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What Kamala Harris’ nomination means for the American party system

Rob Richie is the co-founder and senior advisor to FairVote, a sister organisation to the Electoral Reform Society. FairVote is a nonpartisan organisation in America, campaigning for better elections for all, working to make ‘Ranked...

Posted 22 Aug 2024

Kamala Harris with a US flag, text overlay reads: “Winner-take-all voting makes most Americans nervous spectators and symbolic participants in their choice of leaders”

A wave of cities across the United States switch to fair voting systems

This week’s big electoral story is America’s midterm elections and the failure of the predicted ‘Red Wave’ to materialise. However, an underreported story has been the high number of cities that accepted proposals to introduce...

Posted 11 Nov 2022

Major American cities adopt Proportional Representation

How are the members of upper houses chosen around the world?

Many countries use a bicameral political system – meaning that they have two chambers in their parliament. These parliaments are comprised of a lower house where the government is formed and day-to-day politics is carried...

Posted 27 Jan 2022

other countries have powerful regional representatives, Britain remains the odd-one-out

Bills are being proposed across the US to scrap First Past the Post

Electoral reform is gaining momentum across the USA as an impressive number of state legislatures are considering reforming their local and statewide elections. So far, 30 bills to scrap First Past the Post and bring...

Posted 05 Feb 2021

Preferential voting is garnering bipartisan support across the US

How close was Trump to winning the election?

Just before the 2020 US Presidential election, we asked the question ‘could Trump win the Presidency and lose the popular vote again’? Now that results from every state have been certified and the Electoral College...

Posted 05 Jan 2021

None of Biden’s big swings brought any extra Electoral College votes

These US states voted to make elections fairer

In the past two weeks, the flaws of the US electoral system have become plain for all to see. As the dust slowly settles, it’s worth looking at some results that aren’t the presidential race....

Posted 13 Nov 2020

Five US cities scrap First Past the Post and bring in preferential voting

Papers, please: Why the UK must think again before importing US-style voter ID to Britain

Voting is a key cornerstone of any democratic system. Just as important are the principles underpinning it: that every vote should be equal, and every vote should count. The US elections have brought these principles...

Posted 03 Nov 2020

A study found just 31 credible instances of impersonation out of more than one billion ballots

When it comes to fair votes, the US Senate is ripe for reform

If seats are ever to match votes in America, the US will need to look at the distorted Senate. While all eyes are firmly fixed on the race for the White House and, if you’re...

Posted 02 Nov 2020

There is a huge imbalance in individual voting power across the USA

Four ways of electing a president – ranked from worst to best

America’s presidential election is the most famous presidential election in the world. The antiquated American system of choosing a president via an electoral college is also one of the worst methods for choosing a national...

Posted 02 Nov 2020

America’s Electoral College is unique for a reason

How the US’ warped Electoral College means millions of votes make no difference

In the last five US elections, two presidents have been summoned to office whilst obtaining fewer votes than their opponent. For example, in 2000 George W. Bush won with four hundred thousand fewer votes than...

Posted 02 Nov 2020