Electoral systems Flashcards
Key term:
What does accountability mean
to be held responsible for your actions.
In a political sense, citizens judge their elected representatives for their policies and actions during their time in office
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What does mandate mean
The right to act on behalf of representatives.
For the party that wins the election, the mandate is the authority to carry out policies within the party’s manifesto published before the next election
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What does mean
Mathematically, a majority is more than 50%
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What does legitimacy mean
the rightful holding of political authority usually gained by winning a free and fair election
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What does participation mean
The act of taking part in a political process, most commonly through voting however there are others ways to participate such as a pressure group or educating yourself
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What does turnout mean
the number (%) of eligible voters who took part in an election
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What does first-past-the-post (FPTP) mean
the plurality electoral system used for UK general elections
e.g. a candidate receives more votes than other candidates is elected
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What does plurality mean
The situation where a candidate or party receives more votes than any other but does not achieve an absolute majority.
This means they have more votes than the runner-up but less than 50% of the total votes cast
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What does constituency mean
A geographical area containing voters who elect a representative to act on their behalf
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What does Single-member constituency mean
A constitunecy that is represented by just one elected individual
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What does minority government mean
A party that has only a minority but usually the plurality (the most) seats in Parliament and has chosen to form a government
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What does a coalition mean
A government created from two or more parties following an election. They will normally agree and compromise on common policy goals to make this successful
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What does a safe-seat mean
A constituency that is highly likely to be won by a specific party at repeated elections
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What does marginal seat mean
a constituency in which the electoral outcome is not easily predictable and could be won by a number of parties
Key term:
What does a spoiled ballot mean
A ballot that is filled incorrectly and therefore ignored.
This maybe unintentional or may be intentional by a voter who is protesting
