the bill itself, providing opportunities to the minority party to, at the least, force the majority party to be put on record as opposing a popular bill. Outside the United States Analogs to the discharge petition in Westminster systems do not exist. Discharge petitions are used to try to get around obstructionism by the majority party, as a last resort to get a floor vote on an Act/bill. Anybody who is chosen in a ballot can bring a bill to a floor vote in a Westminster system, so there is no need for a discharge petition to exist. Furthermore, parts of the legislative calendar in many countries (Australia, Canada, Germany etc.) are reserved for the opposition agenda, under the control of the Leader of the Opposition and other opposition parties. Furthermore, Private Members' Bills allow potentially any proposed Act to be considered, even without the consent of the Leader of the House. Notes References Discharge Petition Bargaining in the House, 1995–2000, a paper on discharge petitions and information cascades. Parliamentary procedure United States House of Representatives