With the general election coming around, there is no surprise that we will all be tuning in on the presidential debates and watching millions of dollars in campaign ads. With voters visiting polls on November 8th, many have begun to question the exceptionally long campaign season. From the invisible primary to finally reaching election day, the long journey to the US White House can last for over a year. In comparison to many other developed countries, the US seems to be wasting too much time on frivolous debates, campaign ads, and the enormous campaign offices each candidate finances.

For current major party candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the campaign process began in early to mid 2015, by testing the waters in the invisible primary. When they each finally received their party nominations, about half a year had been swept away. After each spending millions of dollars campaigning in the party primaries, the never ending flow of money continues into the general election. When Bloomberg Business investigated campaign contributions and spending from both candidates in late September this year, they uncovered Clinton’s “$425.5 million dollar” spending, as well as Trump’s whopping “$127.2 million dollars.” In comparison, total party spending the the UK was only $49 million dollars in the 2010, “actually 26% less than in 2005.” Germany, too spent $93 million dollars total in the 2013 Parliamentary elections.

Due to the nature of their governmental structure, parliamentary systems often have very short election campaign periods, as the entire party has one unified campaign platform and goal. In Germany, campaign season is 6 weeks, and there are no negative ads. Nick Thompson wrote for CNN, “Each party creates just one 90-second ad for the entire election, and the number of times it airs on TV is proportional to the number of votes the party garnered in the last election.” Even in France, which is a hybrid presidential and parliamentary system, elections were held 2 weeks after being announced, leaving little motive for large and expensive campaigns. There is also less emphasis on individuals, which often helps cut campaign spending such as negative ads, meetings, and campaign management offices. While the average cost of a House seat in the US was $1.5 million in 2012, the cost of a Senate seat can be much more expensive, at about $11.5 million. In turn, the UK, which has a parliamentary system, spent at most €1.47 million euros per seat, which was much higher than the major parties, Labour and Conservative, who spent an average of €7,302 euros in 2015.

Because of their huge differences in governmental structure, presidential and parliamentary systems have constantly been compared, with movements to convert the US presidential system into a parliamentary system as in the UK. However, the probability of that happening is very dim, largely due to fundamental principles of checks and balances, or separation of powers in the US constitution. Nonetheless, we should still consider the benefits of a parliamentary system, and adopt changes that could improve the reputation and legitimacy of our government.

Sources:

Allison, Bill, Mira Rojanasakal, and Brittany Harris. “Tracking the 2016 Presidential Money Race: Clinton v

Trump.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 21 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Atwill, Nicole. “Campaign Finance: Comparative Summary.” Home. Library of Congress, May 2009. Web. 12

Oct. 2016.

Buirnbaum, Michael. “In Germany, Campaigns Are Just Beginning for Sept. 22 Parliamentary Election.”

Washington Post. The Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Khazan, Olga. “Why Germany’s Politics Are Much Saner, Cheaper, and Nicer Than Ours.” The Atlantic.

Atlantic Media Company, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Thompson, Nick. “International Campaign Finance: How Do Countries Compare?” CNN. Cable News Network,

5 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

“Election Overview.” Opensecrets RSS. The Center for Responsive Politics, 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

“How Much Does a UK Parliamentary Seat Cost? – Import.io.” Import.io. Import.io Corporation, 20 July 2016.

Web. 12 Oct. 2016