ABSTRACT
Elections are ‘a happy synthesis of liberation and revenge, secured in the ideal case without either bloodshed or massive public disorder; all the conveniences of revolution, without any of the inconveniences.’ Political scientists focus on what influences people’s votes or choices, or predicting and analysing results, but there is also much to be said about what voting means and does to relationships between people. It is not just the result that matters, it is that the expression of the will of the people is treated as sacred that is worthy of inquiry. Both voting in elections and in divisions involves a process of alchemy. In both cases individuals express their view by casting their vote – in elections by a cross on a piece of paper and in divisions by electronic voting or by walking into one of the lobbies beside the debating chamber indicating yes or no.
