While presumably the gods (or a single god) might choose the best administrator, perhaps they’ll select the most pious instead. Would that be a form of merit selection instead?

Here’s a fun plot: the gods used to choose but they’ve (been busy, distracted by some god war, been rubberstamping the selection process) and haven’t been paying attention. People got used to doing the selecting; either becoming corrupt or figuring if the gods objected they’d say something. Then the new ruler is being selected and the gods point out their choice. What do the people do? Listen to their gods or go with the previous selection?

I should also point out that in most pack and herd animals, election by achievement is the norm. Defeating the current leader (alpha male, herd female, etc.) is the surest means to securing a position of authority. Most likely this is how the more monstrous races in a fantasy setting (be they orc or goblin or what have you) might select a leader but it would be an interesting twist to have a test of skill or wits in an advanced society as well – perhaps a wizard’s duel to determine the head of the arcane society is held once every century or so.
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The difference between US politics and those of nations where voting is manditory is always an interesting subject to discuss, but I don’t recall ever hearing of any firm conclusions, except that the American political parties spend a lot of money every time convincing people to vote, while in manditory-voting countries, the equivalent amount is spent trying to convince an undecided middle ground between the two parties.

Finally, I know from personal experience that an hour is sometimes not long enough – you can wait in the queue that long or more – though again, this might be different in a voluntary-voter system. Furthermore, a lot of poorer people can’t afford to take that hour off because it is without pay. So the poor are also under-represented at the polling stations. Further, the poorest people in the country, as a class, are minorities – Black and Hispanic – so these are even more under-represented than they would be.

In Australia, the common practice is to work a half-day on Saturdays, and the polling booths open early in the morning (6 AM) and close late in the evening (about 5 or 6 PM); and if one might possibly be working all day, or on holidays overseas, or whatever votes can be cast in advance by postal and absentee ballot. Records show that these are generally biased toward the party currently in government – and I believe the same pattern is observed elsewhere in the world. That’s not to say our system is perfect – it isn’t (don’t get me started).

None of which is directly relevant to the article, which isn’t about how the US runs things, but how they might be run differently in a country within a Fantasy RPG – though it’s useful information for anyone running a modern or near-future campaign, especially if they aren’t from America.

Any citizen over the age of 18, who is registered with the State in which they are considered a resident, and has not been convicted of a felony can vote. Because we’re (Federally speaking) a Representative Democracy with Representatives selected at the State level casting the actual votes for leadership, it is the States who determine voter eligibility, not the Federal Government.

In the past voting was more restrictive, but these restrictions (most agreed at the State level) have subsequently been removed by means of Constitutional Amendments. In the early years of the Republic, the eligible electorate consisted primarily of white, male, property owners. States gradually relaxed property-ownership requirements until all males of twenty-one years or more were allowed to vote. After the Civil War, the right to vote was extended to all citizens, regardless of race, by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The Women’s Suffrage Movement succeeded with the 19th Amendment and the extension of the right to vote to women (some states already allowed women to vote, but the Amendment required all states to do so). The 23rd Amendment allotted electoral votes to the District of Columbia, thereby giving its residents the right to vote in presidential elections. And the 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, granted the right to vote to every citizen who is eighteen years or older.

Regarding the day of the week in which America goes to the ballot box: Though voting occurs on a weekday, employers are required by law to provide an hour for any employee who cannot gain access to a voting precinct during their off-work hours. And realistically, in today’s age when Saturdays aren’t necessarily seen as a day off of work, it wouldn’t matter what day of the week an election was held.
Kevin recently posted..Measuring for Body Defense Armor