Electoral Systems AMS

Question 1

INTRO

Answer 1

Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system used to elect MSPs to the Scottish Parliament. AMS combine both FPTP to elect constituency MSs and Proportional Representation to elect Regional MSPs. The system gives you two votes, the first for the 73 constituency MSPs, the second to elect 7 MSPs in each of the eight regions in Scotland.

Question 1

1P

Answer 1

It can be argued that AMS is a more representative voting system as it provides broader representation as the electorate have two votes.

Question 2

1E

Answer 2

This means they can chose a mixture of parties and it gives smaller parties a chance to win seats in elections.

Question 3

1E

Answer 3

For example the Greens gained a seat in Glasgow because of these two votes, whereas otherwise in other systems they would not have a seat there.

Question 4

1A

Answer 4

This shows that the system has the ability to promote smaller parties and allow theme to compete. It is clear that the system is more representative as it means that people who vote for minor parties votes still count.

Question 5

1R

Answer 5

However, many argue that the system is too complicated, confusing Scottish voters.

Question 6

1E

Answer 6

This means that because of the two votes, lots of people make mistakes when filling out the ballot.

Question 7

1E

Answer 7

For example, it was found that in 2007 there were a massive 142,000 rejected ballots in the Scottish election.

Question 8

1A

Answer 8

This demonstrates that the voting system can lead to less accurate and credible elections as so many peoples votes do not count.

Question 9

1L

Answer 9

It is clear that the voting system can actually be less representative as so many people’s votes are not valid.

Question 10

2P

Answer 10

AMS can be seen as beneficial because it often creates coalition governments.

Question 11

2E

Answer 11

This means that the system creates a more representative government as it will be made up of parties from different ends of the political spectrum, meaning one party cannot force its opinions, as the two or more in charge must work together.

Question 12

2E

Answer 12

For example, the 1999 and 2003 elections created coalition governments that were crucial in passing many important laws in scotland, such as the smoking ban.

Question 13

2A

Answer 13

This shows that coalition governments in Scotland are able to succeed and work well together. It is clear that this system can aid in producing a government that is representative of a large group of Scottish voters.

Question 14

2R

Answer 14

On the other hand, many see coalition governments as a disadvantage.

Question 15

2E

Answer 15

This is because no one actually votes for a coalition government on their ballot, meaning the government in power were not elected in that capacity, and so as a result are not representative.

Question 16

2E

Answer 16

For example, no one voted for the Labour - Liberal democrat coalition between 1999 and 2007, and the 2007-11 SNP minority government was unsuccessful in passing some of its key policies, such as the minimum pricing for alcohol.

Question 17

2A

Answer 17

This demonstrates that this system can produce governments that are unable to keep promises to the people that voted for them because of a lack of majority, and is therefore unrepresentative.

Question 18

2L

Answer 18

It is clear that AMS can actually produce an unrepresentative government.

Question 19

3P

Answer 19

Many argue for AMS because of the more proportional electoral results that system produces.

Question 20

3E

Answer 20

This means because it employs both proportional representation and First Past the Post, it is able to produce electoral results that more accurately reflect the number of people voting for each party.

Question 21

3E

Answer 21

For example, in 2011, the SP won 45.4% of the vote and this translated to 53.4% of the seats in parliament a far more proportional outcome than the 2015
General Election, which used FPTP, and gave UKIP just one seat, despite them winning nearly 13% of the vote.

Question 22

3A

Answer 22

It is clear from this that AMS is very successful in producing more representative election results. This demonstrates that the implementation of the system in scotland has lead to more representative results in voting in scottish elections, than in General elections.

Question 23

3R

Answer 23

Despite this, many argue that AMS actually gives smaller parties too much power.

Question 24

3E

Answer 24

This means that despite only a very small percentage of the population voting for them, they are given the power to make influential decisions by being involved in coalition governments.

Question 25

3E

Answer 25

For example, the Liberal Democrats were part of a coalition between 1999 and 2007, and helped pass free tuition and free care for the elderly despite only winning 15% of the vote.

Question 26

3A

Answer 26

This demonstrates that the system can produce governments that create laws that the vast majority of the population did not vote for.

Question 27

3L

Answer 27

It is clear that this system can be unsuccessful in producing governments that provide what the majority of people want, and as a result can be unrepresentative