Voters often believe they only have two choices in American elections, even when multiple candidates appear on a ballot.
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The United States has a two-party political system because of single-winner plurality voting.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors summit in June 2023 in Philadelphia.
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Studies show, though, that voters don’t like all that nastiness.
Clashes erupted in Senegal following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison for “corrupting the youth” in June 2023.
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President Macky Sall’s previous ambiguity on a third-term bid, perception of a weaponised justice system and arbitrary detention of opposition are the drivers of political violence in Senegal.
Nigeria’s Senate president, Godswill Akpabio (middle), takes the oath of office on 13 June 2023.
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Nigeria’s National Assembly must not shirk its oversight responsibilities, focusing on four priorities will be a good place to start.
Cambodian PM Hun Sen takes a selfie – but where will he post it now?
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Social media account of Cambodia’s long-serving leader was deleted amid a spat with Facebook over videoed threats of violence against opposition supporters.
When the Constitution was written, the term ‘We the People’ had a very limited application for voting rights.
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The meaning of the Constitution’s preamble, which begins with the words ‘We the People,’ has evolved over time as voting rights have expanded.
President of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Konneh announcing partial election results in Freetown on June 26, 2023.
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Sierra Leone needs to rebuild public trust in its election by maintaining a completely transparent process.
Could this be what politicians have in mind when they invoke the “hardworking family”?
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A survey of nearly 900 politicians in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Canada reveals that they systematically overestimate their electorate’s conservatism on a range of issues.
North Carolina’s election districts have been under debate and review for years.
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It’s official: State courts can review lawmakers’ election-district boundary decisions to ensure they comply with state law.
A man casts his vote at a polling station in Freetown during the 2018 general elections.
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Economic management, food shortages, health services, infrastructure and education are key issues that may shape how Sierra Leoneans vote on 24 June.
Ordinary Greeks wielded power via direct democracy.
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Those who seek power for the sake of power are less attracted to high office when more people get a say.
AI could help elected representatives raise up constituent voices.
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Public comment could soon swamp government officials and representatives, thanks to AI, but AI could also help spot compelling stories from constituents.
Members of the feminist group Las Tesis participate in Chile’s national protest movement in Santiago, Chile, in December 2019.
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People across Latin America are demanding greater political participation. Some countries, including Colombia and Chile, have responded by involving citizens in the making of their constitutions.
A judge bench and a jury box are seen in a U.S. courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Like all criminal defendants, Trump will enjoy the protection that a jury will offer from abuse by government prosecutors.
It’s not true that college students reject challenging ideas wholesale and oppose conservative views.
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The quality of public debate over free speech in higher education matters. And the debate right now gets the facts all wrong.
Activists call for ethics reform in the Supreme Court at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 2, 2023.
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Courts have no army or police force to enforce their decisions. Their power rests on their legitimacy in the public eye. How does scandal affect that?
Former U.S. president Donald Trump gives thumbs up as he watches during the first round of the LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.
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It will take a lot of strategic ingenuity to fight the rise of populism. And it will get harder to do so as politicians rig the game with rules designed to reduce voting.
Hundreds of people stand in line to vote in South Africa’s first democratic election in April 1994.
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The proportional representation system has long outlived its relevance. Its negative extremes abound in local government.
Cheryl Axleby reads the Uluru Statement from the Heart outside South Australia’s Parliament in Adelaide on March 26, after SA becomes the first state to legislate for an Indigenous Voice.
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We need a richer account of democracy within which to locate the Voice, to lift the quality of public debate about it.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, meets with President Joe Biden to discuss the debt limit in the White House on May 22, 2023.
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Brinkmanship means coming to the edge of potential default on the US debt ceiling. Are lawmakers negotiating the debt limit representing the wishes and interests of their voters?