Ballot and Vote Structure

Question 1

Ballot structure

Answer 1

How votes are cast

1 out of the 4 constitutive elemnts of electoral systems

What kind of vote?: Categorical (just 1 vote) or Ordinal (ranking)
Who are you voting for?: Candidate(s), Party(ies), Both
Is there a party list? Is it closed, ordered, or ordinal?

Question 2

Ballot Structure in List PR system

Answer 2

Vote for a party not a candidate

voting -> allocation of seats per formula ->selection of representatives

Closed List: a party drafts a list of candidates for a given region and the seats are allocated according to the rank order used on the list
Ordered List: Voters are provided w/ the option of declaring a preference vote for their preferred candidate
Open List: Voters fully determine which candidates are elected by declaring a preference vote for a candidate(s) w/in the party list

Question 3

Closed List PR

Answer 3

A party draws up a lost of candidates for the given region and the seats are allocated accordign to the rank order used on the list

most common list format

Pros:
1. advantage the party elites
2. max the chance for the party’s prefered candidates to be elected
3. could increase the proportion of minority MPs
Cons:
1. Individual voters have no say over who represents them

Argentina, Colombia, Israel, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay

Question 4

Ordered List PR

Answer 4

Voters have the option of declaring a preference vote for their preferred candidate

lets voters have soem influence on the rank order of candidates

Pro : voters have some say over which candidates are elected
Con : List order is established by parties and is usally prevalent

Austria, Belgium, CZ, Estonia, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden

Question 5

Open List PR

Answer 5

Voters fully determine which candidates are elected by declating a preference vote for a candidate(s) w/in the party list

not very common & thresholds are often applied

Pro : posssibly stronger relationship btw candidates and voters
Cons : unfavorable to minority candidates and might favor patronage and personal voting

Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Peru, Poland, Sri Lanka

Question 6

Panachage

Answer 6

A procedure that gives voters +1 vote in the same ballot. This vote can be distributed btw individual candidates from different party lists

Luxembourg and Switzerland: voters have as many votes as there are seats to be filled

Question 7

Cumulation

Answer 7

Gives voters more than 1 vote in the same ballot but allows them to cast more than 1 vote for a single highly favored candidate