Ontario voters stay home, leaving a barely legitimate Assembly
Yesterday’s provincial election for the Ontario Legislative Assembly raises some alarming questions about how Canadian electoral systems are functioning to provide representative and responsible government. The most dramatic outcome of … Continue reading
It actually happened: independent surge in Australia as government changes
Representation in Australia’s Parliament has undergone a remarkable sea change after last Saturday’s elections. The previous government has lost around 20 seats in the 151 seat House of Representatives, taking … Continue reading
Independent prospects in today’s Australian election
It’s Election Day in Australia, and one of the key outcomes to watch is the fate of a historically large number of independent candidates with real chances of getting elected. … Continue reading
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
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
On Elections 