Debate in the Chamber of Deputies about the BUP (Single Paper Ballot)
The Problem of Always
Argentina is not Switzerland, we already know that. Every election in our country is experienced with the intensity of a soccer final, but not necessarily because of civic passion, but due to traps, rumors of fraud, and missing ballots. In that chaos, a proposal emerges that some see as the salvation of our democracy: the Single Ballot. But, is it really the solution we need or just another electoral trap?
Congress chose the design for the single ballot used in Mendoza
Stolen Ballots, Missing Ballots, and the Great Scam
If you ever went to vote and did not find your candidate's ballot, then you already know firsthand one of the biggest problems of the current system. The party ballot, that paper that each party has to print and distribute throughout the country, is fertile ground for fraud. From the theft of ballots in dark rooms to tables where magically more votes than voters appear, our system is broken.
And who benefits from this problem? The parties with more resources and structures, of course. Those who can monitor every table, every school, every corner. The smaller parties, on the other hand, are the losers in this dirty game. If you don't have enough inspectors, your ballot disappears. It's that simple. This is where the idea of the Single Ballot comes in, as a kind of savior.
Single Ballot: Less Trickery, More Democracy?
The Single Ballot, used in provinces like Santa Fe and Córdoba, proposes a big change. Instead of having one ballot per party, all candidates appear on the same sheet. The voter marks who they want to vote for and that's it, problem solved. Or so they say.
In theory, this system would prevent ballot theft and make the process more transparent. But, as with everything in Argentina, theory rarely matches practice. Elections with Single Ballots have shown that it is not as simple as it appears.
And that's another key point: for this system to work, people need to understand it. We cannot implement such a big change without first educating the electorate. Otherwise, we run the risk of confusing people even more and ending up making things worse. Is it a Single Ballot or a Single Confusion Ballot?
How does it work?
The mechanism is simple. Upon entering to vote, you are given a single sheet with the names of all the candidates, grouped by category: president, deputies, senators, governors, whatever needs to be elected that day. On the Single Ballot, next to each candidate or list, there is a box, and all you have to do is mark your preference with a cross or circle. Difficult? Not at all. When you leave, you deposit the ballot in the box, as usual. End of the process.
Now, is it as revolutionary as it seems? At first glance, it seems so. No more ballot theft. No more piles of papers in the dark room that, if you look closely at them, many times you don’t even know which is which. Furthermore, they guarantee that your candidate will always be printed there, without having to depend on whether an inspector arrived on time or if a ballot from your party hasn’t been "lost" along the way.
Advantages: Fraud-Proof
The first major advantage of the Single Ballot is that it reduces the risk of ballot fraud to almost zero. In the current system, any crook wanting to take advantage of the lack of control can make their rivals' ballots disappear, which remains a problem in some places. With the Single Ballot, this ends, because each voter receives their own sheet with all candidates.
Additionally, it simplifies voting. Instead of having to find the correct ballot among piles of papers, you simply mark the candidate you want on a single sheet. It’s faster and clearer. It also saves costs: the state prints a controlled amount of ballots, instead of relying on each party to manage the printing and distribution of their materials. And let's not forget the ecological impact: less paper and less waste.
Power Goes to the Powerful
The real debate about the Single Ballot doesn’t have much to do with transparency or modernizing the system. Let's not be naive. What is at stake here is who benefits and who loses from this change. The big parties, those that have a well-oiled electoral machine, are not too enthusiastic about the idea. They already know how to navigate the current system, where they can use their structure to ensure votes.
The smaller parties, on the other hand, see the Single Ballot as an opportunity to compete on equal footing. With a single ballot for all candidates, they no longer have to worry about distribution or theft in dark rooms. Their visibility would increase, and with it, their chances of reaching Congress or city halls.
This is not just a technical debate; it's a power game. The Single Ballot could change the rules of the game and alter the balance between the big and small parties. But in the end, who does this change really benefit?
Single Ballot: Yes or No?
There is no doubt that the Argentine electoral system needs reform. But thinking that the Single Ballot alone will solve all our problems is, at best, naive. Yes, it may reduce some tricks and make the process cleaner, but it will not eliminate the corruption or clientelism that are intrinsic parts of our politics.
The real change will not come from a ballot, whether paper or electronic. It will come when we tackle the problem at its root: the lack of transparency, the culture of fraud, and the impunity with which many leaders operate. Until we have a real commitment to ethics and honesty in politics, the Single Ballot will just be another layer of makeup, a patch that covers a much deeper wound.
So yes, let’s discuss the Single Ballot. But let’s not fool ourselves: without a fundamental cultural change, no system is going to save us from ourselves.
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