News and Comment

The latest news and commentary from the Electoral Reform Society.

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Canada heads to the polls

Of all the former colonies to which Britain has left behind the Westminster model of democracy perhaps none so obviously resembles the UK in its politics as Canada. Canadians have a House of Commons with...

Posted 19 Oct 2015

Canadian Election

Why can’t we vote online?

The following is a guest blog from Jason Kitcat, who is on the Advisory Council for digital campaigners, the Open Rights Group. At first blush it’s understandable why many would think that Internet voting is a good...

Posted 04 Sep 2015

online voting error

Are the SNP about to break the Holyrood voting system (again)?

This article was co-authored by ERS Scotland’s Juliet Swann and Danny Zinkus Sutton from Unlock Democracy    Pollsters are perhaps not to be relied upon after their predictions for the General Election earlier in the year. Yet,...

Posted 24 Aug 2015

Taking advantage of the Greek electoral law

Greece will return to the polls on September 20th. This is the third nationwide poll this year, after an earlier election in January and a referendum in June. It is also the fourth general election...

Posted 21 Aug 2015

Greek temple

The New Zealand Flag Referendum

For many years the New Zealand flag has been the subject of much debate. Adopted when New Zealand was still a part of the British Empire, their national standard has the British flag within it....

Posted 18 Aug 2015

Kiwi Laser

Why calls for Liz Kendall to drop out are nonsense

The rise of Jeremy Corbyn has, it goes without saying, completely shifted the terms and nature of the Labour leadership debate. The panic in much of the Labour Party elite is palpable – whether it...

Posted 24 Jul 2015

2015 General Election Results

Votes for the two largest parties came to just 67.3% combined, with 36.9% of the electorate voting Conservative and 30.4% voting Labour. The number of votes cast for parties other than the Conservatives, Labour or...

Posted 19 Jul 2015

Polling Station Car Park