If in a democracy the people have the authority to choose their representatives, then it would seem to follow that they should have the authority to choose the procedures by which they choose their representatives. Yet in nearly all democracies the procedures that govern elections have been established by officials or representatives themselves (Farrell 2001: 176–81; Pilon 2002: 6–13). Legislatures, courts, and commissions rather than popular initiatives or constitutional conventions created and continue to control the electoral process in most democracies. Until recently, attempts to make major changes in any electoral system were rare and rarely succeeded (Norris 2004: 4–6). But in the past decade, electoral reform has been gaining a place on the political agenda in many democracies. In the 1990s, many newly emerging democracies designed their own systems, and nine established democracies made far-reaching changes in their existing systems. Although many of these reforms have been carried out by elites, usually in reaction to contingent political circumstances rather than in the service of a plan to improve the system, citizens themselves have increasingly demanded, and in some cases won, a significant role in the process of reform.

The question of who should choose the electoral system – and more specifically the role citizens should play in that choice – is thus timely. Posing it also creates an opportunity to raise some issues in democratic theory and practice that have been often neglected.