Canadian Systems

[Marburg]

but, what WAS/IS a democracy then?

[hijack]

In the dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

People in this country (especially the politians) like to throw that word around alot, but America is not a democracy it's a republic.

Now, if we dump the electoral college, we might get around to that democracy thing.

The Electoral College is the body of representatives which formally elects the President and Vice President of the United States.

Rather than directly voting for the President and Vice President, U.S. citizens cast votes for electoral college representatives, known as electors. While electors are theoretically free to vote for the candidate of their choice, in practice they pledge to vote for specific candidates.

So,

A republic is a state or country that is not led by a hereditary monarch but in which the people (or at least a part of its people) have impact on its government. The word originates from the Latin term res publica which translates as "public thing" or "public matter".

[/hijack]

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