The only big new area for majority voting will be research.

ECONOMIST: Mountains still to climb | The

Through the 1960s and 1970s, Sanibel residents fought development plans to turn the island into a major residential area, finally voting to incorporate as the Town of Sanibel in 1974 and immediately putting all building permits on hold.

BBC: Florida��s stunning island sanctuary

But when one Swiss politician recently proposed going back to square one, and voting again on joining the European Economic Area, he was ridiculed, with colleagues suggesting he "drink a glass of Swiss wine to clear his head".

BBC: Sceptical Swiss locked into EU's embrace

But I then traveled up to the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, a largely Tajik area, and there people were voting in significant numbers, not least because the Tajiks are a minority, want to, try to acquire a block of power in parliament to counterbalance what they say is a Pashtun-governated Karzai administration in Afghanistan.

NPR: Afghanistan Officials Call Election a Success

Three years ago, the high court found that the powerful enforcement tool in the Voting Rights Act was being applied too broadly in a small Austin, Texas-area municipality.

CNN: Court upholds key tool of Voting Rights Act

Voting figures for the EU Council - the grouping of ministers, according to policy area - show that the UK government voted against or abstained 38 times out of 373.

BBC: EU votes show strong UK dissent - Votewatch study

The market should expect Euro-area parliaments to approve the Cypriot bailout, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and company voting on Thursday.

FORBES: Gold Shock And Awe But Will The EURO Be Moved?

Another area for reform concerns the Council of Ministers: countries will have to accept the wider use of majority voting there, if legislation is not to be blocked wholesale by a proliferation of national vetoes.

ECONOMIST: The EU��s coming wrangle for reforms and spoils