How did Switzerland get proportional representation? In the early 1890s, a handful of Swiss cantons (states) held the first public elections in Europe to truly use proportional representation (PR). The success of these early votes meant that over the next few... Posted 06 Jan 2023
A wave of cities across the United States switch to fair voting systems This week’s big electoral story is America’s midterm elections and the failure of the predicted ‘Red Wave’ to materialise. However, an underreported story has been the high number of cities that accepted proposals to introduce... Posted 11 Nov 2022
How do elections work in the Australian states? Six months after choosing a new federal parliament, voters in the key Australian state of Victoria will be returning to the polling booth this Saturday (26th November), not just in hope of getting their hands... Posted 10 Nov 2022
Quebec’s 2022 election reveals error of not scrapping first past the post Back in 2018 we reported on the excitement in Quebec which was set for a move from First Past the Post (FPTP) to proportional representation, following a commitment from the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, to the... Posted 05 Oct 2022
What electoral system does India use to elect the Lok Sabha? India, the largest democracy in the world, has a system of democratic federalism which has both large amounts of parties and Westminster-style First Past the Post (FPTP) voting. The Indian Federal government is made up... Posted 29 Sep 2022
Renewing democracy in an age of authoritarians (Labour Conference) Join us and IPPR to discuss how we can renew democracy in an age of authoritarians. Chair: Harry Quilter-Pinner, Director of Research and Engagement, IPPR Speakers: David Lammy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign,... Posted 16 Sep 2022
How do elections work in Latvia? Latvia’s election this Saturday (1st October) has been in the calendar for a while – a referendum is required to dissolve the Latvian parliament early. Such a vote can be called either by the president,... Posted 15 Sep 2022
How do elections work in Sweden? Sunday 11th September is election day in Sweden – where voters can elect a new parliament and decide the make-up of the country’s regional and municipal councils – all Swedish political bodies are elected to... Posted 29 Aug 2022
How did the Republic of Ireland get proportional representation? Today, almost every election held on the island of Ireland uses the Single Transferable Vote (STV). Bar elections for the 18 Westminster seats from Northern Ireland – every other election, on both sides of the border,... Posted 10 Aug 2022
How did New Zealand get proportional representation? Prior to 1996, MPs were elected to New Zealand’s House of Representatives using the same unrepresentative First Past The Post (FPTP) system that is used to elect MPs to the UK’s House of Commons. Since... Posted 02 Aug 2022