On May 1, London held its third mayoral election using a form of instant runoff voting. The Conservative Party's Boris Johnson defeated Labor Party incumbent Ken Livingstone, winning 53% to 47% in the instant runoff. This election had the city's best turnout ever -- a 20% increase compared to the 2004 elections.

Also known as the "supplementary vote," the London system limits voters to a first choice and second choice and moves directly to a second round of voting between the top two finishers. It was first implemented in 2000 after 72% of the London electorate approved direct mayoral elections with IRV by referendum. The system is increasingly popular in England: 12 cities use this form of IRV for mayoral elections.

Londoners also elected the London Assembly (14 members elected directly from constituencies and 11 seats at-large) through a mixed member proportional system. The Conservative and Labor Parties swept the 14 winner-take-all seats, but smaller parties won a total of six seats due to proportional voting. 

The Supreme Court on April 28 by a 6-3 vote upheld Indiana’s voter identification requirement that could disenfranchise many of the tens of thousands of Indiana voters who lack proper identification – such as the poor, young and elderly who do not drive. Indiana has never had a single documented case of voter impersonation, which the law allegedly seeks to prevent.
 
The ruling throws the issue of voter ID to the political arena, where the facts are strongly on the side of voter ID opponents. FairVote's Rob Richie commented, "Our laws should never block access to the polls even as we ensure secure elections for all. Long-term, we need a constitutional right to vote to ground our elections and universal voter registration where the government and citizens share responsibility for maintaining full and accurate rolls.”