Editor’s Note: Kirby Davis is a current UNI student studying aboard at the University of Newcastle in Australia. She will be contributing to the Northern Iowan with her experiences on the other side of the world. 

After many long months of seeing advertisements and endless advocating for each party, the 2016 Presidential election has come and gone. And I don’t think many were expecting the outcome that was revealed on Nov. 9 at about 2 a.m. However, some Australian students predicted the outcome.

In Australia the election process was covered on various television stations throughout the entire day. Even Australian broadcasters assumed that Clinton would win the election, similar to that of many in America. Australians also kept a close eye on the tug-of-war for electoral votes, updating constantly after each state was announced.

Third year civil/surveying engineer Cameron Charleson’s feelings are based on his perspective of “I personally didn’t want him to win so no, I didn’t think he would win. To be honest, I think he personally won as he made it difficult for people to choose a candidate anyone liked.”

Jacob Delbridge, second year secondary humanities teaching major, had his own thoughts on America’s system of voting and the attitude of voters.

“The American voting system is flawed [in my opinion] in the sense that each state has a number of electoral votes and this varies depending on population,” Delbridge said. “People in nation states that do not have compulsory voting feel that they don’t have the power to change the outcome. People can’t be bothered to vote as they don’t see any point.”

Many Australian students were surprised that voting is not mandatory in America.

“It is outdated. It’s compulsory in Australia, which has less than 10 percent of the total US population,” Charleson said. “I don’t get this concept of how Australia has a better political scheme (in terms of voting) than what the most powerful country in the world does.”

According to the Australian Electoral Commission website, voting is mandatory by law in Australia for all eligible citizens, or those who are 18 years or older. If someone cannot provide a “valid and sufficient” reason for not voting, they could be penalized with a fine or community service requirement.

November 9th, 2016. A day that is going to be remembered by many for years to come, not just by the people of America but around the world.