The United States holds itself out as the world’s greatest democracy. I’m just watching election coverage on CNN and am struck by the footage of long snaking lineups at polling stations. I’m sure that voter turnout levels are pretty similar in Canada and the US yet I have never had to wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes to vote in Canada.

It seems to me that voting is the single most important factor in assessing the quality of a democracy. Why then is it so difficult to exercise one’s democratic right in the United States, the world’s greatest democracy? It seems that once again rhetoric trumps reality.