Different Electoral Systems Flashcards
The main functions and importance of elections…
> Elections are used to choose representatives. In a democracy, legislators and decision-makers have to be elected.
> Elections are the most important way in which citizens become involved in politics. For many it is their only form of political participation.
> Elections are a time when government and elected representatives can be called to account. During an election campaign, the candidates must justify what they and their party have done.
> Democracy demands that the people have choice over who represents their ideas and interests. Elections should provide that choice.
> Elections have an educative function. During election campaigns, the public can become better informed about the key political issues that face their locality, region, or nation.
> Elections provide a mandate. The winners in an election are granted democratic legitimacy, the political authority to carry out the political programme that they are proposing.
Positive aspects of UK elections…
> The secrecy of the ballot is a key principle of UK elections, though this is not guaranteed.
> There is relatively little corruption and malpractice is punishable by law.
> The conduct of elections is safeguarded by the Electoral Commission, which is independent of the govt.
> The constituency system ensures clear representation for citizens.
> The counting of votes is carefully and thoroughly regulated.
> Elections are held on a regular basis by law.
> Any citizen can register to stand to be an MP. A required £500 deposit means many can afford to stand.
> Virtually all adults are permitted to vote.
> There is freedom of information and of the media.
Types of electoral system - First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)
Electoral system: FPTP
Type of system: Plurality
Definition: To win a seat, a candidate only requires one more vote than any other candidate, meaning they do not need to secure an absolute majority.
Where used in the UK?: General elections; Local council elections in England and Wales
Types of electoral system - Supplementary Vote (SV)
Electoral system: SV
Type of system: Majoritarian
Definition: Used to elect a single candidate, these systems are designed to attempt to secure an absolute majority for the winning candidate.
Where used in the UK?: London major; Other metro mayors; By-elections for STV
Types of electoral system - Single Transferable Vote (STV)
Electoral system: STV
Type of system: Proportional
Definition: A system that attempts to allocate seats in direct proportion to votes cast. As such, they are multi-member constituencies.
Where used in the UK?: Northern Ireland Parliament; Scottish local govt
Types of electoral system - Additional Member System (AMS)
Electoral system: AMS
Type of system: Hybrid
Definition: A system that mixes two other types of system, such as plurality and proportional.
Where used in the UK?: Scottish Parliament; Welsh Senedd; Greater London Assembly
Key features of FPTP…
> Small, single-member constituencies
> Winner-takes-all based on a plurality
> Voting is simple: place an X next to your chosen candidate
> Voters get one vote for one candidate
> Voters choose a candidate, not a party
Constituency sizes…
> FPTP operates by dividing the country into 650 constituencies of roughly equal size.
> The average adult population of a constituency is 75,000, though there is some variation, and the geographical sizes of constituencies vary considerably, for example, tightly-populated London constituencies are much smaller in size than sparsely-populated constituencies in rural areas.
> Ideally, constituency populations should be relatively homogeneous to allow for effective representation by their single representative.
FPTP election results…
> In 2019, 421 of the 650 seats were won by an absolute majority, with 207 seats won by between 40% and 50%, and 22 seats won by less than 40%.
> In 2015, 319 out of 650 seats were won by an absolute majority. 50 MPs secured a seat with less than 40% of the popular vote in their constituency, so most elected MPs in 2015 had to admit that more people voted against them rather than for them.
Advantages of FPTP…
> It is a simple system and voters can understand exactly what they are voting for.
> It helps to ensure representatives are closely bound to the needs and concerns of their constituency.
> It helps to ensure small extremist parties find it difficult to gain representation.
> It tends to produce an outright winner, that is, a party that has an overall majority in the HoC and therefore produces a clear mandate.
> It is traditional, having been used as the main voting system throughout British electoral history, and is part of British political tradition.
Disadvantages of FPTP…
> It gives an advantage to parties that have concentrated support in certain regions.
> It is disadvantageous to parties whose support is dispersed widely.
> It favours the large parties and prevents serious challenges from small parties.
> There is a ‘winner’s bonus’, where the biggest party tends to win more than its proportionate share of the vote. In 2019, the Conservatives won 43% of the votes, which was converted into 56% of the seats.
> In some recent general elections (2010, 2015, and 2017), the system failed to produce a decisive govt majority.
Where is party support dispersed?…
> Conservative support is concentrated in south and central England and across anti-EU areas of the north.
> Labour support is concentrated in industrial, urban northern England and Wales, and across London.
> The SNP only contests the 59 seats in Scotland.
> Lib Dem support is widely dispersed across the whole UK.
> The DUP only contests seats in Northern Ireland.
> Sinn Fein only contests seats in Northern Ireland.
> Plaid Cymru only contests seats in Wales.
> Brexit Party support was thinly spread across England and Wales.
> Green Party support is widely dispersed.
Safe seats…
A safe seat is a seat in which the incumbent has a considerable majority over their closest rival and is largely immune to swings in voting choice. The same political party retains the seat from election to election.
The implications of safe seats include:
> Parties will pay little attention to safe seats in the election campaigns, so voters will receive less information.
> MPs sitting for such safe constituencies are less accountable for their actions because they have virtually no chance of losing their seat at the next election.
> Voters in safe seats may feel their votes are ‘wasted’ because they have no realistic chance of influencing the outcome. This may be the case whether they support the winning party or one of the losing parties.
> It means that votes are, effectively, not of equal value. Votes in safe seats are worth less than votes in seats that are keenly contested, where voters may have more of an impact.
> The Electoral Reform Society estimated that in the 2019 GE, 70.8% of the voters (22.6 million) were effectively casting ‘wasted’ votes because they had no role in influencing the outcome in their constituencies.
Marginal seats…
A marginal seat is a seat held by the incumbent with a small majority/plurality of the vote.
The implications of marginal seats include:
> Parties concentrate their efforts on marginal seats, so voters there receive much more information and attention.
> Votes in marginal seats are more valuable than votes in safe seats as the voters in marginal seats are more likely to influence the result.
> The individual candidates become more important in marginal seats. In safe seats, the qualities of individual candidates matter little, but in marginals they can be crucial.
> Marginal seats may result in ‘tactical voting’. This is when a voter who supports a party that is unlikely to win a constituency switches allegiance to one of the other parties in the hopes of influencing the outcome, usually by blocking the less-favoured party.
Additional Member System (AMS)…
AMS is a hybrid system that combines FPTP with a proportional representative system, in this case, one called a ‘closed party list’.
A proportion of the seats is awarded through FPTP and the rest are awarded by a regional closed party list system, meaning every voter has two votes - one for a constituency and one for a party.
In Scotland, 73 seats are elected by FPTP, while 56 are elected via the list system. In Wales, 40 seats are constituency-based and 20 decided by the list system.
No real distinction is made between the two members, though the senior party members tend to be elected from lists rather than in constituencies.
