Elections shouldn't take so long

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November 13, 2012

Elections shouldn't take so long

-- The Daily Star The Daily Star Tue Nov 13, 2012, 08:00 AM EST

Elections shouldn’t take so long

I have had some thoughts following the 2012 election.

On April 6, 2010, United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown went to Buckingham Palace to ask Queen Elizabeth to dissolve Parliament on April 12 and set an election for May 6, 2010. Campaigning began April 12. The election was held 24 days later.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the governor general to dissolve parliament Sept. 7, 2008, and call an election for Oct. 14, 2008 — one month, seven days later.

Here in the U.S., in 2012, campaigning went on for nearly two years and cost billions of dollars. Maybe it is time to take a lesson from one of these countries and cut down on the time spent in campaigning.

Fred Albrecht

Otego