in the US everyone can claim that a law is against the Constitution and then appeal all up to supreme court. Looks fair, but when supreme court judges are elected politically and can decide to interpret the Constitution in any way they like, it's all a mess. To my knowledge judges in local communities are elected too, meaning that they will interpret the law in a way that in line with those who financed their election campaign. So if a private (for profit) prison supports a judge, that judge may give long sentences to criminals, so the prison can make money.
By stating it in general do indicate you didn’t check, juridical elections is different from state to state, and even in a state there can be different ways of election or appointing judges for the different courts
My father was born in Denmark, myself from San Francisco, California. I spent four months every summer in Denmark with my grandmother and holidays until I was 18. I became very Danish. My mother was born in El Salvador which is where I live now with my husband. I have a farm that grows coffee and cacao (chocolate). I miss my Denmark roots more than you can imagine. When my grandmother passed on, she left me all her antique furniture. There is a container now transporting this from San Francisco to El Salvador. It is my goal to meld these antiques with the the plantation here that is almost a hundred years old. The container will arrive in two weeks. I would love to stay in contact with you two. I watched several of your videos and you really know more than I do when it comes to politics! Tak! Stephanie Andersen
What a great family story and legacy! Really cool for you to embrace your roots and hold onto your heritage more than most of us do :)
Having lived and worked for an extended lengh of time both in the US and Denmark, I am happy with the political system we have in Denmark. There is a reason the country ranks so high when mesured by living standards, happines, human rights and much more.
I am sad to see just about anything in the US has to do with power and money.
Elections are driven by influence bought by money, and fear is often used in elections retorik.
I am seriously concerned about the future of American democrazy going forward.
That's one of benefits for being a very small country - its easy to manage. That's is just like - Communism can work only in village size territory where everyone knows everyone. Try it in city and it fails.
And US, like every empire in history, is going trough its existential exam - will it fail and got F or will it success? And what happens in US is the dark side of democracy. Its inevitable for such size democracy-type country.
To us in EU would have the same kind of problems if we would become a single country.
yes I agree and gerrymandering districts too
We have a saying in Denmark that if you don't vote, you can't complain about what politics and laws that's being done. Of course that is a very simple way of thinking and there is a lot more to it than that but is a way of thinking that makes people voting - we want to have an influence and we believe it matters to vote.
For me personally, it is also a choice and a duty to vote because we are fortunate to live in a country where there is democracy and it is an honor when there is so many countries where it is not a possibility.
We have a similar saying in the States too - can't complain unless you vote or often it's also voiced as "don't blame me, I voted for (insert other politician's name)."
@Rune Kristensen Probably just the same then.
I feel like, if you do vote you can’t complain, because you supported this to begin with.
Not voting is a way of complaining. “Im not supporting this”
Every vote not cast is a vote for autocracy, we have a duty to vote (borgerpligt). Not voting is highly frowned upon, at least vote blank.
@@Danarcis
No its not and no we dont.
What is the point of voting for nobody?
Thank you so much for making this video! Super informative! Cheers from Copenhagen 👍
WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS VIDEO
Besides your excellent content, I really enjoy your editing and graphics/audio, great channel!
I must say I'm flattered and full of admiration how well you've studied our country.
Robe Trotting are smart fellows, and they've lived in Denmark for awhile so ... they have the knack of how to live like a Dane, or almost. They will have lived enough of what life is like over there, and learned all they need to know from experience, primarily.
@@SuiGenerisAbbie True, but living here doesn't seem enough. We have some "ethnic groups" that embrace the country a whole lot less.
@@yottaforce 'Tis true and applies to anywhere, yes?
@@SuiGenerisAbbie?
omg you made it!!!!!!!! thaaaank you so much!!! So excided to wach this!!!!!!!!!
Love that you also cover this topic :) Very well done!
It's actually 14 parties on vote this time:
1. If a political party get's less than 2% of the (adjusted) votes, then they're out!
2. You should mention that - despite of huge differences of opinions - basically all parties/parliament members respect and like each other ... no trench digging here. Check out this series of videos with a restaurant owner/youtuber invites (almost all) party-leaders for a short talk, and they all confirm this - quite cute danish.
Keep the good stuff coming on your channel ;)
Great video, guys! Thanks :^)
Every time I watch one of your videos, I learn something new 😊 Thank you ❤
You are so welcome! So nice to hear that 🤩
Great video, guys! It's refreshing to hear about our elections from an outside perspective. I feel compelled to point out, though, that Denmark doesn't have a "federal level" ( 6:03 ) since we're not a federation, but a unitary state. More appropriate to call it national level. Unlike the United States, our lower administrative subdivisions don't have constitutional power, like the states do in the US. In fact, even Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are the most autonomous subdivisions in the Kingdom can have their autonomy revoked by a single vote in parliament, whereas if someone tried to do that with a state or states in the US, it would be unconstitutional.
Well done! I'll show people this video next time I have to explain the voting system in Denmark. Thanks.
Think there is major difference between our kind of two blocks system vs the US two party system, although a lot of similarities aswell.
If you vote for democrat's in the US, there is no way of knowing if its the leftwing of the party or the rightwing that you voted for.
In Denmark despite us having two blocks, you know which parts of the blocks that people voted for and those parties can have more to say.
In the US selection within each block/party is done at the "primaries", but once done, voters cannot choose between a centrist R, a Tea R or a Trump R, they have to choose between the primary winning R and the primary winning D.
Indeed, and also our government is often a minority government made up of the 2-3 largest parties of their block, they're then surrounded by supporting parties of the block, those don't get any ministries etc. But of course they have a vote in parliament.
And that brings me to the thing about the flexible voting day... If the parliament can gather a majority for an early election (perhaps if one or two of the supporting parties lose confidence in the government), they can do that, and the sitting government can't do anything about it.
Since we don't have fixed terms or dates, it can happen anytime. All we have is a max term length.
This also gives supporting parties more leverage when negotiating.
Theoretically US is multi party system. Its just happens so that Dems and Reps are the two biggest-ones.
@@Girtuczi Indeed, there's no limit how many parties there can be. But many states have a winner-takes-all construction, which makes it pointless to be the third largest party of the state, which in turn means that everyone who voted for the 3rd largest party have their vote wasted.
So it encourages people to vote for those that actually have a chance to win. Thus it becomes a de-facto two party system.
@@Girtuczi The first past the post voting system prevents any 3rd party from doing anything but damage the most similar of the 2 big ones. Only the complete collapse of a major party will allow a new one to succeed, and that hasn't happened for more than 100 years. This is how the rise of any new ideology like the T+T movement can only succeeded by hijacking an existing party, in that case the Republicans.
3:36 "2. do you have an address in Denmark?" This makes it a lot easier but is not required, if you are "without address" and still live in Denmark (Like someone who is Homeless) you may still vote in the Municipality of your last known "place of residence", in Copenhagen you vote at the "town hall" not sure if that's the same for other Municipalities'.
3:38 "You get a card in the mail" This makes it a lot easier but is also not required, a replacement card can be made where you need to cast your vote.
This was great explanation. Learned a lot today.
Thank you so much, really glad that you enjoyed it :)
@@RobeTrotting I love hearing and seeing Americans' videos about life in countries, other than America. After all, I won't be living abroad, so I like to see and hear, as much as I can, about what life is like for those people who are living abroad.
I love the joke that Denmark can arrange an new election faster than you are able to book a social event with your friends.
I think this is why we normally vote on tuesdays. If it had been the weekend we would never be able to settle on a date.
I wouldn't say that the politicians in Denmark campaign constantly. But we do like our political debates on tv. Personally I think it's good, that we see our politicians almost daily, so we can hold them accountable for what they're doing. Also, the past couple of years with Covid has sparked a lot of extra political debate here, as you've probably noticed :p
Really good editing as of late
Thanks so much! We have been getting editing help since March, and will share the feedback :)
Didn't hear a thing you said, sorry, but does that shirt say "I beg your Parton"? ❤️
I think I read somewhere that the reason for US elections always being held on a tuesday is that people needed extra time to travel to voting places i.e sunday being a day of whorship, monday being for travel and tuesday for voting. Is that true?
Also the thing you mentioned with gerrymandering seems so strange for a dane.
Love your vids.
Let start with the fundamental differences in no particular order:
We trust the system.
We have the common vote (true democracy).
There are no districts and therefor no Gerrymandering.
The courts stay far away from elections. I can not remember an election where there were any court involvement (59 years).
In Denmark we have national and local elections completely separated. So right now we have the national election at a later time (every 4'th year) we have the local elections.
In Denmark there are 14 parties on the ballot in this election. Not two (plus independent) parties like in the US (the functional and the dysfunctional).
I dare anyone to take up residence inside or outside the election places in Denmark. They will be promptly removed.
In Denmark there are no lines outside or inside the voting places. I have set aside 20 minutes (plus transportation) to vote today.
We have no one like Trump in Danish politics and he would be done in Danish politics after the Hollywood tapes were revealed.
A educational video on roman vs common law could also be interesting.
Basically it's about what is prioritized. Trying to figure out what the legislators intentions was through notes from the legislation process or precedence from higher courts. Both systems look at both, but it's about what is prioritized. Both systems have cons and pros. With common law you don't need the same support staff to write legislation since they will figure it out in the legal system, so maybe legislators are a bit more free to act on behalf of their mandate without the intervention of professionals. The problem is that legal fictions like qualified immunity can become law without any legislator ever voting for it.
Wauw, you are sharp
Thank you :)
Foreigners with a permanent address in Denmark can vote in local elections, but last I heard, you still have to be a citizen in order to vote for Folketinget - the Danish parliament.
Thats true, as å Norwegian living in Denmark i cant vote for Folketinget, only kommunevalg.
From what i see, although both parties in the US are basically coalitions, it can be very top controlled and with a lot of party loyalty. Like how some are getting excluded if they don't fall in line. With a multiple party system, although there's coalitions, each party still have their own interests to fight for. If a supporting party is overlooked, it can sometimes cause then to pull their support from the governing party. Sometimes that can mean the governing party or parties, no longer have the majority and will be forced to call an election, because they'll be unable to pass many policies (unless they could get a majority with the opposition to pass the bills, which they often can't in such scenarios).
So multiple parties helps balance some of the power away. And it also gives voters a better way to "punish" bad political practices, by voting for a different party, without having to go completely against their views
In Denmark there is no gerrymandering.
One advantage of having a lot of parties, over internal variation within just 2 parties, is that it makes it harder to lump all of the people you disagree with together as "the others", which can remove a lot of animosity.
As an example of that, there is a real sense of being colleagues. Members of your own party are competitors, whereas your political opponents within your area, e.g. the traffic spokesperson, is your colleague who you work with on legislation
Well done guys, very comprehensive!
I agree, there has been more drama up to the 2022 election in Denmark, this time around, but I think it will be 'hot air' by closing poll on Nov.1
Sure we have new parties popping up, but you still only have 1 vote, so the parties on the right, will be diluting themselves, most likely with only 1, maybe 2 of the parties, getting the majority of the vote
We shall see...
hello from Hundested 🌸🌱
I haven’t watched this yet. But to be fair, elections in USA versus elections *anywhere else*. 😅 I find the electoral system in the USA unfathomable. So I’m going to watch this and learn. ❤️
Although once thing is better in the US (in many US States): ballot initiatives and referendums. Basically changing the way elections work can happen from a direct proposition made by non-professional non-elected citizens. This is happening, slowly… with ranked-choice voting. In Denmark (and in most EU countries) the change can only come from elected people and is therefore very unlikely to happen if it doesn’t benefit directly the elected people. Denmark was lucky enough to start with a great system in 1849, but it has barely evolved since then. The US started much worse, but positive evolutions happened since then thanks to the ballot initiative, like the direct election of senators.
I'm very curious about how the politicians in Denmark become recognized and get their messages out to voters if TV and Radio ads are banned. I realize I'm a month late to this video but would love to get an answer to this. Thank you!
Regardless of the pesky details and nuances of the US legislative system, to an outsider like me there is one glaring fact the outweighs everything else: It does not work, it is catatonic. VERY LITTLE LEGISLATION SEEMS TO PASS AT ALL! The will of the people is NOT reflected in the few bills that actually make it past the corrupt Senate.
Weird how the nation that was our role model 70 years ago has descended into a corrupt chaos.
I think there are two main differences in terms of government structure that you did not touch upon. One is concerning the party votes and the power that even smaller parties have which also related to why it can take a while to form a government. Every party on one side is needed to form a majority. If one party is not content with how the government is run they can topple it by drawing out of the government and then an election will almost automatically result from this. This happened this time around, which is why the election is held early. One of the parties, Radikale Venstre, for various reasons, said they would pull out of the government if an election was not held before the end of the year. This is one of the main reasons that the multiple party system works. It will always be a balancing act and all parties in power, almost entirely regardless of size, are able to opt out of government and force a new election if they are unsatisfied with how the government is run.
The second is the general ideological differences in population. The conservative party in Denmark very much corresponds to the democratic party in the US. The democratic party in the US then, spans everything from European conservatives all the way to the borderline communist voters. In other words, the entire government body in Denmark would fall under the democratic party. Arguably, this makes cross border politics a lot easier to manage.
Lastly, side note that has no point but is just interesting, the majority of Danish voters vote for party, not people.
Compared to Dutch and Belgian coalition formations 20 days is really short! I remember being governed by lame duck parliaments for months. ;-) I enjoyed your video!
The late great George Carlin, said a few things about elections. One thing he never complained about, was politicians.
You get, what you vote for: "Garbage in - garbage out!" 😁
LOL yes - he was the best!
@@RobeTrotting My father adored George Carlin.
Denmark 2022: Tuesday, 1 November
I think that the biggest difference between american and danish elections is that, from watching MSNBN that there is much division between democratic and repuplican voters. People are really in their threnches and even though the voters are presented with facts that contradicts lies from a candidate it does not sway voters, they are still gonna vote for their preferred political party and candidate. I get the sence that no matter how hypocritical Herschel Walker gets, people are still gonna vote for him. No matter how racist and anti-immigration Ron deSantis is, with his expensive political stunts or how he fails to help floridians under hurricane Ian, who has lost their houses and livelyhood, people are still gonna vote for him. In Denmark we have mayors, not govenor, but they cant make laws to suppress voting rights for certaint segment of the population, like the governor of Georgia. In Denmark you will not have a prime minister who refuses to acknowledge defeat, and instigate a violent insurrection insted of a peacefull transfer of power. You will not have election liers on the ballot, candidates who refuses to say beforehand that they will accept the outcome of an election. Danes would not stand for that. I dont know why there is that difference, maybe because we are a smaller country, all danish citizen have axcess to a higher education and historically us danes has undergone a democratic process where the people has been commited to the preserving of voting rights and democracy. We have fought very hard for those rights. Especially the workers and women.
Why is Ron DeSantis racist? You seem very out of touch.
had my suspicions about how Borgen would be translated by google, and yes Borgen becomes Morgan :)
I would looove if you could watch and review The “riget” (kingdom) TV Series 😍😍😍
it seems to me you forgot to mention kommunevalg ? at least in your graphics
This is an interresting video about the election system in the US and Denmark. Basically the system here in Germany is the same as in Denmark. What I'm wondering is about the voter turn out. Here in Germany it is a little less then in Denmark, and it also is different if it is a vote for either the city/village you live in, the Bundesland (like Schleswig-Holstein for me), the government in Berlin or the European parlament.
You said it was about 67% in the 2020 elections. My question is this: Does that mean 67% of all Americans who are able to vote, or does it mean 67% of those who actually register to vote? And how many % of those who are able to vote do register?
I know it seems to be crazy to register and then not vote, but well people are crazy sometimes...
Fun fact: Most of the parties on the red bloc in Denmark, with the exceptions of Alternativet and Radikale Venstre, was originally all part of a single party known as the Socialdemokratiske Folkeparti. It eventually split up, after the socialists couldn't agree with the communists, and the latter then formed the DKP or the Danish Communist Party (Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti). The DKP eventually disbanded and some of its former members got together with more left leaning socialists and formed the current party "Enhedslisten". But before that happened, there was another split in the original party, which led to the formation of Socialdemokratiet and Socialistisk Folkeparti respectively. These splits did though happen super early on, so it isn't evident in the governing body anywhere, but it is part of the history. Socialdemokratiet, who also just won this election, had their first prime minister in 1924 and his name was Thorvald Stauning. Stauning is so far the only Danish Prime Minister who have died while in office. He died of a heart attack and was found lumped over in his office on the 3rd of may, 1942.
Another fact, although less fun: When the socialist movement first began in Denmark, it was originally outlawed by the opposing bloc, who already sat in the parliament. But because such a move was unconstitutional, it was eventually undone by the courts, although it took some time as the opposing bloc also had friends in the courts, just like the socialists had. I am personally a member of the youth organisation that supports Socialdemokratiet (DSU - Danmarks Socialdemokratiske Ungdom) and we still have all of our traditional red flags that we historically used with the worker unions to block off businesses and go on strike for proper wages and better worker rights. And we still use them and sing all the old worker songs. It's a lot of fun, really.
If you have any questions regarding the difference between Communism and Socialism, just ask. Cause there's a lot, despite American media having a tendency to say that there isn't. There is, just like there's a difference between feudalism, liberalism and imperialism.
Basically: In the US it's not considered cheating to abuse and exploit loopholes in the rules.
What I think is strange is that the elections are in middle of the week when most people work. In Sweden the election are on a sunday,.
Looking forward to a wedding video 😊📸
Yes, next week I think!
Great video guys but you forgot the election for the European parliament:)
We tried to keep it focused on the two elections coming up (or happening at this very moment haha) in each country.
@@RobeTrotting ah okay fair enough! Have a good day, eat some valgflæsk haha
In Australia it's compulsory to vote in federal and state elections but not in local council elections. After 18 you must vote and you should change your address at federal level for elections if you move to a different voting area. Failing to vote you will be fined but I think it's under $100 fine.
Sweden had it's election in September, 84,2% of eligible voters voted. Sweden's voting is very similar to Denmark's. And in Sweden elections are held on the second Sunday in september every 4 years.
Thanks for the video. I just want to point out one thing. Your explanation on how a government is formed after an election is confusing two things: Forming the legislative branch and forming the executive branch. You’re describing the former when it comes to America, but the latter when it comes to Denmark. A more appropriate comparison would be to describe how the President as head of government sets up his cabinet. The Folketing organizes itself after an election apart from the process you’re describing - it has nothing to do with the Queen’s round. I understand you’re trying to cover a lot in a short time, but there’s a big difference between the legislative and executive branches.
If you get above the 2% limit you will automatically recieve at least 4 seats in Folketinget. In theory there would not necsesarily have to be a Dronningerunde. If the majority in Folketinget accepted, Mette could just reform her governement (likely with pariticipation from other parties). But as the Radikale will insist, this is theoretical.
The system in the USA is about dilution of power, as a reaction to a Monarchy, government by one person. To get anything done requires insider horse trading, with all the opportunities for self interest.
Denmark is, in essence, about consensus, reflecting the overall will of the people.
Great video - as always ✨✨✨
One question though ☺️ Why do Americans accept a system that allows changes / new laws to be made (at state level) which sole purpose is to prevent certain citizens to opportunity to vote - thinking for instance about what happened to the indigenous population in North Dakota (I think it was) at a reservation - a law was made that said you had to have an address with a street name and number before you were allowed to vote - and none of them had that because that was not how it was set up at the reservation. And the Republicans in charge knew it would be votes going to a Democrat (and the female candidate would probably win with these votes) and therefore they tried to stop these people from voting.
That doesn’t seem very democratic 🤔
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts 💭
Best regards Malene
A little addition: you don't need an address to vote. You do need to be registered as a citizen in a city, thus also homeless and people in-between homes can vote at their city council building.
The biggest problem in Denmark (and probably in many other countries as well) is that politics has become a career. Politicians are not invested in regular people’s lives. They have their own class and protect their own interests.
Ideally politicians would just be regular citizens doing 4 or 8 years of service and then go back their normal lives again, which they hopefully improved during their tenure.
@@KurtFrederiksen Yes, I agree politicians have always belonged to their own class, but politics has become professionalized to a degree never before seen.
My main point was not a historical review of politics, but how the parliamentary system ought to work.
With the way things are running now, politicians will sometime pass bills that are directly against the interest of the people, such as “mørklægningsloven”. Its not healthy for a democracy.
It seems weird to call it the biggest problem, when globally we are the least affected by this.
As a curiosum, a 1/3 minority of Parliament can suspend a recently passed law, putting it up for a referendum (Danish Constitution § 42). This has only ever happened once, in 1963.
I think somethings wrong with the two chamber-system like in US/UK. Both ends up with only two parties - and that isn't a healthy democracy in my mind.
The bicameral (two chamber) system doesn’t create the two party system in the US/UK. Germany has a two chamber system but many more parties. The two party dynamic arises from the obsolete first past the post electoral system in use in both countries. This means that voting for a party in 3rd place nationally is about as effective in getting people elected as setting fire to your ballot. So most of the time you end up not really voting for a particular party but rather voting against a party. In the UK I have always been voting to oppose a Tory and rarely had the chance to vote for Labour. The other thing they really skated over was that in a first past the post system the geographical distribution of votes matters and by changing the boundaries of electoral divisions you can drastically change the outcome of an election without altering a single vote.
For instance in 2020 Trump got more votes in LA county than in Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota combined however those republicans in the 3 states elected 6 senators and 3 representatives between them while the LA county republicans elected nobody, far worse the 4 times as many people who voted Democrat in LA county also elected no senator and probably fewer representatives.
Hi. We have 4 Layers. Kommune, Region, Folketing and the EU parlement 😊
In the Folketing, are members of parliament allowed to vote contrary to how their party wants them to vote on a specific bill or are they normally expected to vote the party line? Can they be ejected from their party if they refuse to vote the party line.
In the US Congress there is nothing that requires Senators and Representatives to vote the way their party wants them to. They can vote however they want to each bill, and as long as the people from their area want that person to represent that party, then they can't be ejected from the party.
@Stephen Gallagher Of course they are "expected" to vote along Party lines. But it is not "required by law". Indeed it is stated in § 56 of our Danish Constitution , that elected Members of Parliament are only required to follow their own conscience. But yes, Parties can eject Members from their Party, but since once elected, the "mandate" stays with the individual Member ( NOT the Party! ), it is more common, that Members switch between Parties. ( and takes their "mandate" with them). Happens every circle, and is part of the political "game" at this point.
@@k7u5r8t4 In the US, politicians cannot be ejected from a party for voting a certain way or voting against the party line. If the voters in a certain geographic area choose a person to be the candidate for a certain party representing that party from their area then he or she is a member of that party. This means that you will have people in the US Congress who come from oppposite ends of the same party frequently voting differently from each other, regardless of how that party’s majority wants to vote.
@@SCGMLB To have a functional Democracy ( "getting things done"! ), there needs to be a certain amount of Party disciplin. So the things passed can be trusted to last beyond the next election. We have "multiple candidate Districts", so when people vote, they do not only look at the individual quality of the candidates, but also which Party they represent. It is not a system of the elected having to represent everybody in a "single candidate District" like in USA. If they leave Parliament for whatever reason, the "mandate" goes to the next in line from the same Party ( personal votes in latest election). But as long as they stay in, the "mandate" stays with them, even if they switch Party.
@@k7u5r8t4 Oh, I’m not criticizing it, I’m praising it. While the US government system does have some pluses, one of its minuses is that if one party decides to dig in its heels, then nothing gets done. Even if one party holds both houses and the presidency, the fact that there is such a wide spread of opinions within eavh party plus every vote being a free vote often leads to nothing getting done.
@@SCGMLB Surprise, surprise (!?!), already now, six days after the election, the first Member has left the Party she was elected through! Her partner assaulted another person at their election night party ( and not for the first time, apparently ), and she decided to leave the Party ( the most right-leaning nationalist conservative anti immigration Party "Nye Borgerlige" ). They want her to give up her "mandate", so the next in line from that Party can get in. But so far she stays in Parliament The trumpian cirkus is spreading!
For what it's worth, Denmark had a two chamber government system until 1953 where elections worked very similar to the US with representatives and all the BS that comes with that. The constitution was changed in 1953 and made Folketinget the only chamber. Up until 1915 only men were eligible to vote, but since then the primary rule is that any citizen over 18 may vote, even if they don't live in Denmark, but there are some exceptions. But only citizens may vote for the parliament, while everyone over 18 may vote for the regional and kommune elections. When it comes to how Folketinget work, the "spokesperson" of Folketinget is supposed to represent the monarch and all laws are supposed to be created together with the monarch, but that's not how they work and the "spokesperson" generally only serves to ensure everyone in Folketinget wait their turn to talk. They also try to exclude the monarch as much as possible and there is a common misconception that the queen is not allowed to have an opinion, which is not true. Folketinget is supposed to work with the queen to rule the country, not without her, but the anti-royalists thinks folketinget should have more power, even though they already have too much power.
There have been calls to have more laws put up for public voting as the politicians frequently forget that they're supposed to represent the people and that their personal agenda is irrelevant when the people don't approve of what they're doing, but generally speaking they won't put a law up for voting when they know no one would ever vote for it, just like the only laws that come up for public voting are ones where they're certain we'll vote yes. Which then backfires when we vote no, which results in the government either ignoring the result (like they frequently do with the parliament election) or they redo the election - you may want to look up what happened on 18 May 1993 when the government failed to understand that no means no. Laws that concern anything to do with finances may not be put up for public voting, which is why stupid laws exist, like the media law that forces everyone to pay to DR. DR is a whole other kettle of fish, which boils down to the fact the governement made a law that allows DR to exist even though its very existence violates several other laws regarding freedom of speech and how state companies may be operated when they're in competition with private companies
You should try and go to Sønderjylland
I didn't realise foreigners could vote in Danish elections. Presumably you can also still vote in US elections?
Foreigners cannot vote.
You have to be at least 18 years old, have permanent residence in Denmark and be a danish citizen.
Someone born in another country but has become a danish citizen can obviously vote in Denmark.
Currently we can vote in the kommune and regional elections in DK (but not in state and local elections in the US) and we can vote in federal elections in the US (but not parliament in Denmark). So we are covered fully haha.
They cant. You need to have danish citizenship to vote In the general election
When will you launch your Danish Christmas ornament-large red heart shape with white Danish flag stripes❤🇩🇰
Glad that this election campaign has not been characterized so much by mudslinging, and Person giggles. But has been reasonably nice and has been about politics.
I don't quite agree... There has been quite a lot of slinging especially about the whole mink case. I remember Søren Pape trying a little whataboutism when asked to apologise for his Greenland comment. Thankfully he is now yesterdays news as a PM candidate with a meager 5,8 in the polls. So I guess, you're right. Slinging doesn't help you in Danish politics...
4:48
Or you know, if you're actually supporting one of the 64 other current political parties in the US (there's 66 in total including the Republicans and Democrats).
But with the first past the post a vote for say the Green party or the Communist party USA is more likely to lead to a Republican winning a seat, and likewise a vote for the Constitution party etc is likely to lead to a seat for the Democrats...
And voters who say are socially conservative but economically left wing (so "pro-life" but also supporting universal health care as a example) don't have a viable political party to go for...
Good video. There is also a difference in how voting is conducted between the US and Denmark.
In Denmark the elections is all done on paper, the votes are secret in the no one can see who votes what - when voting one fills out a ticket by marking with a pencil and then drops ones ticket into a box. Then once the voting place closes, those tickets are counted by hand and the counting is done by volunteers from the different parties - with the tickets being on paper doing recounts is easy should they be needed, only recounts is really only done if the results are really close.
All in all everything is done in an orderly fashion. There is no dirty tricks with one party trying to make voting difficult in some areas or anything like that, also standing in lines for hours to vote is not a thing - mostly waiting is like a minute or two up to maybe half an hour at the most.
I actually think that the last election in Denmark (in 2019) was more dramatic and toxic than the one we just had. I've noted that a lot of the many candidates have been civil in the debates and usually kept to the topic at hand.
But then again I haven't seen all the debates, so I might not be wrong.
Edit: changed 2017 to 2019, when the last election was actually held.
The last election in denmark was 2019 though
@@LisafSchmidt - yes of course you're right. I have no idea why I wrote 2017. Post edited.
9:20 in Denmark they don't need a majority by themselves, they just cannot have a majoriy against them.
The voter participation; How is that calculated in the US? Is it % of people that are registered or ?. How big a % of US citizens that could be registered are actually registered? I mean if it is on 60% of the entire amount of voters that are registered, then 67% of 60% of possible voters are a VERY low turnout.
It's quite literally what we said in the video - 66% of eligible voters (citizens aged 18 and older) so 240 million people were eligible and 158 million people voted.
US ev two ys what's that?
The strange thing with Denmark, being a European country, is that the election day is THUESDAY. In Sweden, Germany, France and most other countries (not the U.K.) elections have always been held on SUNDAYS. That is much better because it is not an ordinary working day for most people.
In the Netherlands it’s on a weekday, but polling places are open for many hours, like 7 am - 9 pm. In the main cities some clubs have a polling place that opens at midnight, large train stations have polling booths so people can vote on their way to or from work, and some historic buildings that aren’t all open to the public normally have polling booths too. This in addition to the usual local schools and such. Lots of effort go into making it easy and attractive for people to vote. Still, fewer people vote in NL than in DK.
@@rdklkje13 In Sweden, were I live, elections are always on Sundays and has been as long there have been general elections I think. But there also many places there you vote in advance. Some weeks before and up to election day. If you regret your vote, you can vote one more time on election day. When counting, your "pre-vote" is cancelled and the last one is counted.
Does Sweden have a higher votingrate than Denmark? I mean 85% is pretty high..
Very interesting, but you have forgotten the Danish elections forcthe European parliament. The EU parliament approves many laws or directives that are crucial for our everyday life in all the EU states such regarding environmental , telecommunication, consumerism rights and even how all chargers gotta be c-usb cables even for iPhones ;P
EU is purely a market standization power, EU cannot execute any national legislations. It is purely a system of standardization, like the US has standizations across its 50 states.
The major difference is. In America the politicians are there for their own gain, or at least for their states gain. Its all about getting as much out of the federal levels and in to your own pockets (State level) as possible. Very few works for the wellbeing of the nation and its population.
Where in Denmark is about the state and the people. Its not about lining your own pockets (area wise.) as it is in America. So where American politicians are very self focused, the ones in Denmark work mostly for the common people and the nation as a whole.
That is why we elect them. Not course they are good at bedazzling us with fine words, but due to how we think they will perform for us and our nation. And if they fail? Then lucky for us 4 years later we can kick them out of office.
You forgot to tell that danish elections for Kommune and Region are fixed every 4 years like elektions in US. Only elections for Folketing does not have fixed dates.
Nothing is being done long term, because you do not plan long term, always election time, not in Denmark.
You forgot something VERY different, the guvernment employees, are the same that work for the head of state no matter what political side, right or left the person is from.
@B. Andresen Just to clarify. Our Head of State is Queen Margrethe II. I assume you mean the PM and the Government in general?
I can't vote in this election in Denmark. Because I'm not a danish citizen. I can only vote in local elections (as is the rule for Nordic citizen / EU citizen). I'm not sure when next local election is going to be in Denmark.
Kommunevalg I am guessing you are thinking of.
It is to be held every 4 years in november, and since last time was 2021, next time will be 2025, then 2029, 2033, 2037, 2041, 2045, do you get the idea?
Winner takes all systems always have only 2 major parties, and one or more smaller without any significant influence.
True, and a red bloc and blue bloc back and forth is similar, plus one party pulling out of government can dissolve it. Those things are also imperfect.
What I will say about the party situation, is that when you have that many parties in one blog, we don’t have the same mentality as some Americans were the other party is “ruining the country” and what ever else.
Sure you their might be some parties you don’t like, but you can’t say the country is ruined by them. There are too many parties to blame anything on just one.
The automatic voter registration depends on compulsory registration of domicile, something that doesn't go down easily with the american mindset.
Even before talking about the un-democratic electoral college and winner-takes-all, it's already super demotivating to vote in the US :/
Why?
@@RobeTrotting Registration, number of places to vote etc.
This was nicely explained but i do think you forgot to mention that for a law to pass you need 90 people(magurity rules) to agree to a vote in the folketing.. having said that normally the party dictates what there policy is within that party and the members need to follow that line or there could be trouble in the party. The goverment cant have a magurity against them or they need to issue election. Sometimes the party sets there members free to vote like they want but it dont happen often. its called party discipline.
It's "majority"...
@@MmmLentils i am very sorry English is not my first language.
Something about danish politics and society that I feel is important to mention is the media and education system.
Obviously some news papers and magazines lean in certain directions and stuff, but stuff like the news aren’t allowed to have a clear political opinion. Heck they have to keep all of their personal opinion on a situation as far away from their documentation as possible. (Unless it’s something tragic, like a natural disaster or mass shooting or something. Then they can send their thoughts to the victims or such.) they are there to give facts. Nothing else. Basically something like Fox News wouldn’t last a day if it was broadcast in Denmark.
Second is the education system. I don’t know how that is taught in America. However as a danish high-school student., I know a little about that. We are taught about the spectrum of the parties. Where on the spectrum each land. The different theories on how a party works doing electing season, and also get a general understanding of the current political climate. Once again, the teacher can’t be too personal on their own opinion. Not as “they can’t express any opinion” but more like they have to be critical of every party. Even the one they voted for. If a party did something great, they can only praise them from a non-personal standpoint. Just today, my teacher complimented our prime minister for being able to turn around all the hate she had gotten in the last few years, and make it the best election her party has had in 20 years. That type of praise they can give, as long as it isn’t personal.
Everybody follow the concerned Yt vids. Once started they come in a row
I was disappointed with the candidates and platforms this time around, personally.. Every party has at least a few things I feel uneasy with. It's sad when I feel like I have to look for "the least egregious politician" to vote for. But I'm thankful that at least there's enough competition between them that they keep each other in line a bit. I just wish they'd stop infringing on individual freedoms & undermining each other when something actually works (cough hospitals).
"First past the post" or the USA.
One of these will survive.
@ Dear Robe Trotting - parties white 2,0% or more have a minimum of four seeds, the only way that a party can have lees than four seeds, is if the party got one or more regional -seeds, but did not get over
Did you mention how Danish people vote, using old school pencil and paper (no hacking possible)? This has worked for a century.
Many european countries have old school voting boxes like that, however :)
The two senators per state is ridiculous. The fact that Rhode Island and California have the same amount of senators is mind blowing. It should be a senator per a certain amount of people in their state
The same election system is in almost in every european countries. And the goverment is formed from 2 to 5 different parties. That is democracy.
Like in Finland and Sweden even if one party is so called 'winner', they cannot form the goverment alone.
I am looking at it all from a Dutch perspective, because I am from Holland...
An issue with the Danish system are voter suppression. They have become so harsh on immigrants that it is near impossible to become Danish. Even the right wing candidates are starting to see that something's off. There are so many people that speak Danish as their first language and have always lived in Danmark and simply can't get a passport. Because they still were in school at the moment they had to send the application. Because they had a speeding ticket for going 5 kmh over the limit. Of course this touches on the general racist or immigrant-unfriendly attitudes that sadly also many red parties have adopted.
And apparently Danes can't vote if they live abroad. I don't know if that's unfair, but it's strange. It simply doesn't work like that in other countries.
Other things are just better in Danmark. It looks like parties need to register (and find enough support) to be on the ballot before an election is called, so elections can be held within a month. Over here when an election is called, new parties still get the opportunity to sign up, so it's a very slow process.
And it takes months and months to from a new government coalition in NL, apparently in DK they do it in weeks. That's brilliant.
But the red/blue system may have a downside as well - if parties are tied together that way you can form a government quickly, but there won't be as much room for change, maybe.
NL isn’t much better, though. If you want to vote for the national and provincial governments you need to be a Dutch citizen, which for many years now has meant you need to give up all other citizenships you may have. So many people live in NL too, for decades, without being able to vote for anything other than local councils and the water boards (and maybe the EU parliament).
While it’s insanely difficult to become a Danish citizen indeed, at least you now get to keep your other citizenships if you do manage (as far as DK is concerned at least). And Danish citizens living in countries that accept dual/multiple citizenships can now go ahead and become citizens in those countries without loosing their Danish passport.
Of course, both countries should open up national elections to all long-term residents.
3:40 Do you have citizenship?
10% of adults in Denmark do not have the right to vote due to a lack of citizenship - many of which were born and have lived their whole lives in Denmark. In the 90s the number was 2%. The increase is primarily caused by increasingly harsher rules and barriers surrounding citizenship in the 2010s. In Copenhagen, 1/5 or 20% of adults aren't allowed to vote
remember you don't have to vote for the lesser evil....
vote cthulhu....
Sometimes, he seems like the lesser evil…
🐙✅
The sound is not so good. It is a shame because I really like to here what you say. Thank you for some interesting videos 👍😊
2% is four seats. That's the lowest a party can get if in the Folketing.
And 90 seats not voting against you makes you Prime Minister. Basically "negative parlimentarism", if that makes any sense..?
If not: The distinction between positive and negative parliamentarism relies on the way parliament is involved in the government formation process: countries where the government needs to win an investiture vote are said to have positive parliamentarism, while countries in which the government just needs to be tolerated by parliament are said to have negative parliamentarism.
This is fx why Socialdemokratiet has all the ministers atm. Until Radikale Venstre had enough and demanded an election, if they were to not draw their mandates in backing of the government (leaving them with less than the 90 mandates needed).
@@swagbag1835 Actually leaving them with 90 votes against. B threatened to make a vote of no confidence during the opening debate that's 2 days after the state of the union. So S's PM called the election on the day in between, thus canceling the debate and vote.
@@johndododoe1411 That's what I said (hence negative parliamentarism). 🙂👍
Great video guys except for one thing, the guy in the striped shirt please keep your head still, you are constantly looking back and forth between the camera and your co host, it is extremly annoying.