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AMERICA DIVIDES: The Multi-Party US Election of 2016

Prologue

Thande

Thank you for the cross, my friend
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Sea Lion Press staff
Published by SLP
PROLOGUE

The White House, Washington DC
January 22nd 2009


A part of Barack Obama still felt like a kid posing for a photo on a movie set. Here he was, sat behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, the whiff of fresh paint still fading, the presidential house a state of organised chaos from the ongoing transition. But he wasn’t an extra on The West Wing checking the camera angles before Martin Sheen came on set and sat here. This was the real West Wing, the real Oval Office.

And he was the real President.

No matter that the conspiracy theorists had already started muttering about he and Justice Roberts flubbing the oath two days ago, or that to be on the safe side they had repeated it yesterday. No matter that the right-wing media were already gearing up for the same character assassination campaign they had committed against every Democratic president and candidate for the past thirty years and more. For now, he still had to focus on convincing himself this was the reality. Following the disastrous Bush Administration, in which America had been shockingly attacked by terrorists led by Osama Bin Laden and then controversially gone to war against Saddam Hussein (again), her people had seen fit to elect a President whose name was Barack Hussein Obama. It was the sort of thing that would have been laughed out of a work of fiction. Yet the electoral map didn’t lie. A first-generation immigrant, a first-term Senator, son of a onetime Muslim. The first black president, defeating the assumption by many (in his darker moments, Obama himself) that the Bradley Effect would stop Americans taking the plunge at the last moment.

Maybe that was the real American Dream. Not the mirage expounded by the old white men in both parties, the one that had crushed so many hopes and lives against the brick wall of reality. They claimed that any poor kid could rise to the highest office in the land regardless of his race or creed—now those same men seemed rather alarmed that somebody had actually done it. No, maybe the real dream was that in America, at the right moment, all things were possible.

Racism hadn’t been solved overnight, of course. But, aided by the Republicans being tarred by the financial crisis, the voters had seen fit to give Democrats overwhelming majorities in Congress, too. The electorate had a tendency to punish a president’s party in his first midterms, but for now Obama had a rare opportunity to make some bold moves, freed from the constraints of the ‘checks and balances’ that usually served only to make the cogs of the machine of government seize up. Some things were obvious—he’d already got an executive order ready to close Guantanamo Bay by the end of the year. But what should be his primary project? Healthcare reform, he had decided, that white whale that had caused so many problems for his defeated primary rival and (as confirmed by the Senate yesterday) new Secretary of State. Ten years into the twenty-first century, he would finally drag the US into the twentieth and get her citizens the same universal right to healthcare that every other first-world nation enjoyed.

It would be a challenge, but he was determined to go down in history as something more than just history for its own sake, the first black president, a symbol rather than a man. And what else could he expend his political capital on that would be anything like as worth it?

“Settling in, Mr President?” Joe Biden asked with a wink from the door. With uncharacteristic tact, the VP turned ‘Mr President’ into a gently kidding joke, disguising the fact that he and Obama were still slightly uncomfortable addressing one another by their first names. They were from such different backgrounds and generations, and Biden had not been Obama’s first choice to balance the ticket. But he had performed well on the campaign trail, and his own disastrous presidential campaigns had shown he was safely neutered, with no future ambitions like the Secretary of State clearly maintained.

“I feel like I’ll have settled down right about when it’s time to leave this place—in 2017, of course,” Obama said, answering Biden’s joke with glib faux arrogance that made the old man smile. He theatrically patted his empty pocket with a grimace. “Maybe they’ll let me have my BlackBerry back then. If we’re still using them.”

“Yeah,” Biden said vaguely, reminding Obama that his generation could still be uncomfortable with casual mentions of the internet and recent technology. He genuinely was still annoyed by the BlackBerry confiscation, though he supposed it was pretty self-evident that one couldn’t go around using a personal email system for documents of state. Still, it felt like going back in time, which so many aspects of American politics already evoked for a man who had travelled around the world and seen how other countries did things.

Obama opened his mouth to change the subject, but frowned and swatted the back of his neck. “Damn bugs. You’d think they’d clear out of this place in January at least.”

“DC is a swamp in more ways than one,” Biden said, relieved to get back on a subject he could speak about with authority. He idly began opening a cardboard box; the First Family and a few helpers were supposed to move their stuff in themselves, meaning that there were still plenty of unopened packages ready for processing. Obama found it oddly satisfying to watch Biden deftly untie the knotted string and unfold the flaps. Maybe some of the kids on the internet who’d watched stuttery CNN livestreams of his inauguration would eagerly watch the vice-president opening boxes.

He blinked and shook his head. What a ridiculous idea! That showed how much stress he was under right now.

“Huh,” Biden said as he gently withdrew the object within from its packaging, placing it on a small table nearby. “Where did you come across this gentleman?”

Obama laughed. “I hadn’t realised they’d brought that in! My Granny Sarah foisted that gentleman, as you put it, on me when I went to Kenya to look up my father’s roots, years ago. He’s been knocking around my house ever since. Family heirloom, apparently.”

“So this is Kenyan art?” Biden asked, glancing dubiously at the figure. It was old and worn, and had been skilfully wrought from solid black ebony. Surviving traces suggested it had once been painted. It was a seated human figure, but with exaggerated proportions and an ambiguous expression, looking rather saturnine to Western eyes.

“Not Kenyan,” Obama said, standing up and walking over to the table. “This goes back to when the Luo people came from around what’s now Uganda.” Biden nodded with the frantic air of a kid who had revised the wrong part of the textbook and was now taking in the scantron test in front of him. “There’s an old family legend that my ancestor Owiny Sigoma, who lived maybe around the time the Pilgrim Fathers showed up in New England, he beat the Bantu invaders ’cause of the magic powers of this gentleman.”

Biden hastily withdrew a hand that had been wandering idly towards the idol. “Be careful, you know what those fine fellows at Fox will make of it if they get wind you’ve got some witch-doctor fetish,” he pointed out.

Obama half-laughed, half-sneered. “Sure. I should have sent this to a museum years ago. Anyway, the legend also says that Owiny had to cut himself and smear his blood on the statue to unlock its powers. But there was a curse; his son Kisodhi later accidentally bled on it, and that caused the trick to be undone...kind of. Though the Bantu had been conquered, their culture partly took over the Luo.”

“Huh,” Biden said, cocking his head on one side. “Anything to it, you think?”

Obama laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous...Joe. It’s clearly just a folk myth to save face for why the Luo adopted some Bantu farming practices when we’d—they’d beaten them in battle. Anyway, when my father...” He paused for a moment. “My grandfather was struggling against the British and they’d locked him up. Kezia told me my father had found this old thing and cut himself over it, as though he could use its power to beat the British. Grandfather Onyango gave him hell about it when he got out—the Terror, they used to call him. My father was supposed to be a good Muslim, not some superstitious African...at least, that’s before he decided Islam was superstition, too.” Along with sticking around your wife and son.

“Families, huh?” Biden said inclusively. “Let me tell you, this reminds me of a story from the sixties. There was this gentleman with a switchblade named ‘Corn Pop’, I mean the gentleman, not the switchblade...”

“Right, right,” Obama said hastily, already having heard said story more than once. “Yeah, I’ll make a note to have this gentleman sent to a museum.”

“Makes sense,” Biden nodded. He frowned at the idol. “Of course, when you think about it, the Brits did pull out of Kenya...”

Obama gave him a cold look. “The British were kicked out of Kenya by Kenyatta and the Mau Mau and the resistance of thousands of ordinary people like my grandfather,” he said pointedly. “Not because of some old stereotypical African magic.”

“Right, OK,” Biden said, aware he had touched a nerve. He tried to turn it into a joke. “Still, best make sure you don’t bleed on him when you move him, eh? Or else you might end up being taken over by Brit culture, I guess!”

Obama had been ready to leave the task of moving him to someone else. But perhaps it would be sensible to ensure nobody else saw this, as—just as Joe had said—the right-wing media could make some big scandal out of a White House staff member mentioning the existence of this thing.

He picked it up off the table and gently but firmly thrust the idol back into its box.

It was not until a couple of hours later, when he had forgotten about the whole affair as he delved deep into more Senate office approvals, that he went to the restroom and washed his hands. The sink accepted not only considerable years’ worth of priceless African dust, but also the remains of a swatted mosquito that had been smeared against the statue.

Much would depend on the question of just when in its itinerary that mosquito had been swatted...



1658578089920.png
 
Project explanation
This project has been on the back burner for literally years; I began working on it in January 2020 and last looked at it in August of that year, after already completing all the graphics required (but not the text, other than that prologue above). I got burnout in 2019 doing "The Kippery Slope" and said I'd never do another Fantastic Election Night TL again like that or "Partying Like It's 1999". But I couldn't rid myself of this idea. The problem with it is not only the time investment to writing an ancillary story, but also because it uses recent American politics, and I kept waiting for the controveries of 2016 to die down - but they never have. So, rather than waste the work I put into it (I finally got Excel to actually split out proper results boxes and everything!) and on the urging of the people commenting on my Graphics thread, I will go ahead with it.

However, I'm going to be very relaxed about the timescale (maybe one update a week), and don't expect it to be as involved with the narrative as those earlier projects were; the commentary will be more about describing the states and districts as the results come in, probably without as many attempts at surreal humour (he promised naively).

Now, without further ado...
 
1
November 11th, 2016

"The US is electing a new government, and if you're not staying up all night with us on BBC 1, then BBC Five Live has all the news on Breakfast from a special extended programme. Now, though, time to see in a new era in history with BBC News."

1658578883067.png
"We're in New York, as the 'Land of the Free' chooses its new destiny."

"So join us for every bitter twist and turn of an election night like no other!"

Imagery, projected by modern trickery as though on the screens of Times Square and other landmarks throughout New York City. Surprisingly, much of it was devoted not to those who would be battling for power this time, but to the outgoing President, Barack Obama. Or, as some critics had described him, the last President of the United States.

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Andrew Neil - for, alas, it was he - glared at the audience from the centre of a panel of five journalists and experts, looking like the world's most unhelpfully specialised University Challenge team. The American members of the panel could easily be picked out by their lack of Remembrance Day poppies, evidently having failed to receive the memo from Cookie Monster.

"Good evening!" Neil addressed an audience of millions around the world, a reassuring thought after last night's nightmare where he'd dreamed he was stuck on some obscure streaming service with a smaller audience than most Twitch streamers or local radio stations. "Welcome to the heart of New York, our home for history in the making! According to Google Maps - other online mapping services are available, but they're all shite - this building, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, is supposed to be a TV news studio. However, when the BBC showed up with an army of Daleks, it appeared to have fallen into disuse and just be used as a convention hall for conspiracy theorists and military veterans trying to sell books, so I'm sure they won't mind us taking it over for tonight."

If the viewer focused, they might be able to hear muffled angry voices in the background, possibly emanating from a locked broom cupboard just visible behind the elaborate display of the map of the United States in the shape of an eagle. "I am joined tonight by my colleague from BBC World News America, Katty Kay. Katty, you've covered four presidential elections, but tonight will be almost as new to you as it is to everyone else - or the American electorate - isn't it?"

"That's right, Andrew," Kay agreed, speaking in a disconcertingly British voice that didn't match her Americanised name or image. "Whatever else might be said about him, Barack Obama has unquestionably transformed the nature of American democracy. And tonight is when we will see the first-fruits of that change which he asked his first supporters to believe in, all those years ago. Over the past century the United States has changed demographically, it has changed technologically - but, until now, it has not changed politically. As recently as the last midterms in 2014, American voters were still going to the polls to elect the same two big-tent parties that had been around since before the US Civil War, when everyone was wearing stovepipe hats and corsets - not both at the same time, probably. But now, for the first time, multi-party democracy has arrived in the United States."

"Thank you Katty, and we'll be going back to you shortly to help explain the complex events of the last few years which have led to these dramatic reforms, Mr Obama's legacy, for good or ill. As the results come in - the first states have just closed their polls - we will be reporting on them here and Jeremy Vine will be putting them on his giant map. Now, Jon Sopel is there in New Hampshire, and he can tell us more about what's going on. Jon."

"Yes Andrew, I'm here in Concord, New Hampshire, where the poll workers are working flat-out. Historically, New Hampshire has boasted of being first in the nation to hold a primary election for president - claiming that Iowa doesn't count, of course. This is the first election in many decades where they have been robbed of that boast, as of course there were no presidential primaries held."

Sopel edged to one side of the camera view, revealing what was behind him: a huge hall filled with people examining voting records. Oddly, a lot of them were dressed like petrol pump attendants. "Another big change for this election is that votes are now being counted centrally by district, sometimes even centrally by state, whereas formerly the United States reported votes by each precinct separately. In British terms, that's like every polling station posting the votes cast there, rather than them being taken to a central counting location first."

"Seems like it would be a bit easy to find out how your neighbours voted," Neil commented.

"Perhaps. It has meant in the past that sometimes close elections' results are unknown for a long time, as we wait for the last few precinct results to come in. On the other hand, if a particular election is a landslide and only knowing the winner is important, it does mean the Americans knew the result sooner than we would.

"This time," Sopel pointed, "we have what some are calling the best of both worlds - and others the worst. Whereas the UK still uses paper ballots, as did many US states in various forms, this time all states have adopted voting machines by federal law. Some worry that this will lead to elections which could be stolen or subject to IT failure - a warning that has been made by a number of parties and candidates. However, it will considerably accelerate the vote-counting process, as each precinct's voting machine results can simply be brought here and totted up, rather than having to count each ballot individually."

"That's fascinating, Jon," Neil said politely, his eyes lacking sincerity, "but what is the upshot for New Hampshire?"

"Well, rather than being first in the nation to a primary, the people of New Hampshire have decided to instead attempt to be first in the nation to finish counting their votes in this new, unique kind of election," Sopel said. "Not unlike Sunderland back home."

"They certainly seem to have hired in a lot of workers to transport and count the votes," Kay commented.

"No, actually that's just the members of the state legislature," Sopel clarified, "who themselves probably have almost enough people to count as their own constituency. Traditionally, a few towns in New Hampshire reported their votes early, such as Dixville Notch - racist name, by the way - but this time that's not allowed. So instead it'll be the whole state, or one of its two districts, at least, which reports-"

Sopel frowned as a murmur came from behind him. He turned and had an exchange with a man in a giant 'I Voted' sticker costume. "Well, we need to leave Jon there," Neil said over the footage, "and we'll go back to Katty's explanation, or perhaps one of our American--"

"Sorry Andrew," Sopel interrupted, turning back. "It turns out the vote counting has gone faster than even I expected, a testament to these new methods, and New Hampshire is about to report the results for its first district."

"Oh - very well," Neil said, surprised but rolling with it. "Yes, we certainly don't want to miss that! No reliable polls, no exit polls for this election, as everything is so unprecedented. This will be our first glimpse at some real results. Whether they'll be representative or not is another question, but--"

Neil's voice mercifully died away as Sopel stepped back to reveal a stage with a lectern. The stage was being climbed by an elderly, balding man with an air of authority. "That's New Hampshire's Secretary of State, Bill Gardner," Sopel hissed in the background. "He's been central to this push to get the votes counted first and keep New Hampshire's reputation. All these arrangements seem very homely now to you and me, though they haven't persuaded the candidates to wear rosettes and go on stage yet."

Gardner glanced around the room over his glasses, and gave a nod with the air of God deciding to rest on the seventh day. "As Secretary of State of the great state of New Hampshire, in the matter of elected representation for the first Congressional district of that great state, I hereby certify that the candidates nominated by the following parties have received votes and the according seats.

"Alliance Party. Nineteen thousand, three hundred seventy votes. No seats.
Conservative Party. Sixty-one thousand, two hundred sixty-five votes. No seats.
Constitution Party. Twenty-eight thousand, eight hundred sixty-five votes. No seats.
Liberal Party. Sixty-nine thousand ninety-three votes. One seat.
National Party. Eighty-nine thousand one hundred thirty votes. One seat.
Progressive Party. One hundred four thousand, two hundred fifty-one votes. One seat.

"I hereby certify that the Members of Congress elected for New Hampshire's first district shall be Jane Beaulieu of Hillsborough - Progressive; Matt Mowers of Bedford - National; and Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth - Liberal."

The room erupted in cheers, applause and catcalls, drowning out what Sopel was trying to say. "Well, we have our first result," Neil said, turning to Kay. "And am I right in thinking, perhaps, an unexpected one?"

"That's right, Andrew. Despite the anti-monopoly laws passed by Barack Obama, many were expecting that the voters would simply revert to the Conservative and Liberal parties, which in many ways are the natural successors to the old Republicans and Democrats respectively. Instead, we see that the leading party is Bernie Sanders' Progressives, basically a more left-wing breakaway from the Democrats, and second came the Nationals - a party which, though some thought, feared really, might have support elsewhere in the nation, is not one that analysts expected to see elected here in New England. The Liberals only just snatch the third seat, while the Conservatives are shut out altogether."

"Despite having almost as many votes!"

"Yes, that is the vagaries of the new proportional representation system. In the UK, or historically here in the US, we often hear of the alleged unfairness of the first-past-the-post voting system, but our European colleagues will tell us that it is just as easy to have heartbreak moments in a vote like this one. And also look at the vote for Ted Cruz's Constitution Party. If that had been added to the Conservatives, they could have been second, beating the Nationals."

"Which is, I believe, just what they have tried to do in some states with this so-called Fusion party?"

"Yes, which will appear on the list of parties here as a blank as it is not operating in New Hampshire...ah, I think the graphics people have our results now..."

Rich (BB code):
	NH-01		
	Prog          	104,251   	28%
	Nat          	89,130    	24%
	Lib          	69,093    	18.6%
	Con          	61,265    	16.5%
	Cst          	28,865    	7.8%
	All          	19,370    	5.2%
	Fus          	0         	0%
			
		Total	371,973
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Nat
			Lib


"There we have it. Three Members of Congress, as some are now calling them (others still prefer 'Representative' or 'Congressman') elected from a single district. Of course, Mr Obama's plans to introduce nonpartisan redistricting commissions have been delayed, so we will see some...interesting results from those states still blighted by gerrymandering. But that's another discussion."

"And between them those parties, or candidates, have about er...seventy percent of the vote," Neil said, crossing his eyes for a moment as he calculated. "Of course, that does mean the other thirty percent lack representation."

"No voting system is perfect, indeed," Katty agreed. "But I think Jeremy is now ready to put it on his map..."

"Yes I am!" Vine said jovially as the huge CGI map beneath his feet zoomed in from the whole United States to just New England. "No longer is my map blank, and soon we'll be filling in more results too, I have no doubt!"

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"Thank you Jeremy. Yes, we have our first result, and what an historic one it is. Mr Gardner and the people of New Hampshire can consider themselves justly proud for being here to herald in a new era. But Katty, I'm sure the viewers at home - even those who thought they were familiar with American politics - are probably feeling a little confused. Before any more states get their results in, do you want to tell us about how Mr Obama has transformed this nation's politics?"
 
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Even with less zany humour there's some real corkers there- the army of BBC Daleks taking over Fox News for example.

I'll be intrigued to know how you've developed those breakdown results.
That'd be telling. But yeah the main reason I wanted to keep a narrative is so I don't have to be upfront at first about where the results are from.
 
2
"Well, Andrew," Kay began. She was now standing before a greenscreen display showing a close-up image of a much younger-looking Obama giving a speech and gesturing, over which were the words THE ROAD TO REFORM. "Barack Obama was elected President of the United States back in 2008, running on a platform which we all well remember."

The washed-out, still image of Obama was overlaid by a smaller, animated video window. "CHANGE! WE CAN! BELIEVE IN!" Obama declared, as the crowd behind him cheered.

"Now Mr Obama had already made history through being the first black President of a country whose history with race relations has often been a troubled one. But what was the change he sought to enact? On the campaign trail, some accused him of being vague, and his opponents made many, rather far-fetched, dark warnings about his intentions? In the end, everyone was surprised."

The image of Obama giving the campaign-trail speech also faded to pastels, being overlaid in turn by another. This time, early in his first term but already visibly aged slightly by the pressures of the job, the President was giving his first address to a joint session of Congress, though technically not a State of the Union Address. Behind him, even Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden looked nonplussed, while the Republicans looked positively horrified. "...we have not always met these responsibilities — as a government or as a people. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we'll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament." The clip had started mid-sentence, and now a flash of light covered a cut to a later part. "In other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election." Another flash covering a cut. "And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."

The past glimpse of Obama glared at Congress, a strange look in his eyes. "Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here. We face many challenges. Our economy is, frankly, in ruins. The international goodwill and sympathy that we enjoyed after the horrors of the 9/11 attacks has been squandered by bullying unilateralism, and the abuses of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Our healthcare bills skyrocket as our standard of living falls. This Union, which should be a shining beacon to the world, suffers from problems which have been vanquished in other parts of it. Not because there is anything wrong with America or with the American people: but because there is something wrong with the way she is governed."

Obama looked around the room, then into the camera as though addressing the viewers at home. "The American people have given the Democratic Party and myself a powerful mandate for change, and it is our duty and our responsibility to answer that call. I could choose to focus on any one of the many problems we face. The state of the economy. Our broken healthcare system. Violent crime and drugs. Though we may disagree on the details, all of us agree that there are great challenges which we must tackle.

"And yet every President who tries to is stymied by our outdated political system, our winner-take-all elections, crooked money in politics. Our forefathers in the Progressive Era, a century ago, recognised these problems and did their best to deal with them. To them we owe our directly-elected Senate, our primaries, the defeat of machine politics. Yet a hundred years later, like a mutating virus, the enemy they dealt with has seeped back, finding new tricks. Gerrymandered districts, legal loopholes. Well, I say, no more. This crisis we find ourselves in demands a bold response so that we can once again face our forefathers and claim, with our hands on our hearts, that we have not allowed government of the people, by the people, for the people, to perish from this earth. It is for this reason that I call upon the several States of the Union to back an Article V Convention..."

The clip finished just as the uproar from Congress was beginning. "That was the beginning of a long hard road for President Obama," Kay continued. "He was opposed by countless established political interests even within his own party, never mind the Republican opposition. He survived assassination attempts, a primary challenge and Republican attempts to flood the midterms. He was fortunate, perhaps, in that the only person the Republicans could find to challenge him for the presidency in 2012 was Mitt Romney, who spent most of the campaign trapped by mountain lions in a forest clearing."

"I thought they were angry dogs seeking revenge?" Neil asked from off-camera.

"No, that was a different incident - that one with the battleship made from forty-seven binders full of women," Kay said patiently. "Regardless, Mr Obama emerged triumphant. Despite what so many commentators described as impossible odds, he got his Article V convention and his constitutional amendments. And I think Jeremy is ready to explain them..."

The camera panned to Vine in front of his map, which disappeared in favour of a large, complex flowchart-style diagram. "Thank you Katty. Yes, this is a bit complicated to explain, because the way the US government used to work is already quite hard to grasp, and then I have to say how it's changed..."

Vine frowned for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I have to interrupt myself there, haha. It seems we have our second result. The state of Maine, New Hampshire's northern neighbour, has been in competition with them for the first result. They missed taking the prize, but they've won the silver medal. We have the result for Maine's first district..."

Rich (BB code):
	ME-01		
	Prog          	136,016   	34.6%
	Lib          	76,758    	19.5%
	Cst          	62,796    	16%
	Nat          	54,092    	13.8%
	Con          	37,537    	9.5%
	All          	26,153    	6.6%
	Fus          	0         	0%
			
		Total	393,351
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Prog
			Lib


"And that's just as interesting as the last result. Maine has delivered two seats to the Progressive Party, led by Bernie Sanders, formerly senator from the nearby state of Vermont. The third seat has gone to the Liberals. But even more surprisingly, the third-placed party was Ted Cruz's Constitution Party, certainly not what one would expect for a New England state. The establishment Conservatives are struggling here, barely ahead of the minor Alliance. But, ah, that brings us back to what we were talking about..."

Vine waited awkwardly until the graphics people removed the Maine results and reverted to the flowchart diagram. "This is how the US government used to work. Note the three branches of government - the legislative which makes the laws, the judiciary which reviews them, and the executive which enforces them - broadly speaking. The legislative branch consisted of Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, each of the fifty states had equal representation of two Senators regardless of population, as the United States was originally conceived as a union of sovereign states, much like the European Union is today. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, much like the House of Commons in the UK, consisted of districts of roughly equal population each electing one Representative - so more populous states had more Representatives, though it was not truly proportional due to the size disparity between states."

Little icons appeared on the flowchart as Vine spoke. "The judiciary is led by the Supreme Court, nine justices who serve for life and interpret the Constitution to decide whether laws are in conflict with it or not. When a justice dies or retires, their replacement is chosen by the President and approved by the Senate. In theory, the Supreme Court should be a non-partisan review body; in practice, when one party has been in power for a while and has packed the court with its supporters, the court often then strikes down legislation made by the other party when it returns to party. This happened to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, with his New Deal programmes to tackle the Great Depression."

"Mr Obama explicitly brought up that comparison to justify why he felt attempting to pass reforms, without first reforming the structure of government itself, was doomed to failure," Kay added.

"Right. And the executive..."

Rich (BB code):
	NY-01		
	Nat          	133,797   	39.8%
	Lib          	74,211    	22.1%
	Prog          	67,689    	20.1%
	Fus          	49,436    	14.7%
	All          	11,304    	3.4%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	336,437
			
	MCs elected:		
			Nat
			Lib
			Prog


"I'm sorry, another result has come in there. Our first from New York, in fact - though not New York City, where we are."

"Three districts numbered the first in a row, interestingly - though that's just a coincidence, it doesn't signify anything."

"Yes, this district's on Long Island to the east of the city, and more right-wing in character than the city proper...but it's probably still a bit of a surprise that the National Party has come first, and by quite a margin as well - they nearly took two seats! Perhaps the rhetoric of the party's leader in his home state has...but we'll get back to that."

"Here, at least, the attempted Fusion between the Conservative and Constitution parties seems to have met with failure and rejection by voters, as some have warned - calling it a 'corrupt bargain'."

"Yes, but back to the structure of the US government...er, the former US government. The, ah, where was I, the third branch is the executive. The presidency, essentially." Obama's picture icon appeared by the text on the flowchart. "American constitutional theory describes - er, described this as a separation of powers into three parts, with so-called 'checks and balances' on each other, to ensure none of them could grow too powerful."

"I think we can judge how successful that notion was by the fact that no-one outside the United States has heard of any part of it other than the presidency," Neil observed dryly. "Other than the Supreme Court making occasional pronouncements seemingly at random. But that's not the only American peculiarity, is it Jeremy?"

"No, another oddity to our British eyes - though it would be normal in many countries - is the American model of a federal government. The government we hear about all the time, president and all, only has authority in certain spheres; in others, the state governments enjoy considerable powers. Some might say they have more than the powers of national parliaments of EU member states! For example, though we may debate devolution in the UK, we know that no matter where we drive, we pay the same petrol taxes. But in the US, you may pay a dollar less per gallon a mile down the road over the state border, because that is decided by the state governments."

"And that is one thing Mr Obama isn't changing?"

"No, in many ways one could argue that it can't be changed. The states have the final say, just as they did when Mr Obama called for the Article V convention which Katty mentioned. Normally the powerful state governments would also be elected tonight, well, some of them, but those elections have been delayed in order to apply the new constitutional amendments on that level of government."

Rich (BB code):
	MA-06		
	Prog          	116,922   	29.2%
	Lib          	107,936   	26.9%
	Nat          	83,705    	20.9%
	Fus          	69,539    	17.3%
	All          	22,944    	5.7%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	401,046
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Lib
			Nat


"I'm sorry for another interruption there...that's our first result from the state of Massachusetts. That district is, um, help me out here map, it's north of Boston, it's quite close to the first two we saw, actually, and once again, Bernie Sanders' Progressives are coming out on top."

"And the Nationals also get another seat. Quite a shock for those who confidently predicted that Donald Trump's supposed support would melt away on election day, especially in this part of the country."

"Yes, and the Fusionists miss out once again, albeit not by as big a margin. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. President Obama has enacted the single biggest and most controversial reform to US government since the eighteenth century - only the direct election of senators a century ago comes close."

As Vine spoke, the flowchart shifted and reformed itself. "Instead of separation of powers, the US has now adopted a parliamentary fusion of powers system - nothing to do with the Fusionists, who are mostly against all this! - not unlike the one we're familiar with from the UK. The executive powers are now largely delegated to a single unitary house of Congress, with only a ceremonial president, elected by that Congress similar to how the German president is, for example. For now, sitting Vice-President Joe Biden will hold that office temporarily until a new President can be elected. In practice, there will be effectively a Prime Minister in Congress, though the Americans are carrying over the term Speaker - don't picture it like Jon Bercow! - who wields those powers together with his Cabinet. Unlike the former presidential cabinet, this will have collective responsibility, and its members must be drawn from elected members of Congress. Formerly, quite the opposite of what we are used to, cabinet members in the US could not simultaneously occupy elected office and had to resign any they held once appointed."

Rich (BB code):
	CT-02		
	Prog          	94,178    	27.6%
	Nat          	93,115    	27.3%
	Lib          	71,621    	21%
	Fus          	62,860    	18.4%
	All          	18,984    	5.6%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	340,758
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Nat
			Lib


"That's yet another New England result, this time from the state of Connecticut, not far from here. Again a bit of a surprise, not perhaps that the Progressives have come ahead of the Liberals, but that the National Party is so close to topping the polls. There will be a number of analysts with some soul-searching to do tonight."

"Yes, and we'll be going over to some of them later tonight, Jeremy, but if you could finish?"

"Sorry, I don't think we expected the results to come in so soon, even with the new vote-counting system. Um, anyway, as I was saying, the form of government that has now been adopted in the US may seem similar to us Brits at first, but there are some important differences - besides still being a republic rather than a constitutional monarchy, of course! Unlike David Miliband's rather lukewarm attempts at voting reform back home, President Obama has also pushed through a form of proportional representation for the new powerful Congress. This may eventually be reformed further, but for now, the voting is using the existing districts that were already implemented back in 2012 - those which haven't faced court challenges since, that is."

"Yes, our analysts have more to say about those later."

Rich (BB code):
	NY-05		
	Lib          	151,471   	61.3%
	Prog          	60,196    	24.4%
	Nat          	20,842    	8.4%
	Fus          	10,480    	4.2%
	All          	3,972     	1.6%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	246,961
			
	MCs elected:		
			Lib
			Lib
			Prog


"Another result from New York, there. That's the best result for the Liberal Party thus far, quite an overwhelming vote."

"Yes, in former days this district was overwhelmingly Democratic - it's mostly in the New York City borough of Queens and has a majority BAME electorate. But go on."

"Are you allowed to say that?" (a whisper) "Uh, I mean, yes. So how things currently work is that each district elects three Representatives, or MCs as some are calling them, to the new Congress. Rather than strictly abolishing the Senate, its representation has been merged into the new House, so each state also gets two extra representatives elected statewide on top of that. I understand that Mr Obama initially planned for these to be so-called 'top-up' seats like those used for the Scottish Parliament or in Germany, going to parties that lost out in the districts, but that was blocked by the Supreme Court just before the incident with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Wonka-Vite tablet. Therefore, at least for this election, those seats will just go to the parties according to the same formula used for the districts."

"And what formula is that?"

"Come on, Andrew, it's proportional representation, nobody actually understands it, it's literally magic. The Europeans call it the D'Hondt Method, but the Americans say it's the Jeffersonian apportionment formula and that they invented it. And I'm not going to argue with them, they have all the guns."

Rich (BB code):
	VA-01		
	Lib          	104,562   	26.5%
	Con          	95,143    	24.1%
	Nat          	82,001    	20.7%
	Prog          	58,369    	14.8%
	Cst          	34,848    	8.8%
	All          	20,367    	5.2%
	Fus          	0         	0%
			
		Total	395,289
			
	MCs elected:		
			Lib
			Con
			Nat


"Another 'first' district there, but quite different from the others we've seen so far. That's Virginia, quite far to the south of us from here, and politically very distinct from New England. In fact, some locals refer to it as 'America's First District', because interestingly it contains the first English colony established in America, Jamestown. And a lot more right-wing than most of what we've seen so far."

"Yes, the first time that the Conservative Party has won a seat, and beaten the Nationals no less. Mr Bush will be hap - oh no, he won't, will he, he's still in hospital?"

"Yes," Kay interjected, "and for the record, I think we have to set the record straight and make it clear that the conspiracy theory circulating on the internet by National supporters is quite untrue, and Jeb Bush is not suffering from gonorrhea. He merely injured himself whilst attempting to navigate his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail. But I'm sure the temporary joint leaders of the party, John Kasich and Marco Rubio, are pleased, and will probably mention it to Mr Bush after he recovers from fainting at the sight of his hospital bill."

Rich (BB code):
	MA-03		
	Prog          	102,282   	29.3%
	Lib          	100,670   	28.9%
	Nat          	64,967    	18.6%
	Fus          	58,380    	16.7%
	All          	22,264    	6.4%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	348,563
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Lib
			Nat


"Another result from Massachusetts there, in, uh, the north of the state, I think? Well, it's not near Boston, anyway. More good news for the Progressives who just outpoll the Liberals, and, once again, even in fusion the rest of the right-wing parties can't catch the Nationals."

"Yes. Well, Jeremy has told us a lot about how this election will work, but one thing we still haven't heard about yet is the very nature of those new parties we've been hearing so much about..."

Rich (BB code):
	RI-02		
	Prog          	71,964    	30.2%
	Nat          	69,717    	29.2%
	Lib          	49,879    	20.9%
	Fus          	35,316    	14.8%
	All          	11,713    	4.9%
	Cst          	0         	0%
	Con          	0         	0%
			
		Total	238,589
			
	MCs elected:		
			Prog
			Nat
			Lib


"Well, I'm afraid that'll have to wait as we have yet another New England result, this from Rhode Island. Surprisingly for what has historically been such a Democratic-voting state, this district almost saw the Nationals coming first! The Liberals have been relegated to a relatively distant third, and the Progressives only just surpassed the Nationals. And I think that's enough results to...yes, our New England map is starting to look a bit more filled in now..."

1658610934498.png

"A very...green map so far. But does this represent an unforeseen national surge for this left-wing breakway party, or merely strong personal support in its leader, Bernie Sanders', backyard? Time will tell."
 
Well, this is proving quite interesting, and quite amusing as well. Something I can really get invested in, without being too invested, so I can just sort of see a notification like "oh hey, Thande's America thing has another update!"

I see you introduced THANDEREP, which, three-member d'Hondt districts are quite easy to calculate by hand, so.
 
the rhetoric of the party's leader in his home state has...but we'll get back to that.

oh G_d oh fuck it's...well, actually, given the vagueness, I'm suspecting it'll be anyone but him. Still, it's a familiar colour the Nationals are using...

Continues to be excellent. My thoughts and prayers are with Mr Bush as he attempts to find his arse with both hands and the hospital's generously-provided torch.
 
oh G_d oh fuck it's...well, actually, given the vagueness, I'm suspecting it'll be anyone but him. Still, it's a familiar colour the Nationals are using...

Continues to be excellent. My thoughts and prayers are with Mr Bush as he attempts to find his arse with both hands and the hospital's generously-provided torch.
TBF, he is later mentioned by name as their leader.
 
TBF, he is later mentioned by name as their leader.
Yeah, it looks like all the party leaders are OTL candidates from 2016, which I suspect these results correspond to in some way:
  • Progressive - Sanders
  • Liberal - not yet mentioned but Clinton?
  • National - Trump
  • Constitution - Cruz
  • Conservative - Bush, then Rubio and Kasich; probably the sum of their votes
  • Alliance - Carson, maybe? Or something to do with third parties?
  • Fusion - All the anti-Trump Republican candidates together
I'm interested to see how this goes! It really seems like tiny-district PR is a bad system in the American context - basically all the districts so far have had a Progressive, a National, and a Liberal in some order, and while that's obviously a feature of New England declaring first I suspect that more conservative districts are going to be basically as regular, just with a Constitutionalist or Conservative in place of the Progressive. (I suspect that the Conservatives will be a close fourth place in a lot of places, which... will not be fun for them.)
 
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