A small change has the potential to make a big difference to Australian electionsIn 1918, a seemingly ordinary by-election in the Australian electoral division of Swan changed Australian federal politics forever. The conservatives left Labor in the dust with almost double the vote. Unfortunately for them, there were...Posted 08 Jan 2021
Is the government’s Online Harms Bill fit for purpose?By Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. After a long delay, the government has finally released plans to tackle ‘online harms’. The online harms bill, which...Posted 04 Jan 2021
What we’ve learnt about the government’s ‘Democracy Commission’By Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. It has been a year since the last general election and, the Conservative party pledged it would set up...Posted 18 Dec 2020
Shock Parliamentary survey results highlights calls for electoral reformBy Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. A survey conducted by the House of Commons’ Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC) asked people what...Posted 15 Dec 2020
YouGov study reveals the stark levels of discontent with WestminsterBy Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. Last week, polling firm YouGov released a wide-ranging study on democracy and its perception amongst Britons – and it...Posted 11 Dec 2020
What is the government’s proposed Democracy Commission?By Akash Thiara, a Placement Student with the Electoral Reform Society from the University of Nottingham. During last year’s general election, the government pledged that, in its first year, it would set up a ‘Constitution,...Posted 07 Dec 2020
Happy birthday to the Electoral Commission – now let’s give it the powers it needsThis Monday marks 20 years since the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 received Royal Assent. It was an act which set up the Electoral Commission, the UK’s independent elections watchdog – and tackled...Posted 30 Nov 2020
These US states voted to make elections fairerIn the past two weeks, the flaws of the US electoral system have become plain for all to see. As the dust slowly settles, it’s worth looking at some results that aren’t the presidential race....Posted 13 Nov 2020
How the US’ warped Electoral College means millions of votes make no differenceIn the last five US elections, two presidents have been summoned to office whilst obtaining fewer votes than their opponent. For example, in 2000 George W. Bush won with four hundred thousand fewer votes than...Posted 02 Nov 2020
US election: Why 33 states have had no presidential campaign events at allFairVote’s Benjamin Oestericher explains how America’s first past the post style electoral college makes vast swathes of the country an electoral desert. This map, designed by FairVote, displays the geographic composition of 2020 campaign events...Posted 30 Oct 2020