Fresh Ideas on Electoral Matters

Electoral Regulation Research Network SA Seminar

9 March 2016

Parliament House, Adelaide

Speakers:

• Isabelle McIver
• Daniel Messemaker
• Sasha Lynch

About the Seminar:

Each year some of SA’s brightest university students are paired with MPs through the Parliamentary Internship Scheme, and some have worked on electoral projects. This event gave the floor to three of them whose projects looked at the current SA electoral system – particularly the difficult fairness criterion - and proposed changes.

The students were all, coincidentally, students of Prof Clem MacIntyre, who agreed to chair the seminar. The students each presented a summary of their projects and findings, and took questions from the floor. Discussion started with their projects and findings and led onto a more-general discussion ranging across measurement problems, alternative electoral structures and constitutional requirements. The 26 attendees included three of the MPs who are the most involved in state electoral reform. The students’ projects were very interesting, they presented well and answered questions in a thoughtful way, and the general discussion was really interesting.