This year features an usually high number of competitive Senate races that could result in a candidate winning with less than a majority of the vote.

This week, voters in the United Kingdom went to the polls and decided strongly against a referendum on switching federal elections to alternative voting, or “AV,” also known as “instant-runoff voting” (IRV).

The unfortunate consequence of a broken election system that discourages greater choice is that it can result in the election of individuals who don’t best represent the will of the voters. Politico is reporting that Democrats are banking on conservative third-party candidates on the ballot to help them win plurality victories.