It’s the most wonderful time of the year…..

Every two years, Australia’s Electoral Regulation Research Network (ERRN) holds a national forum, where colleagues from electoral commissions, academics and our allies get together and think about things.

It was a great opportunity to meet up with colleagues old and new, including Ferran Martinez i Coma from Griffith University, who interviewed me back in 2023 for his paper on managing elections during floods. We found more common ground and I look forward to collaborating with him in 2025.

I had a chance to update people about my Churchill Fellowship, make new contacts, and learn stuff about WeChat, Gen Z voting habits, voter ID laws, and lots more.

Professor Chris Marsden from Monash University, reflecting on the recent social media ban for young people, reminded us that 11 year olds in the UK will be eligible to vote in the country’s next general election.

Dr. Fan Yang from Melbourne University told us about her findings on the political participation of Chinese and South Asian people in Australia.

A VEC colleague pointed out the Big Brother ad prominently displayed outside our window, a sobering reminder that AI is everywhere, even in our pockets.

#churchillfellow #learnglobally #inspirelocally