Elections and Representations Flashcards
What are the functions of representative elections?
- democratic decision making
- reflective of people’s will
- peaceful political change - enables it, instead of protests in streets, protest w vote
- democratic choice ensured - alternative leaders/parties/policies available
- provides political legitimacy and a mandate to carry out policies - right to rule
- creates accountability to electors
- citizen responsibility - duty to citizen to uphold laws passed by freely elected govt.
What are the democratic priniciples of elections?
- free and equal vote - election must ensure maximum participation + equality in the value of each vote
- no voting pressure - achieved by secret ballot
- freedom of information - all information about candidate made known via political freedoms like freedom of speech, assembly and free media, full disclosure
- opportunity to run for political office - clear way that doesn’t privilige, increases amount of candidates
- consistent elections
- fair procedures administered by an independent electoral commission - arguably another requirement as elections can be manipulated and this can reduce the capacity of an election to produce a democratic outcome
What is gerrymandering?
endeavoring to establish political advantage for a party by manipulating district/electoral boundaries to create partisan advantaged, based on the 1812 election with Governor Gerry in Massachusetts, USA
What is malapportionment?
the practice of the numbers of electors in different seats. Its result is to reduce the relative value of votes in larger electorates. In Australia it has always been used to favour rural over urban constituents. An example is 2001 in the WA Legislative Assembly the electorate of Wanneroo had 37900 electors while Eyre only had 9447 electors (Eyre has 4x voting power)
What have been the electoral changes in Australia?
1800s
- first past the post in the colonies, plural voting (vote per property) and limited franchise
- adopted from Britain House of Commonms
- 1856: secret ballot system introduced (1896 in WA)
1902
- Commonwealth Franchise Act
- rid plural votes
- voting age 21 for males and females
1924
- compulsory voting in federal elections
1940s
- voting age reduced to 18 w uproar over conscription at 18
1962
- right to vote
- indigenous Australians now can vote
1984
- indigenous Australians given uniform voting rights with other Australian citizens
- variation for average seat number of electors in each HoR seat reduced from 20% to 10%
How was malapproportionment attempted to be fixed in WA?
2005: legislation passed both WA houses (last state to continue a general system of malapproportionment) creating one vote one value for LA elections but did not reduce gerry-mandering in LC
What are the advantages and disadvantages of non-fixed term?
ADVANTAGES
- allow an alection to be held when a govt.is facing a crisis. Fits with the Westminster chain of responsibility (govt - parliament - voters)
DISADVANTAGES
- enables govt. to manipulate the system by choosing a time which is to their advantage
- reduce business confidence as it provides less time to develop economic policies
- increases election costs
- alienate voters who dislike frequent elections
What are the advantages and disadvantages of fixed terms?
ADVANTAGES
- cheaper
- contributes to improved policy making and greater business confidence
- fairer as reduces the advantage of govt. over opposition parties
DISADVANTAGES
- lead to ‘lame duck’ govt. that no longer have a real mandate (due to unpopularity/policies) but can’t be dismissed until the next election is due
What is the issue with electoral spending and how has it been legislated?
its a major issue in all democracies about the cost of standing for office. The costs of electoral campaigning create a barrier to fair and equal participation of candidates in an election
- should campaign expenditure be limited?
- do we need controls on private donations received by political parties?
- should public funding be provided?
1984: tax revenue contribution to campaign costs for parties in federal elctions. Any candidate/party that gains 4% + of the first preferential vote is eligible. In 2010 it was $2.31 cents/1st preference vote gained
What is compulsory voting?
all eligible people are required to enrol/register as voters then attend a polling place, have their name crossed off an electoral roll and be given ballot slips that are placed in a ballot box.
Australia is the only English speaking country to legislate it
What are the arguments for compulsory voting?
- adding to the democratic right to vote, an extension of franchise
- democratic duty
- govt. can more genuinly claim to represent the people and have a stronger mandate for their policies - certain groups are less likely to vote if it is voluntary
- commitment of people to the political system and to individual political decisions is increased
- elections can focus on issues, not convincing people to vote
- less affected by single interest groups or radical parties
- may reduce the chance of electoral corruption i.e. multiple voting or electoral bribery
What are the disadvantages of compulsory voting?
- voting is a right not a duty. Freedom to vote=freedom not to vote
- result in politics that were active as political parties would need better policies and leadership to convince supporters to vote
- decrease the level of informal votes and reduce the chance of election results being determined by apathetic and ill informed voters
- reduce the use of negative campaigning
What are fixed and maximum terms?
- fixed term: requires new election be held after a specific term/on a specific date, WA 4 years in Upper House
- maximum term: allows govt. to call early elections, WA 4 years Lower House
