A Change of Guard

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Sunday 4 November 2012

The U.S. Presidential Election


William e
By William E. Todd, U.S Ambassador to Cambodia
Greetings to everyone!  Last week’s column on adoptions and military cooperation generated quite the buzz.  I thank you all for your interest in my column.  Please continue to send me your questions at AskAMBToddPP@state.gov.

With the U.S. Presidential election on the horizon, many of you have asked for my thoughts on this important event.  On Tuesday, November 6, Americans across the United States will take time out of their day to cast their vote at a local polling station.  U.S. citizens residing overseas, like me, have already mailed their absentee ballot back to the United States so their votes can be counted along with all the local ballots on Election Day.  Some states even allow early voting or e-mail voting, which I think is a significant advancement in our electoral system.  Voter turnout is not 100% in the United States because voting is a choice, but by making voting easier, we hope to get more and more people involved in the process.

In the United States, there are many non-partisan civil society organizations that encourage people to register to vote by making information more accessible and helping with the paperwork.  This is an important service that volunteers help with each election year.  In particular, many organizations focus on encouraging young people to participate in the electoral process.  Historically, voter turnout among the youth has been low, but programs like “Rock the Vote” sponsored by MTV, are changing that trend.

Parents also play a major role with instilling in their children recognition of the importance of voting.  I love to see parents taking their children with them to the polling place and talking to them about filling out a ballot.  Getting kids interested in civic participation at a young age is one of the best ways to ensure they will be active citizens when they become eligible to vote.

In the lead up to the election, there is tremendous public discourse about the candidates and their views, which includes political advertisements, speeches by the candidates, and opinion pieces in newspapers and on television.  The Presidential debates, which were even available online this year, are a highlight of this discussion, and I know from comments on the Embassy’s Facebook page that many Cambodians watched them.

Many of you have asked who I support.  While I’ve actually already voted, as a civil servant, I am prohibited by U.S. law from telling you how I cast my vote.  The law is called the Hatch Act, and it bars employees in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government from engaging in partisan political activities, with the exception of the President, Vice President, and certain other high-level officials.  This means that U.S. government employees cannot use their position or office to encourage other people to support one candidate over another.  Therefore, when Embassy officials make a presentation on the elections, they are extremely careful to talk about both candidates and political parties equally, without showing favoritism for either.

Exercising the right to vote is an extremely important duty for all Americans.  As many of you probably know, this year’s election is predicted to be quite close.  When the votes are fully counted and a winner is declared, however, there will be a peaceful transition of power, just as we have had going all the way back to 1789 and the election of George Washington as the first U.S. President.  A key part of accepting the outcome – regardless of which candidate one supported – is knowing that each party had an equal opportunity to make its case with the voters and that the losing party can make its case again in the next election.  This process has served the United States well for more than two centuries, but it all hinges on individual citizens taking responsibility for making an informed decision and getting to the polls to make their choice.

Once again, thank you for the time you take to read my Sunday column.  What would you like for me to address next week?  Please send your ideas to me at AskAMBToddPP@state.gov and follow my blog at http://blogs.usembassy.gov/todd.

William E. Todd is U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia

2 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Dear Ambassador Todd,

Thank you and but no thanks to your article.
If you strongly beleive in the election and democracy, why did not you and the US government
try , at least to put pressure on Hun Sen to facilitate, or at least not to interfere with the FREE and FAIR election in Cambodia.

Beleive me and you, Dictator Hun Sen will NOT arrest you and put you in jail like the owner of Beehive Radio, Mr. Sam Sonando.


Khmer American