The Reformer

2022 is a big year for presidential elections in Europe

How are Presidents elected around Europe?

2022 is a big year for presidential elections in Europe – with the Italian, German and French presidencies all open...

A tram in portugal

As Portugal heads to the polls – how do Portuguese elections work?

Portugal is holding a snap election at the end of the month after parliament rejected the budget proposed by António...

With First Past the Post extreme candidates simply join mainstream parties

Does First Past the Post stop extremists getting into parliaments?

If you listen to supporters of first past the post, you might be forgiven for thinking that British voters are...

The smaller the constituency, the less proportional the results

What is the ideal number of MPs per constituency in proportional representation?

When choosing a proportional voting system, one of the most important decisions is the number of MPs each constituency elects...

Within Europe semi-open lists are the norm

What’s the difference between open and closed list proportional representation?

When discussing proportional voting systems, or voting systems in general, we usually talk about how they allocate seats to political...

Polling Station post sign

Was there a referendum on proportional representation?

Whenever a conversation online comes to proportional representation, you can set your watch by the appearance of someone claiming that...

Polling Station

Barriers to entry: How do electoral thresholds work?

A common feature of many Party List PR systems is an electoral threshold – a pre-set bar that parties have...

William Murphy Irish STV ballots

Which votes get transferred with the Single Transferable Vote?

The first meetings of the Electoral Reform Society, then known as the Proportional Representation Society, quickly settled on the Single...

Irish STV Ballots

Hare vs Droop: How to set the quota under STV

The first meetings of the Proportional Representation Society quickly attracted many leading lights of the Victorian age – including Lewis...

Polling Station

What is the difference between D’hondt and Sainte-Laguë?

Looking at just Party List systems in western Europe, there is a lot of variation.

New Zealand’s party system is a strong contender for what might happen if Britain moved to PR

What would the party system look like if the UK had proportional representation?

By looking at the experiences of similar countries and the devolved governments, we can see which kinds of party system...

Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament

How May’s elections for the Senedd Cymru will work

On May 6, more than 2 million voters will be called to elect their 60 representatives in the Senedd /...