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
As the Scottish Government closes the ‘dark ads’ loophole, Westminster must follow suitFor too long now, online political campaigning in Britain has gone effectively unregulated – to the benefit of well-funded, secretive groups, and to the detriment of voters. Despite the rapid rise of online political ads as a campaign tool, governments...Posted 29 Oct 2020
Westminster could learn a lot from the Australian Capital Territory Could Australia’s capital show the rest of Australia and Westminster how to be fairer and more representative?Posted 21 Oct 2020
Democracy and ‘deterrence’: How out-of-date campaign rules leave the door open to turnout suppressionPresidential elections tend to highlight the best and worst of US democracy. In 2016, for instance, the winner of the popular vote did not win the election, due to the electoral college system – a...Posted 20 Oct 2020
It is possible to hold elections in a pandemic, but we have to start planning for them nowThis is a guest article from Sarah Birch, Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London. Elections are by their nature complex logistical exercises. During a pandemic, holding an election will be...Posted 15 Sep 2020
Lebanon’s confessional system keeps change just out of reachJosh Dell is a writer based in London, who has led on democracy projects for organisations including Bite The Ballot and The Politics Project. His work has been published in CityMetric, Left Foot Forward, and The Sunday...Posted 02 Sep 2020
Most of us don’t agree with a single party across all issuesThe ‘policy comparison’ tool Vote for Policies crunched the numbers from the 1.1 million responses to their pre-election survey in 2019. Vote for Policies’ Matt Chocqueel-Mangan explains their findings. This is an edited version of...Posted 17 Aug 2020