The Canadian House of Commons is examining how overseas voting works in Canadian elections. At present, special ballots can be issued to electors overseas. However, there are concerns inside Canada about whether this system enables everyone to vote.

Drawing from various studies of UK electoral administration, it was a great honour to give evidence to the proceedings.

Measures such as special ballots, postal voting and proxy voting are important for enabling more people to vote and for bringing greater inclusion to the voting process.

But these measures inevitably bring complexity and administrative challenges. Implementing overseas voting is never straight forward. UK administrators are facing many problems experienced in Canada.

Proxy voting plays an essential role in the UK for enabling many voters to participate and could be considered.

A constituency/riding for overseas voters may also enhance representation and voter turnout. The French experience, expertly explained by Élise Fraysse, was particularly instructive.

There are broader philosophical questions about the franchise, however. Should all citizens living overseas have indefinite voting rights? What about non-citizens, who pay taxes and resident within the country? Our study of unenfranchised residents in the UK reveals some of democratic issues involved.