Felix Sargent

Software Engineering | Social Choice Theory

Response to the newsletter on electoral reform

Originally published at https://www.economist.com/letters/2025/07/28/our-blighty-newsletter-on-electoral-reform-prompted-readers-to-respond in response to Blighty newsletter: Can electoral reform fix Britain’s growth?

I appreciated Matthew Holehouse’s arguments on the case for mandatory voting. He correctly identifies the democratic risks of an electorate skewed towards older, wealthier homeowners, but the proposed solution addresses a symptom rather than the root cause.

The core problem is not that too few people vote, but that our system offers them little reason to engage. A better approach is to give people a reason to be motivated to vote.

Our current first-past-the-post system actively discourages this. It forces citizens to compress nuanced views into a single “X” and punishes those who support smaller parties by splitting the vote, often allowing a candidate with narrow but concentrated support to win over rivals with broader but divided appeal.

The first, most crucial reform is to fix this by adopting a more expressive ballot. With systems like approval voting, for instance, voters can support all candidates they find acceptable. This immediately liberates voters to choose their true favourites without fear of wasting their vote, providing a far richer and more accurate picture of public sentiment.

A proportional voting system would be a further step towards a government that more accurately represents the nation’s political will, forcing the consensus-building that leads to more stable, pro-growth policy.

Instead of compulsion, let’s pursue empowerment. By improving the act of voting itself, we can motivate citizens to participate, leading to a democracy that is not only more representative but also more robust.

FELIX SARGENT
Former chair
Centre for Election Science
London