AMS election system Flashcards
AGT
In the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary Election, the Conservatives achieved their best electoral performance since what year?
1992
AGT
What was the total number of seats won by the SNP in the 2016 Scottish Election?
63
AGT
What party gained the most number of seats in the 2016 Scottish Election when compared to the 2011 election, and how many seats did they gain?
Conservatives; 16 seats
AGT
What was the turnout (in percentage) in the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary election?
55.6%
AGT
How many total seats did UKIP receive in Wales in the 2016 Welsh Assembly election?
7
AGT
What was the turnout (in percentage) in the 2016 Welsh Assembly election?
45.3%
AGT
How many local constituencies are there in Scotland?
73
AGT
What is the rule used to allocate ‘top-up’ seats called?
d’Hondt rule
AGT
Thanks to AMS, parties have had incentives to put equal numbers of men and women on their top-up lists. How many represenatives are women in the Scottish Parliament?
35% (greater than Westminster; 34% in the 2019 election)
AGT
In the 2016 Scottish election, how many constituency ballot papers were rejected?
9,279
AGT
What percentage of postal voters stated that they were satisfied with the postal voting process in the 2016 Scottish election?
99%
AGT
Name 3 advantages of AMS
Any 3 from the following:
- voters have more choice in terms of candidates and parties
- more proportional. For example, the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections saw a maximum difference of 5% between the voted received and the MSPs returned
- more views are represented
- people are less inclined to use tactical voting as although voters may find their chosen constituency candidate has little chance of winning, their second vote will help to elect a representative from the party of their choice
AGT
Name 3 disadvantages of AMS
Any 3 from the following:
- Multiple representatives; having several MSPs to represent each voter is confusing for some voters.
- Coalitions more likely which means it is less likely to form a majority government
- Isn’t the most proportional system
- parties control regional lists
Birch
How many regional constituencies are there in the Scottish assembly
8 regional constituencies
Birch
How many MSPs are elected in each Scottish regional constituency
Each of the 8 regional constituencies elect 7MSPs
Birch
What is the quota under AMS
Number of votes divided by number of seats won
Birch
How many regional constituencies are in the welsh assembly
5
Birch
How many members of the welsh assembly are elected from each of the regions
4
Birch
How many votes do you get and what are they for
2
One for candidate one for party
Birch
Which 3 places in the uk is AMS used
Scotland assembly
Welsh assembly
Greater London assembly
Birch
Which assembly got devolution and therefore used AMS first
Scotland began in 78
Wales in 97 and the Greater London authority in 2000
Griff
How many ballots are there in an AMS voting system?
2
Griff
What is the first ballot used for?
Picking from a list of candidates who want to be the local Member of Parliament (MP).
Griff
How do voters show the their choice on the first ballot?
Like a Westminster election, the voter marks their preferred candidate with a cross.
Griff
What is the seconded ballot used for?
On the second ballot paper is a list of parties who want seats in parliament, for voters to pick from. A vote for a party is a vote to make more of their list of candidates into MPs. Each party will publish a list of candidates in advance.
Griff
In Scotland, how many MPs are elected from each ballot.
Voters elect 73 MPs from the Westminster-style first ballot paper and 56 from the second ballot paper.
Griff
How are the winners of the seconded ballot determined?
The second ballot papers are then counted. The people counting look at how many seats a party won on the first ballot paper. They then add ‘additional members’ from the party lists to make parliament match how the country voted.
Griff
How are the winners of the first ballot determined?
The Westminster-style ballot papers are counted first. The candidate with the most votes wins, even if most people didn’t vote for them.
Griff
What is the end goal of an AMS system?
The goal is to provide a proportional parliament but also keep a single local MP.
