How the Representation of the People Bill can be amended to strengthen democracy

The UK Government’s new Representation of the People Bill is set to transform the way the UK votes. Toby S. James draws attention to a move towards automatic voter registration and puts forward recommendations for how those proposals could be improved and strengthen democracy. Major Bills to change how elections are important moments in the evolution of…Read more How the Representation of the People Bill can be amended to strengthen democracy

Voting in supermarkets, bank cards as ID and £500,000 fines for breaking the rules – how British elections could be about to change

Originally published on The Conversation Elections need periodic reform to ensure that they have integrity and fulfil their role in line with the times, and the British government has unveiled its proposals for doing just that. Britain was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of such democratic electoral reforms. In the late 19th and…Read more Voting in supermarkets, bank cards as ID and £500,000 fines for breaking the rules – how British elections could be about to change

The State of Political Leadership in Britain

By which benchmarks should we assess political leaders? How are Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage performing, and why?Watch our expert book launch from this week, including: Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Patrick Diamond and Emmanuel Avril.It provides an overview of the conceptual and political landscape - useful for scholars, students, the media and the…Read more The State of Political Leadership in Britain

What is an electoral integrity research methodology?

How do different scholars do research on electoral integrity? How should they? Prior to making a decision about the choice of methods (e.g. surveys, interviews...) there is a decisions about *methodology*. This involves making assumptions about the nature of the social scientific enquiry. In this new chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Electoral Integrity I…Read more What is an electoral integrity research methodology?

Evoting Conference 2025

It was an honour to key the keynote speech open the t𝗵𝗲 𝗘-𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗗 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. It look place in 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆, France at the Centre Inria de l’Université de Lorraine. Over three days, more than 𝟭𝟯𝟬 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱—in computer science, political science, law, cybersecurity, and electoral institutions—will discuss the challenges of…Read more Evoting Conference 2025

Billions voted in 2024, but Electoral Integrity Project exposes cracks in global democracy

by Toby S. James, Holly Ann Garnett, and Sofia Caal-Lam The Global Electoral Report 2025 has been published and raises concerns about the state of democracy around the world during 2024’s ‘Super Cycle’ of elections. Described by Time Magazine as the ‘Year of Elections’, 2024 saw 1.6 billion people head to the polls across 74…Read more Billions voted in 2024, but Electoral Integrity Project exposes cracks in global democracy

Electoral Integrity-IDEA report on ‘Review of the 2024 Super-Cycle Year of Elections’ calls for global action

The Electoral Integrity Project collaborated with International IDEA to publish a special report on “Review of the 2024 Super-Cycle Year of Elections: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities”. I edited report alongside Holly Ann Garnett and Erik Asplund. It included chapters from myself, Vasil Vashchanka, Gudlaug Olafsdottir, Julia Thalin, Ingrid Bicu, Sonali Campion, Erik Asplund, Madeline Harty…Read more Electoral Integrity-IDEA report on ‘Review of the 2024 Super-Cycle Year of Elections’ calls for global action