Chapter 9 and 10: Elections and democracy, Electoral systems

Question 1

Constituent

Answer 1

A member of a constituency; a citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes.

Question 2

Balance of power mandate

Answer 2

An authority claimed by minor party or independent members of the upper house on the basis they are elected to provide a balance between government and non-government agendas and can moderate government policy based on that claimed mandate.

Question 3

Electoral writ

Answer 3

The issue of a writ triggers the election process and provides the opportunity for a person to nominate as a candidate. The writ is the legal document necessary for the official timetable and process for the election to begin.

Question 4

Compulsory voting

Answer 4

A system such as in Australia where all those citizens of voting age must participate in the election process and must do so or be penalized.

Question 5

Electoral roll

Answer 5

A document of all eligible voters which is managed by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Question 6

Electoral system

Answer 6

The method and structure which determines how representatives are chosen to represent the people. There are three basic systems which are majoritarian systems (first past the post, preferential), proportional systems and compromise systems eg mixed member systems.

Question 7

Australian electoral compromise

Answer 7

The descriptor of the two voting systems in Australia, with a compromise of having a majoritarian system for electing the lower house and government, balanced against a proportional system for the upper house to achieve broader representation of groups in society, rather than just the major party/parties.

Question 8

Exhaustive ballot

Answer 8

A system of voting where all preferences of the voter are exhausted until a candidate achieves the threshold to win a seat eg preferential system means all preferences are distributed until an absolute majority is achieved.

Question 9

Delegate model of representation

Answer 9

Members of parliament who vote in parliament according to the perceived will of the voters in their electorate, rather than the views of their party (partisan model) or personal views (trustee model).

Question 10

Absolute majority

Answer 10

The margin required to be achieved for a candidate to win a seat in the preferential system (50% plus 1 vote of the electorate)

Question 11

Gerrymander

Answer 11

The process of deliberately manipulating electoral boundaries in order to create a bias for a party or candidate.

Question 12

Ballot paper

Answer 12

The voting slip or piece of paper on which a vote is recorded. In some countries mechanical or electronic voting machines are used as an alternative.

Question 13

Informal vote

Answer 13

A ballot paper which is incorrectly completed or incomplete, is not included in the vote count and is deemed informal.

Question 14

Close of electoral rolls

Answer 14

The time when the roll is closed so that only voters who are recorded on the roll from the designated time may vote. In Australia this is done 7 days after the writs are issued for the election.

Question 15

Absentee vote

Answer 15

A vote cast when a voter cannot attend a polling place in their electorate

Question 16

List system of voting

Answer 16

A method of voting for several electoral candidates, usually members of the same political party, with one mark of the ballot. It is used to elect the parliaments of many western European countries, including Switzerland and Germany. Electors vote for one of several lists of candidates, usually prepared by the political parties. Each party is granted seats in proportion to the number of popular votes it receives.

Question 17

Malapportionment

Answer 17

The drawing of electoral boundaries to allow a large variation in the number of constituents in different electorates. A deliberate feature of early democracies eg WA and rural weighting, it is a feature of Senate voting system, with Tasmanian voters having 12 times the voting power of NSW voters.

Question 18

Mirror representation

Answer 18

The principle that the backgrounds of elected representatives, including race, class and gender are a good reflection of the backgrounds of the electorate.

Question 19

Majoritarian voting system

Answer 19

Electoral systems based on single member electorates that generally lead to election outcomes in which one party or coalition wins a clear majority of seats. The preferential system is an example in Australia and the first past the post system is used in many other countries.

Question 20

Proportional voting system

Answer 20

Proportional representation characterizes electoral systems by which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body eg Australian Senate. If 30% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly 30% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result: not just a plurality, or a bare majority, of them

Question 21

Primary vote

Answer 21

The total of the first preferences cast for each candidate in a preferential election.

Question 22

Two party preferred vote

Answer 22

A calculation of the aggregate support of the two main parties in an election after all preferences have been distributed eg ALP 49% to coalition 51%.

Question 23

Vote wastage

Answer 23

A potential problem in majoritarian systems of voting with single members. A political party may achieve a lower number of seats than their rivals because their vote is concentrated in a umber of safe seats, where their opponents achieve more seats with low margins.

Question 24

Nexus clause

Answer 24

The provision of the Australian Constitution under s24 that requires the number of members in the House of Representatives to be as, as nearly as practicable, twice the number of the Senators eg 150 to 76.

Question 25

Quota

Answer 25

The proportion of the vote required to achieve to secure election. This is used in the Senate and Legislative Council (WA), which have proportional voting systems. In a normal Senate election, the quota required for each Senator is 14.3%.

Question 26

Surplus vote

Answer 26

This refers to the proportional system of voting in Australia. Any surplus votes from elected candidates (votes in excess of the quota they need), are transferred to the candidates who were the second choice of voters on those ballot papers. Because it is not possible to determine which votes actually elected the candidate and which votes are surplus, all the elected candidate’s ballot papers are transferred at a reduced rate.

Question 27

Redistribution

Answer 27

The periodic redrawing of electoral boundaries undertaken by the AEC/WAEC, generally as a result of changing population in the region concerned.

Question 28

Multi member electorate

Answer 28

An electoral district from which two or more members are sent to the legislature. Examples include the Legislative Council in WA and the Senate where each State electorate returns 12 members.

Question 29

Single member electorate

Answer 29

An electoral district electing only one representative to office. The most common electoral system using this system is by far the First Past the Post system, under which the one candidate obtaining the most votes in one district is elected. In Australia, the preferential voting system is used to elect single members to their electorates in the lower house.

Question 30

Public funding of elections

Answer 30

The model of electoral funding which is advocated by some, who view the permission to privately fund parties and candidates as intrinsically undemocratic and open to corruption by some major donors in particular.

Question 31

Absentee vote

Answer 31

A vote cast when a voter cannot attend a polling place in their electorate, but still within their state or territory

Question 32

Provisional vote

Answer 32

A provisional vote is cast in circumstances where an elector’s name cannot be found on the roll or the name has already been marked or checked off the roll. The vote cannot be counted until a careful check of records and entitlements has been made.

Question 33

Electoral donations/funding

Answer 33

The rules around the ability of individuals and companies to fund parties and their campaigns. This can be contentious because of the rules of disclosure, when such donations are disclosed and what is an appropriate cap on donations.

Question 34

Trustee model of representation

Answer 34

Members of parliament who vote according to their personal views which they believe the electorate has entrusted to them.

Question 35

Fixed term elections

Answer 35

Elections where there is a set date for the parliament elected. In WA, there are fixed terms of 4 years, whereas the other system is maximum terms, ie the House of Reps is elected for 3 years maximum.

Question 36

Two party preferred vote

Answer 36

In Australian politics the two-party-preferred vote (TPP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the last two parties. For the purposes of TPP, the Liberal/National Coalition is usually considered a single party, with Labor being the other major party.

Question 37

Compulsory voting

Answer 37

The system where all eligible voters are required to vote under pain of a fine for a breach of civic duty. The system exists in about 29 countries including Australia.

Question 38

Single transferable vote

Answer 38

The single transferable vote (STV) is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting in multi-seat constituencies. An elector (voter) has a single vote that is initially allocated to their most preferred candidate and, as the count proceeds and candidates are either elected or eliminated, is transferred to other candidates according to the voter’s stated preferences, in proportion to any surplus or discarded votes.

Question 39

Quota

Answer 39

In proportional voting systems, this is the threshold required to secure election by a candidate. In the Senate, 14.3% of the vote needs to be achieved in a normal half Senate election.

Question 40

Preferential voting system

Answer 40

This is a from of majoritarian system voting used in Australia to elect the lower house. Under this system, voters number the candidates on the ballot paper in the order of their preference.

Question 41

Nexus clause

Answer 41

The provision of the Australian Constitution in s24 that requires the number of members in the House of Reps to be , as nearly as practicably, twice the number of Senators eg 150 in HoR and 76 in Senate