U.S. Election System vs. Rest of World

Nov. 10 -- The United States is supposed to be “the world’s greatest democracy” — but as Americans ready for another day without a president-elect, people worldwide are scratching their heads about the U.S. system.

In Rome’s daily newspaper La Repubblica, one top story read: “A Day as a Banana Republic.”

In Zimbabwe, the state-controlled newspaper the Herald ran a headline: “Election intrigue not monopoly of Third World.”

Much of the world’s attention is focused on the Electoral College, an aspect of the American political system seen in few of the world’s democracies.

“All of them think it’s an anachronistic institution,” said Richard Soudriette, president of IFES, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting free and fair elections.

The Washington, D.C.-based IFES (International Foundation for Election Systems), has been hosting more than 40 electoral commissions from around the world, in town to observe the American elections.

“The one point they keep making is, why does the United States keep maintaining the Electoral College,” Soudriette said.

One of those visiting was the chairman of the central electoral commission of the Russian Federation.

Speaking through a translator, Alexander Veshnyakov told ABCNEWS: “I would say the electoral system [in the United States] is far from perfect, and maybe this situation will be a good impetus [for change].”

Republics vs. Democracies

The Electoral College, an original feature of the U.S. Constitution, prevents the popular vote from immediately determining who becomes president.

“[The Founding Fathers] didn’t trust the mass electorate,” said John Gastil, a professor at the University of Washington and author of By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative Democracy Through Deliberative Elections.

Instead, members of the Electoral College — electors — determine the president, by voting in favor of the candidate who gets the most votes in a state.