A panel reviewing New Zealand’s electoral system has published a set of recommendations that some politicians have said will set the stage for the country to have a permanently undemocratic government. The draft report (pdf), released on June 6, proposed major changes to modernise electoral processes and create a “fairer, clearer, and more accessible” voting…

Commentary As several blue states in the United States consider adopting “ranked choice voting” in their jurisdictions, it is opportune to examine the experience of other countries that use a similar system, notably Australia. Preferential voting—as we call it Down Under—has been part of the Australian electoral landscape for many years. Unsurprisingly it has its…

Commentary Defying all predictions of a photo finish senate race, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman won 50.3 percent of the vote to Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz’s 47.3 percent. The unexpectedly large margin helped avoid a midterm meltdown. But don’t be deceived; that margin masks major electoral system dysfunction that remains unaddressed. If the margins had been narrower, things…

Commentary In Western Australia (WA), the Mark McGowan-led state Labor government was re-elected for a second term on Mar. 13, 2021, with an unprecedented majority of 53 out of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and 22 out of 36 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house). This was a major increase from…

WASHINGTON—The United States on March 5, called China’s moves to change the Hong Kong electoral system a direct attack on its autonomy and democratic processes and said Washington was working at “galvanizing collective action” against Chinese rights abuses. Earlier on Friday, Beijing proposed legislation that would tighten its increasingly authoritarian grip on Hong Kong by…