New Brunswick’s Commission on Electoral Reform Recommends RCV
Posted on What's New Haley Smith on March 28, 2017
RCV Voters Reject Backroom Dealing in West Australia Election
Posted on Quick News Haley Smith, Theodore Landsman on March 14, 2017
This past Saturday, the Australian Labor Party took control of the Western Australian state parliament after more than eight years of Liberal Party leadership. In a historic swing election, voters emphatically rejected the ruling Liberal-National coalition, with outgoing premier Colin Barnett conceding the race less than three hours after the polls closed. Support for the popular minor party, One Nation, was low as well.
Read moreWisconsin: Another Statewide Recount with Minimal Shifts
Posted on Quick News Haley Smith on December 13, 2016
Nearly two weeks after it started, Wisconsin’s presidential recount is complete. The recount, which was requested by Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and independent candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente ahead of Wisconsin’s November 25th filing deadline, yielded a small vote gain (131 votes of the nearly 2.8 million cast) for president-elect Donald Trump.
Read moreTurnout in the 2016 Presidential Election
Posted on Quick News Haley Smith on November 16, 2016

By October 31st, over 22 million people had cast early votes for the 2016 presidential election. In some states, like Texas and California, the number of early votes was up substantially from 2012. Despite a rise in the number of early votes cast, early returns from the November 8th election suggested turnout was actually at a low, with some outlets reporting that voter turnout was nearly the lowest it had been in a presidential election in 20 years.
Read moreThis will surprise no-one: Democrats win all U.S. House Seats in Massachusetts
Posted on What's New Haley Smith on November 08, 2016
Fractured Primaries and the 2016 Congressional Elections
Posted on What's New Haley Smith on September 08, 2016

Tennessee’s August 4th primary featured a particularly brutal battle for the Republican nomination in the Volunteer State’s 8th Congressional district. In an opportunity to claim Republican Stephen Fincher’s open seat, thirteen Republican candidates put their hat in the ring for their party’s nomination, with former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff coming out on top. But, the crowded field of candidates led to highly fractured results, and Kustoff’s victory came with only 27 percent of the vote.
Read moreVoter Turnout: Behind the Numbers
Posted on What's New Haley Smith on December 23, 2015
Like many social phenomena, voter turnout can be measured in different ways. Without a label associated with turnout, it is quite easy to confuse the level of voter participation and make misleading inferences about our participatory health. Haley Smith goes behind the numbers of voter turnout.
Read moreVirginia Legislative Elections Highlight Problems with Winner-Take-All Elections
Posted on What's New Haley Smith on November 09, 2015
Virginia's 2015 state legislative elections highlighted problems with winner-take-all elections in single-winner districts. More than two-thirds of seats were uncontested, 100% of incumbents won, and outcomes aligned nearly perfectly with the underlying partisan lean. Ranked choice voting in multi-winner districts would transform voter choice and fairness of representation.
Read more