New York Times (November 26)
“Citizens voted overwhelmingly for pro-democracy candidates” in Hong Kong’s local election this Sunday. “If the Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping had thought that there was a silent majority opposed to the disruptive protests, the turnout and result made clear that a vast majority of Hong Kongers treasure their relative freedoms and have no intention of letting Beijing whittle them away.”
Tags: Candidates, China, Citizens, Election, Hong Kong, Leadership, Overwhelmingly, Pro-democracy, Protests, Turnout, Vote, Xi
New York Times (November 12)
Only 36.3% of U.S. voters even bothered to vote in last week’s election. “The abysmally low turnout in last week’s midterm elections — the lowest in more than seven decades — was bad for Democrats, but it was even worse for democracy. In 43 states, less than half the eligible population bothered to vote, and no state broke 60 percent.”
New York Times (May 22)
With nearly 400 million voters registered, the European Parliament elections “are second only to India’s in size.” Yet low turnout may result in the election of “fringe parties whose ultimate goal is to dismantle the very union they’re supposed to be serving.” This would be regrettable. “The problems that Europe has endured in the past five years demonstrate that the need for European unity is greater than ever, and despite what the nationalists and populists argue, these elections matter all the more.”
Tags: Elections, EU, Europe, Fringe, India, Nationalists, Parliament, Populists, Registered, Turnout, Union, Voters