Graeme Orr, Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems: A Comparative Legal Account
| Date | 01 May 2016 |
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2016.0353 |
| Published date | 01 May 2016 |
| Author | |
| Pages | 247-248 |
Elections are colourful communal events. This social and experiential dimension happens in a space regulated by laws governing how we vote. Orr's project in this book is to encourage an appreciation of this aspect of election law. He sets up his approach in the first two chapters, treating the institution of elections as creatures of law and considering the concept of election ritual in contrast to the two dominant paradigms in existing works: the “competitive integrity model” of elections (which approaches them as aggregative devices for tallying votes) and the “political liberty and equality” model (housing a spectrum of theories centred on individual rights and participation). Those approaches view voting as essentially an instrumental process, overlooking that “elections and electoral democracy are phenomena experienced by people as a source of social meaning and lived practice, rather than neatly principled constitutional abstractions” (8). Orr's purpose is twofold: to expose how the law opens up – and closes down – space for ritual experience within elections, and to encourage election law discourse to embrace this neglected feature of the law's role. While the book's focus is on the law, the observational analysis incorporates many anthropological and sociological insights. It charts extensively comparative legal practices – drawing mainly (but not exclusively) from the United States, the author's native Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada – and critiques their contribution to fostering and sustaining space for the ritual and celebratory aspects of elections.
The rhythmic dimension of elections is treated in chapter 3 (tracing how law defines the temporal aspects of polls and election cycles); chapter 4 treats sceptically trends to increase early and postal voting, suggesting persuasively that that dilutes the communal experience of polling day. The next three chapters treat respectively: “The Who and Why” of voting (chapter 5, stressing the expressive value of voting); “The How” (chapter 6, critiquing secret ballot practices and e-voting); and “The Where” (chapter 7, on electoral geography and locations of polls). Chapters 8 and 9 offer engaging accounts of laws regulating alcohol and betting in election campaigns. The ritual of election night is considered in chapter 10. The social importance attached to this was illustrated here in 2010 when a “Save General Election Night Campaign” arose to counter UK returning officers' wish to use their...
To continue reading
Request your trial