Electoral Systems-As Level Politics

Front 1

Name a simple plurality system

Back 1

First-past-the-post

Front 2

Name 3 majority systems

Back 2

1. Alternative vote
2. Supplementary vote
3. Second ballot

Front 3

Name 3 proportional systems

Back 3

1. Single transferable vote
2. Additional member system
3. Alternative vote plus (Jenkins)

Front 4

Where is the first-past-the-post system used?

Back 4

Westminster elections-general elections in Britain

Front 5

What are the features of the FPTP system?

Back 5

- Simple plurality system
- The candidate with the largest number of votes within a constituency wins even if they have not gained an overall majority
- Single-member constiuencies of roughly the same size in terms of potential voters
- Boundaries are reviewed every 8-12 years

Front 6

What are the advantages of the FPTP system?

Back 6

- Usually produces a strong majority government whcih means that it is easy for the governing party to pass legislation
- Easy for the public to understand
- Produces a clear outcome quickly
- Each constituency has a named representative to look after their interests

Front 7

What are the disadvantages of the FPTP system?

Back 7

- Not a proportional system
- Votes for minor candidates/parties are essentially wasted
- Voters choice is limited which encourages tactical voting and lower turnout
- Safe seats are created and small swings in marginal seats are all-important
- There is a 'winner's bonus' for the governing party whereas the third party loses out hugely

Front 8

What were the election results of the 2005 general election using the FPTP system?

Back 8

- Labour won 35% of the votes and 55% of the seats-the winner's bonus
- The Conservatives gained just 3% less votes than Labour with 32% of the vote, and yet they received just 31% of the vote
- The Liberal Democrats gained 22% of the vote and only 10% of the seats

Front 9

Where is the alternative vote system used?

Back 9

In the elections to the Australian House of Representatives

Front 10

What are the main features of the alternative vote (AV) system?

Back 10

- Majority system designed to identify a candidate with more than 50% of the vote, in order to create a majority government
- Voters rank candidates in order of preference
- If when all first choice votes are counted then one candidate has 50%+1 of the vote then they are elected
- If no candidate achieves this then the candidate with the fewest 1 preferences is eliminated and the candidate 2 preferences are added to the candidate scores
- This system continues with candidates being eliminated and their votes reallocated until a candidate has a majority
- Voters can choose not to indicate preferences in the ballot if they do not want their vote to be reallocated

Front 11

What are the advantages of the AV system?

Back 11

- MPs are elected by majorities in their constituecies
- This ensures the link between MP and constituency is retained

Front 12

What are the disadvantages of the AV system?

Back 12

- Seen as less proportional than FPTP
- Swings in public opinion tend to exaggerate results

Front 13

Where is the supplementary vote system (SVS) used?

Back 13

Used in the 2004 and 2008 London mayoral elections

Front 14

What are the main features of the supplementary vote system?

Back 14

- Majority system
- A variant of the alternative vote
- Voters indicate a 1st and 2nd preference
- If a candidate wins 50% of the vote in the first count they are elected
- If not, all but the two strongest candidates are eliminated from the contest
- Their votes are then redistributed according to the second preferences made by the voters
- If the second preference vote is for a candidate which has been eliminated then the ballot paper is discarded

Front 15

What are the advantages of the SVS system?

Back 15

- Simple system-the 2nd preference of the voters who supported minor parties does not have to be counted

Front 16

What are the disadvantages of the SVS system?

Back 16

- Not proportional
- It is possible for the winning candidate to have failed to win 50%+1 of the vote, but to have won on a simple majority system

Front 17

What were the election results of the 2008 mayoral elections?

Back 17

- Boris Johnson failed to gain a majority on 1st preference votes (the combined Labour and Liberal Democrat votes were higher)
- However, the Liberal Democrat candidate, Brian Paddick, was eliminated and 2nd preference votes were added to the total
- Boris Johnson was elected mayor with 1,170,000 votes to Ken Livingston's 1,000,000

Front 18

Where is the Second Ballot system used?

Back 18

In the elections for the French Parliament (NOT the Presidential elections)

Front 19

What are the main features of the Second Ballot system?

Back 19

- Majority system
- Allows for 2 seperate elections to take place if necessary
- In the first election candidates are required to win 50%+1 of the vote in order to win the seat outright-if this happens there is no second ballot
- If none of the candidates achive this then (in France) candidates which gained less than 12.5% of the vote are eliminated from the second ballot which is held a week or two later
- There are other variants of this system as regards the second ballot

Front 20

What are the disadvantages of the Second Ballot system?

Back 20

- Complicated
- Expensive
- There is a time delay between the two ballots and people may not bother to vote the second time around

Front 21

Where is the list system used?

Back 21

In the elections to the European Parliament

Front 22

What are the main features of the list system?

Back 22

- Proportional system
- Does not work on the basis of a single member per constituency
- The constituencies are much larger and are multi-member
- The voters vote for their favoured party and seats are allocated according to the number of votes secured by each party
- For each constituency a party will submit a list of candidates-this is known as the closed list system
- In this version the ballot paper has only the names of the parties not the candidates
- Seats are then allocated according to the proportion of votes cast per party
- In an open list system the voter can vote for either a party or a candidate

Front 23

What are the advantages of the list system?

Back 23

- Produces a high level of proportional representation
- All votes have the same value and none are wasted
- Smaller parties have a chance of winning seats

Front 24

What are the disadvantages of the list system?

Back 24

- Voters do not have a choice about candidates with a closed list system
- Parties decide the order of the list do they determine which of their candidates has the best chance of winning a seat

Front 25

What were the election results of the 2004 election to the European Parliament?

Back 25

- 78 MEPs were elected from Britain in 12 regions
- Turnout was 40% in 2004
- In the 2004 election, the Conservatives won 36% of the
UK seats, Labour 25%, UKIP 16%, the Lib Dems 16%, the Green Party 3% and the SNP 4%
- The results were roughly proportional to the percentage of votes cast
- If FPTP had been used the Conservatives would have won 60% of the seats and the Lib Dems none at all

Front 26

Where is the single transferable vote (STV) system used?

Back 26

Used for the Northern Ireland Assembly in order to allow good representation of the hugely varying groups in society. It is also used in Northern Ireland elections to the European Parliament and in the Australian Senate.

Front 27

What are the main features of the single transferable vote system?

Back 27

- Proportional system
- Voting requires the electorate to mark their preferences 1,2,3,4 etc.
- The electorate can vote for as many or as few candidates as they wish
- The droop formula is used to work out the number of seats and to determine the 'winning threshold' required to gain a seat
- Candidates that reach the threshold have their votes reallocated and the 2nd preferences allocated to the relevant candidate
- The transfer continues each time a candidate reaches the necessary threshold
- If none of the remaining candidates reach the threshold and there are no more votes to transfer, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and their votes transferred
- Votes are transferred at a value of 0.5% of a vote

Front 28

What are the advantages of the single transferable vote system?

Back 28

- All votes count and none are wasted
- Safe seats are less likely to be created
- A party which wins more than 50% of the vote becomes a majority party
- Winning marginal seats is no longer a deciding factor
- Voters can choose from a broad range of candidates including those from the same party

Front 29

What are the disadvantages of the single transferable vote system/

Back 29

- Seen as a less accurate way of rewarding parties with seats than the list or additional member systems
- Constituencies are multi-member so there is no clear link between MP and constituency
- Tends to produce weaker coalition governments with larger parties relying on minority parties to hold on to power

Front 30

What was the election result of the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election?

Back 30

- The Democratic Unionist Party gained most seats-36
- Sinn Féin followed with 28 seats

Front 31

Where is the additional member system (AMS) used?

Back 31

In the Scottish Parliament and the Wales/London Assemblies elections

Front 32

What are the main features of the additional member system?

Back 32

- Mixed system
- Voters can vote for their constituency MP and have a second vote for the party of their choice
- A proportion of the seats are allocated on the FPTP system and the remaining seats are allocated using a party list
- The system fairly adjusts representation according to the proportion of votes cast
- A party winning a share of the vote which is not reflected in the number of constituency wins is compensated with additional members being granted seats
- The d'Hondt formula is used to work out the allocation of top-up seats in the Bundestag (German Parliament) and a modified version is used for the Scottish Parliament and the Wales/London Assemblies

Front 33

What are the advantages of the additional member system?

Back 33

- Proportional system and votes are unlikely to be wasted
- Single-member constieuncies retain the link between MP and constituency
- Voters have much greater choice as they have two votes-one for personality and one for their party

Front 34

What are the disadvantages of the additional member system?

Back 34

- Two types of MP are created-one will have clear constituency links and the other will not which could cause tension
- Parties choose the order and composition of the party list
- If the minor parties need to reach a threshold they may reamin non-represented in seats
- Very complicated and not very transparent-difficult for the public to understand

Front 35

What were the election results of the 2007 election to the Scottish Parliament?

Back 35

- In 2007, the SNP made history by winning the election (albeit as a minority government) and Alex Salmond became the first nationalist First Miniter of Scotland
- Although the SNP won only 21 seats compared to Labour's 37 in the simple majority seats, they gained 26 seats in the list system and gained 47 seats overall to Labour's 46

Front 36

What were the election results of the 2007 election to the Welsh Assembly?

Back 36

- Labour and Plaid Cymru joined together to form a government as the Red-Green Alliance

Front 37

What are the main features of the alternative vote plus (Jenkins)?

Back 37

- In 1997, the Jenkins Commissions was set up to look at the advantages/disadvantages of different electoral systems and ended up recommending an entirely new system-AV+
- The system would give voters two votes-one for a constituency MP and one for a top-up MP from an open list of candidates
- 80-85% of MPs would be elected in single-member constituencies and a candidate would have to get a simple majority of votes cast
- The voters would rank these candidates in preference and the votes counted until one candidate had achived 50%+ of the vote
- If this was not achieved then the least popular candidate would be eliminated and their votes would be transferred
- This process would continue until the 50% threshold had been reached
- 15-20% of MPs would be additional members who would make sure parties were not under-represented and they would be allocated in order to produce a more proportional system

Front 38

What are the advantages of the AV+ system?

Back 38

- Proportional system
- Would extend voter choice
- Retains link between MP and constituency
- Candidates would have to achieve a simple majority of votes

Front 39

What are the disadvantages of the AV+ system?

Back 39

- Two types of MPs created whose roles might clash
- Could lead to weak coalition governments and make it difficult to pass legislation