What the Long Campaign Season Does to Democracy

Four hundred and twenty-one days to go. I’m so tired of this election, and it hasn’t even really started yet. As I write this, we’re staring wearily at another year and two months before the 2024 presidential election. In fact, we’re still two months out from the election before the 2024 election, in which several states will elect governors and decide on important ballot initiatives. At this point, with the election 421 days out, the 2024 cycle has been underway for almost a year. Donald Trump officially things kicked off by declaring his candidacy for president on November 15, 2022. Ever since, “news” about the 2024 race — often rank speculation more than reporting on actual events — has been a dominant feature of Americans’ media diet. Nobody wants this, especially this time around. Americans are tired of Joe Biden, very tired of Donald Trump, and tired of presidential politics in general. So why do we do it, and what are the consequences of our long slog of a presidential election? <h2>It doesn’t have to be this way</h2> Americans love to believe that our country is exceptional, but the two-year American presidential election cycle is one of the ways in which we’re actually unique. In most countries, elections take a few weeks, not a few years. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/21/450238156/canadas-11-week-campaign-reminds-us-that-american-elections-are-much-longer" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Japanese election campaigns</a> last for less than two weeks. French elections are similar. In Argentina, candidates can’t air their ads until two months before an election. <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/4186861-press-yes-the-campaign-is-underway-but-way-too-soon/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Mexican candidates</a> have 90 days to make their case to the public. <a href="https://medium.com/bouncin-and-behavin-blogs/what-the-long-campaign-season-does-to-democracy-4921fb6cfa1">Visit Now</a>