Electoral System

Question 1

FPTP

Answer 1

-simple plurality system
-winner does not have to get a majority
-party w/ largest no. Of seats has right to form a gov
-single member constituencies
-until 1948 some constit returned more than one member… for ex Blackburn + Bolton, dual member constituency
-av number of voters in a constituency = 70,000
- every 5 years in the first Thursday in May

Question 2

Additional Member System (AMS)

Answer 2

Used in Scot parl, welsh assembly + Greater London assembly
Voters have 2 votes: first for constit rep… eec by FPTP
2nd is for a party list and uses multi-member regional const… element of prop rep
Fewer list membs than const reps so known as ‘additional’ or ‘top-up’ members
4 year fixed terms

Question 3

Single Transferable Vote

Answer 3

Used in NI assembly, Euro parl elecs in NI, Scot council elecs
Multi-member constit
Voters number their choices preferentially 1,2,3 etc
To be elected a candidate has to achieve a quota using the Droop formula
Takes into account 2nd option, if a candidate reaches the quota on first count they are elected and 2nd pref redist
If no one attains the quota least pop = elim, the 2nd pref for that candidate is redist
Cont until all spaces are filled