Proportional Voting Around the World
Around the world, a variety of voting systems are used - from single member districts to choice voting to party list systems (and everything in between) - the nations within our global community display a staggering array of voting systems. In spite of this, one thing is clear -- the modern trend is toward using proportional voting systems, as most industrialized nations and all of the newly emerging democracies in the former Eastern Bloc have done, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the lingering winner-take-all, first-past-the-post systems exist in former British colonies, including in the United States. Ironically, even as we maintain our own unrepresentative electoral system in America, the United Kingdom is beginning vigorous discussions to move away from the very winner-take-all system it brought to our shores many years ago. In light of these global developments, FairVote monitors news coverage of international electoral systems changes.
  • For information on international electoral systems, please download IDEA's manual. [.pdf - 3.2 MB]
  • For examples of international ballot designs, please visit Andrew Reynold's site. [More]
  • For information on redistricting procedures around the world, please visit EPIC's site. [More]
  • Read our analysis of international elections using proportional voting in 2005. [More]