Australia’s growing habit of Independents
One to the key interests in Saturday’s Australian national elections is the sharply rising prospects of independent candidates, running without endorsement from any political party. This situation requires some explanation, … Continue reading
Logic of ‘voter equality’ drives WA electoral reform
An inquiry into defects in the way the Western Australian Legislative Council is elected has produced a most unusual reform report, and could see the state create possibly the world’s most democratic legislative chamber.
Canada’s new parliamentary caucuses are all wrongly constituted
Canada has a newly elected national parliament, but its composition is very wrong. In fact, the party parliamentary caucuses in the new House of Commons are unrepresentative of the Canadian … Continue reading
US Supreme Court says cheating with electoral boundaries is just fine
The toxic virus of political partisanship today infected the United States Supreme Court, with a majority of five judges appointed by Republican presidents voting to declare that federal courts should … Continue reading
Australia unchanged
Australia has gone to a national election, and the result is a Parliament virtually identical to the outgoing one. The incumbent Liberal-National government will continue in office. And key political … Continue reading
Australia goes to the polls
Australians head to the polls today to elect their 46th national House of Representatives and half their Senate, both using preferential (ranked choice) voting. It will be a poignant event … Continue reading
Will ranked-choice voting spread in the US?
After the historic use of ranked choice (preferential) voting* in the US state of Maine to conduct elections for representatives to the national Congress, social media is alive with the … Continue reading
Ranked choice voting: the Australian connection
Australians have been watching developments last week regarding ranked choice voting* (RCV) in the state of Maine – and potentially elsewhere in the US – with great interest, because Australia … Continue reading
As goes Maine … US state uses preferential voting to elect national representatives
After two years of dogged insistence from an independent-minded community, voters in the US state of Maine have become the first in the nation’s history to elect representatives in their … Continue reading
Close final US House special election backs ‘blue wave’ prediction
Predictions of a major ‘wave’ against Republican party incumbents in the coming US midterm elections have gained ground at the final special election to be held before the general election … Continue reading
On Elections 