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Which is the fairest electoral system? Mega-election year sparks debate

Proportional representation or winner takes all? Here’s how researchers compare the merits of contrasting voting methods.
By
  1. Ramin Skibba

    1. Ramin Skibba is an astrophysicist turned science writer based in San Diego, California.

A row of four voters fill out their ballots at a polling station with a painted American flag in the shape of the USA on the wall behind them

Voters at a polling station in the United States: the only democracy still using an electoral-college system to select its president. Credit: Julia Nikhinson/The Washington Post/Getty

The US election being held in November is only the latest in a pivotal year of elections. By the end of 2024, as many as two billion voters will have gone to the polls. For political scientists, this year is a chance not only to dive into each election in detail, but also to compare voting systems. And the active election cycle is reigniting a long-running debate in the field: of the democratic nations that hold free and fair elections, are some electoral systems fairer than others?

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Nature 634, 280-283 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03258-9

References

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