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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Elections
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Elections can occur in both democracies and dictatorships- they vary in quality: free and fair or fraudulent
There are several different types of elections: local , legislative, presidential, European Elections determine who enters parliament and who controls government |
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Electoral Systems
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They define how votes are translated into seats
They affect both voter and party behaviour- link to Duverger's law and the mechanical and pychological effects of electoral systems |
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Types of Electoral Systems
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Single Member Districts
Proportional Representation MIxed Systems |
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Single Member Districts (SMDs)
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One seat allocated in each district
Competition is betyween candidates not parties The winner in the district gets the seat They include plurality and majoritarian systems |
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Plurality Systems
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The winner is the candidate who gets more votes than any one else
There is no predetermined threshold High amount of wasted votes Example: First-Past-The-Post |
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Majoritarian Systems
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The winner is decided by an absolute majority - 50% + 1
If no-one exceeds the threshold, it goes to a second round Entry to the second round varies- eg. a threshold to reach or top two candidates Allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference Less wasted votes |
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Effects of Single Member District Electoral Systems
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Single Party governments- stability, decisive policyt making
Strong link with constuents- strong accountability, MP's perform better Strong party discipline However: Disproportionate results; overreward largest parties Samll parties are disadvantaged Leads to strategic voting- consequence of Duverger's Laws and the mechanical and psychological effects of electoral systems |
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Proportional Representation (PR)
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Multiple seats allocated in each district- the district magnitude varies widely
It tries to be as accurate as possible in the percentage of votes to seat allocation Seat allocation depends on the formula used |
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District Magnitude
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The number of seats up for grabs per district in an election
As district magnitude increases, proportionality improves and small parties find it easier to win seats District magnitude effectively sets the threshold for entering parliament |
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Proportional Representation Systems
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List PR- each party presents a list of candidates in a multi-member district. Parties receive seats in proportion to their share of the vote. The lists can be open (Greece) or closed (Spain)
Single Transferable Vote: Candidates that surpass a specified quota of votes are immediately elected, any remaining votes are then reallocated until all the seats are filled. (Ireland) |
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Effects of Proportional Representation Electoral Systems
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Produce more representative parliaments
Small parties more likely to be represented More views and opinions, leads to consensue building Promotes sincere voting However, it tends to lead to coalition governments which can take a long time to form: Belgium 18months which are less stable- Italy ideological differences over economic policies which can be slow in policy making ^^^ There is a weak link with constituents |
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Mixed Systems and their effects
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Combines both SMD and PR, best of both worlds?
Proportionality of results can be flexible, 50/50 or 60/40 etc.. Constituency representation and representation of smaller parties Voters can split their vote |
