Britain's Liberal Democrats succeed last night in frustrating a Conservative move for electoral reform – as a measure of revenge for last year's defeat over the House of Lords, but also due to their own self-interest.
Category: Electoral law
Could the Coalition steal Labor’s clothes on optional preferences?
Change in electoral law is generally driven by perceived political interest, not by principle. Shifts to more democratic outcomes happen when a major party thinks that they will work to its advantage.
Another view on compulsory voting
There was a bit of discussion in a post on Monday about the merits of compulsory voting. Those who are interested in the topic shouldn't miss Peter Brent's post from yesterday at Mumble. As you'd expect from Brent, it's very thorough and very thoughtful. It's one of those debates that a lot of people form … Continue reading Another view on compulsory voting
What if they had an inauguration and no-one came?
Hugo Chávez will be missing from Thursday's inauguration in Venezuela. It just goes to show that even the most comprehensive of constitutions can't provide for everything.
Hungary takes the John Howard route
Hungary's government comes to grief in an attempt to change the electoral law to its advantage, in much the same way that John Howard did in Australia.
Israeli Supreme Court backs democracy
The Central Elections Committee, a largely partisan body, had again tried to narrow the options available to Israel's Arab voters by disqualifying an anti-Zionist MP. Yesterday the Supreme Court stood up for democracy.
The World is Not Enough 