[2] The Society's foundation was welcomed by several notable Irish politicians, including Arthur Griffith, who saw proportional representation as a way of ensuring that both the Unionist and Nationalist communities were fairly represented in Ireland once it had Home Rule.
[3] The electoral system endorsed by the Society was the single transferable vote (STV), combined with the quota counting method and multi-member constituencies.
[4] The Society's president was the moderate unionist Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon.
[6] The Society maintained its activity and proportional representation was first introduced in 1918 for a local election to the Sligo Corporation the following year.
The two attempts of Fianna Fáil to alter the voting system (1959 and 1968) were campaigned against by the British Electoral Reform Society, led by Enid Lakeman.