Electoral Systems Flashcards
What is the Theory of 3 Branches of Government?
1) Legislative Branch: Writes the laws
2) Executive Branch: Executes laws and policies
3) Judiciary Branch: Adjudicates disputes, conflicts over how to interpret the laws
What is the Purpose of Legislatures?
- Make, Debate, Approve, Amend the Laws
- Ask/Question executive branch of government to keep them accountable
- Represent the people (symbolically): symbolically represent the people, embodying the democratic principle that power belongs to the people
- Represent the people’s wishes (practically): translate the wishes of the people into policy and law, ensuring that public opinion shapes government decisions.
What is the Structure of Legislatures?
- Name of National Legislature varies by country (e.g. parliament, congress, assembly, etc.)
- Number of chambers:
1-chamber (unicameral): 60% of countries
2-chamber (bicameral): upper + lower house - 5 styles of chamber architecture: opposing benches, horseshoe, semicircle, circle, classroom
- Number of legislators/representatives (14 to 2987)
- Representatives per population (530/1 to 2.3M/1)
- Committees within legislature examine bills
- Rules for passing (majority, supermajority, etc.)
- Meets regularly or infrequently
What are Electoral Systems?
- Elections are a means for selecting rulers, representatives and other purposes
- Elections incorporate some degree of public input or preferences in the selection
- The trend of democratization since 1970s has seen more countries adopting electoral systems for their national parliaments, local governments, and other posts
- In the 1990s-2000s several countries (e.g. Italy, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Taiwan) changed electoral system
- Electoral Systems concern how citizens vote, style of ballot paper, method of counting, and converting votes into seats
- Electoral Laws concern who can vote, whether they must vote, candidate nomination rules, campaign rules (i.e. use of media, etc.)
What are the Goals of Electoral Systems?
A. Common goals of the public, experts:
1) Reflecting the wishes of voters
2) Electing qualified representatives
3) Producing strong & stable governments
4) Representing different groups
5) Number of party choices available
6) Simplicity or complexity
B. Common goals of political parties
1) To stay in power, get into power
2) Producing Strong and Stable Governments
3) Strong Voter Participation
4) Candidate-based or Party-based
5) Single-party or coalition government
What are the Views of Representation?
- Microcosm View: Parliament should be exactly like the population – includes the various groups that comprise the society (i.e. men/women, rural/urban, upper/lower class, majority/minority races)
- Principal-Agent View: Parliament should be made of people to whom the voters delegate power. As a result, these delegates may have little diversity in terms of gender, class, race, rural/urban, etc.
What are the different Ballot Structures?
- Alphabetical vs. Randomized Ballots
- Categorical Ballot Type: Choose among several candidates or parties
- Ordinal Ballot Type: Rank candidates in order of preference
What are the types of Electoral Systems?
A. Non-Proportional Systems:
1. PMB/PBV (Plurality-Majority or Plurality-Based Voting)
2. SMP (Single-Member Plurality)
3. AV (Alternative Vote, Majority)
4. TRS (Two-Round System, Majority)
Note: Most people living in democratic countries use the SMP electoral system.
B. Proportionality-Based Systems:
1. MMM/Parallel (Mixed-Member Majoritarian/Parallel)
2. MMP (Mixed-Member Proportional)
3. PR-List (Proportional Representation - List System)
4. PR-STV (Proportional Representation - Single Transferable Vote)
Note: Most democratic countries have proportionality-based electoral systems
What is the Duverger’s Law?
It is a principle in political science that suggests the type of electoral system influences the number of political parties that emerge in a given political system.
It predicts that:
1. In a single-member plurality system (e.g., First-Past-The-Post), there will generally be two major political parties. This is because only the two parties with the most support can realistically win seats, which leads to the consolidation of smaller parties into larger ones to avoid splitting the vote.
2. In a proportional representation system, there tend to be multiple political parties because seats are allocated based on the proportion of votes each party receives, allowing smaller parties to gain representation.
What is the SMP/SMC Electoral System?
- “Single-Member Plurality/constituency”: An electoral system where each constituency elects one representative, and the candidate with the most votes wins.
- Used in many countries with British heritage: This system is commonly used in countries that were once part of the British Empire, such as the UK, Canada, and India.
- Most common uninominal system: Single-Member Plurality is the most widely used system where each district elects just one representative.
- Also known as ‘First-Past-the-Post’ (FPTP): In this system, the candidate with the most votes in a district wins, even if they don’t have a majority.
- Simplicity: The system is easy to understand because the candidate with the most votes wins.
- Stable Single-Party Government: It tends to produce a stable government by favoring larger parties and often leads to single-party dominance.
- Constituency Representation: Each representative is chosen to represent a specific geographic constituency, ensuring localized representation.
- Duverger’s Law: According to Duverger’s Law, this system usually leads to two major political parties dominating the political landscape.
- Contest between candidates not between parties: In SMP, the focus is on individual candidates competing for votes, not on party competition.
- Individualistic: Voters tend to focus on individual candidates rather than political parties.
- Party with most votes in a district monopolizes representation: The party that receives the most votes in a district secures the seat, excluding smaller parties.
- Do not need to have a majority to win: A candidate can win with just a plurality, not necessarily a majority, of the votes.
Downsides: - Many people get no representation: Voters who support losing candidates or smaller parties often have no representation in government.
- Doesn’t always produce single-party government: Though often producing single-party governments, this system doesn’t guarantee it, as coalitions can sometimes form.
- Constituents not always represented: Voters in a district may not feel fully represented if the winning candidate only has a plurality, not a majority, of the vote.
What is the TRS Electoral System?
- Names: The system is called ‘two-round’ or ‘double ballot’ because it involves two rounds of voting.
- Used in France
- Like SMP is based on single-member constituencies: one winner per constituency.
- Top two candidates or all above key threshold in the first round make it to the second round: The two-round system allows either the top two candidates or those above a specific vote threshold to proceed to the second round.
Whoever gets most votes in 2nd round wins: In the second round, the candidate with the most votes wins. - Encourages ‘centrism’: It often leads to centrism by pushing candidates toward the middle to appeal to voters in the second round.
Downsides: - Still a uninominal system: It remains a single-member system, limiting party diversity.
- Top two candidates may be from same side of political spectrum: The final two candidates could still come from the same political side, limiting choice.
- More burdensome to hold two elections: Holding two elections is more costly and time-consuming than one.
- Voter fatigue: Voter fatigue can occur due to the double voting process.
What is the AV Electoral System?
- The Alternative Vote (AV) system, like Single-Member Plurality (SMP), involves one representative per district.
- Used in Australia
- Also called IRV: The Alternative Vote is also known as Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) because it simulates a runoff process through ranking preferences.
- People get to rank order their candidate preferences
- Happens on one day
- Re-assignment of votes for least popular candidates: If no candidate wins a majority, votes for the least popular candidates are transferred to the voters’ next choice until someone gets a majority.
Downsides: - Still an SMC system: It remains a Single-Member Constituency (SMC) system, limiting multi-party representation.
- Results are almost the same as under SMP: The results often mirror those of SMP, especially in two-party systems.
- Many people have ‘wasted votes’ (no representation): Votes for eliminated candidates are transferred, but voters who support minor candidates may feel their votes are still “wasted” if those candidates don’t make it through.
- Small parties still generally excluded: Smaller parties still struggle to gain significant representation, as the system tends to favor larger parties.
- Difficult to rank order all candidates: Ranking all candidates can be difficult for voters, especially in districts with many candidates.
- Creates an ‘illusion of choice’: While the voting process seems more inclusive, the system may still lead to two-party dominance, giving voters a false sense of greater choice.
What is the PMB Electoral System?
- Plurality Multi-Member Block Electoral System: The Plurality Multi-Member Block System is a form of First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) where multiple representatives are elected together from each district, rather than just one.
- Used in Singapore: This system is used in Singapore, specifically for Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).
- FPTP (like SMP) except multiple members are voted in together on a party ticket: Like Single-Member Plurality (SMP), this system uses FPTP, but instead of electing one representative, it elects multiple members who run together as a team.
- Candidates fielded as a team: Candidates are typically presented as a group or team representing a single party, and voters choose the entire party slate for that district.
- Allows parties to diversify their candidate lists: This system lets parties field candidates with different backgrounds (e.g., ethnic diversity) to appeal to a broader electorate.
- Same weaknesses of SMP: It still shares many of the weaknesses of SMP, such as encouraging a two-party system and potential wasted votes for smaller parties.
- Even more disproportional than SMP: The results are often more disproportional than in regular SMP systems, as larger parties can benefit more from the system.
- Amplifies the gains to a single party: The system favours larger parties by amplifying their success, meaning they gain a disproportionate number of seats relative to their vote share.
- No benefits to voters of other parties: Voters who support minor parties may feel that their votes have no impact, as the system favors the dominant party.
- GRC (Group Representation Constituency): The Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system in Singapore elects multiple representatives in a team, and each team must include candidates from different ethnic groups, promoting ethnic diversity in the legislature.
What is a PR-List Electoral System?
- Proportional representation system where voters select parties rather than individual candidates.
- Used in most of Continental Europe and Latin America
- Over time it has become the norm due to its emphasis on proportionality, perceived fairness, by ensuring that seats are distributed proportionally based on the number of votes each party receives.
- Voters vote for parties who create lists of candidates: Voters vote for party lists, and the candidates on those lists are elected based on their party’s share of the vote.
- Seats are assigned to parties based on % of vote obtained: The number of seats a party gets is directly related to the percentage of votes they receive, making the system more proportional.
- More parties enter parliament including smaller parties: The PR-List system allows smaller parties to gain seats, giving them more representation in parliament.
- Coalition governments more common: Since no single party typically has a majority, coalition governments are more common, requiring parties to negotiate and work together.
- More entry points for new parties: New or smaller parties have more opportunities to enter parliament and have a voice in government.
- No single representative per geographic region offers more diversity but also reduces geographic focus of representation: Unlike single-member systems, where each district elects one representative, the PR-List system doesn’t focus on specific geographic areas, but it offers more diversity in representation, though it may reduce local focus.
What is Proportionality VS Non-Proportionality?
Proportional Electoral Systems:
- Seats are allocated based on the percentage of votes each party receives.
- Aims for fair representation of all parties, including smaller ones.
Non-Proportional Electoral Systems:
- Seats are not necessarily allocated based on vote share, often favoring larger parties.
- Results can be disproportionate, with the winning party getting more seats than their vote share. –> reward district-level winners without considering overall national vote percentages, and they often create “wasted votes”, favoring larger parties and skewing representation
What are the PR-List Varieties?
- PR-List Varieties:
- Open List: Voters can vote for a candidate within a party list, giving them some degree of control over which candidates are elected from that party.
- Closed List: Voters select a party rather than individual candidates, and the party determines the order of candidates that will fill the seats.
- Ordered List: A system where the candidates are ranked within the party list, either determined by the party or the voters, typically used in closed-list systems. - Different Degrees of Proportionality:
Proportionality in electoral systems refers to how closely the proportion of seats a party receives matches its share of the total vote.
A. District Magnitude:
The number of seats in a district. Larger district magnitudes tend to produce more proportional results because they allow for a greater diversity of parties to gain representation.
B. Seat Thresholds:
The minimum percentage of the vote a party must receive to be allocated seats. This can vary between systems, and higher thresholds reduce the number of small parties that can gain representation.
C. Multi-tier Districting:
This involves combining multiple levels or tiers of electoral districts. A common example is mixed-member proportional representation (MMP), where voters cast two ballots—one for a district representative and another for a party list at the regional or national level.
D. Seat Allocation Formulas:
These are mathematical formulas used to allocate seats to parties based on vote share. They vary in how they balance proportionality and district-level representation.
Largest Remainder Methods:
- Hare Quota: Divides the total vote by the number of seats to determine a quota. Any remaining votes are allocated based on remainders.
- Droop Quota: A similar method to Hare, but slightly higher, making it harder for smaller parties to win seats.
Highest Average Methods:
- D’Hondt Method: A divisor method that allocates seats by dividing a party’s total vote by a series of divisors (1, 2, 3, etc.) to determine the order in which seats are allocated.
- Saint-Lague Method: Similar to D’Hondt but uses a different series of divisors (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.), which generally favors smaller parties more than D’Hondt does.
What is the MMP Electoral System?
- Mixed-Member Proportional
- Voters have 2 votes: one for a local candidate (SMP) and one for a party (PR).
Combines SMP with PR-list representation to ensure proportionality in the overall seat distribution. - Party seats in parliament are allocated based on the PR vote to reflect the overall vote share.
- There are no by-elections; vacancies are filled by the next person on the party list.
- Used in countries like Germany and New Zealand.
What is the MMM Electoral System?
- Mixed-Member Majoritarian
Voters have 2 votes: one for a local candidate (SMP) and one for a party (PR-list). - The majority of seats are filled using SMP, with a small portion allocated through PR-list.
- The PR element does not correct the disproportionality of the SMP results.
- Used in countries like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Mexico.
