Maine preferential voting reform back to square one
A judicial interpretation of mid-19th century terminology has trashed the desire of the citizens of the US state of Maine to start electing their politicians by preferential voting. In November … Continue reading
Legal ruling means original voter ballots will determine new Senator
The new Senator to replace Bob Day, who left the Australian Senate late last year, will be determined by a recount of the ballots from the July 2016 election, after … Continue reading
Who gets to choose – voters or party officials?
A vacancy in the Australian Senate exists – for one of the 12 representatives elected by voters in the state of South Australia – and the nation’s High Court will … Continue reading
So … Who did put Family First?
Political conservative Bob Day resigned from the Australian Senate late in 2016, but the intriguing history of his encounters with the electoral system have left a legacy of voting system issues … Continue reading
Austrian presidential vote was a rejection of major party politics
Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen’s re-win in the re-run of the ballot for President of Austria has calmed European nerves, with his final victory over the far-right Freedom Party’s … Continue reading
So ends this Day – Australian Senator resigns amid eligibility doubts
The election of a Senator for South Australia in July is descending into a legal fiasco. A few weeks ago Senator Bob Day, the only federal parliamentary representative from the conservative … Continue reading
Could senators lose a year of their terms?
A reader of this site – Reg Jones – has sent in a comment/query suggesting that there may be some defect in the Australian government’s calculation that the state senators … Continue reading
Optional preferencing law upheld by Court
Australians will elect their senators on July 2 by the optional preferencing method, after a legal challenge to recent legislative changes was unanimously rejected by the High Court today. “None of … Continue reading
High Court upholds roll closure
The Australian High Court has upheld the legal validity of the current law that closes off changes to the national electoral roll early in the election campaign. As in previous … Continue reading
High Court ponders second electoral challenge
Following last weeks’s challenge to the new voting procedures for electing senators, Australia’s High Court today heard a challenge to the statutory cut-off date for Australians to join the electoral roll … Continue reading
