Electoral Systems and their Impact Flashcards
Types of electoral system
Majoritarian & plurality
– single-member constituencies
– winner is person who secures most votes
• Proportional representation
– multi-member constituencies
– preferential voting
• Mixed
– combines majoritarian & PR elements
– electors vote for a constituency & a list representative
Electoral systems & party systems
Party system & electoral system
• Maurice Duverger
– single member plurality system tends to favour two-party system
• mechanics: more difficult for smaller parties to win seats
• psychology: credibility problem – ‘wasted vote’
– proportional representation favours multi-party systems
• Is the party system a cause or consequence of the
electoral system?
– multi-partyism in single member plurality systems
Single member plurality
used for UK general elections
• electors cast one vote for favoured candidate
• winning candidate needs secure only one more vote than
nearest rival
– a plurality, not necessarily a majority
• single-member constituencies
Advantages of single member plurality
Easy to understand • Produces a clear outcome – party with most votes usually wins a parliamentary majority • Produces strong, stable government – two-party system – coalitions & minority govts are infrequent – smaller parties do not win (many) seats Responsible government – doctrine of the mandate – voters choose between two main parties – voters can eject unpopular governments • Link between MPs & constituents – single member constituencies
Disadvantages of single member plurality
Disproportional system
– does not translate votes into seats accurately
– occasional rogue result e.g. 1951, Feb 1974
– two main parties tend to be net ‘winners’
– produces a winner’s bonus – landslides
– discriminates against smaller parties without regional
strongholds (Lib Dems, UKIP)
• but SNP benefited from winner’s bonus in Scotland in 2015
– creates ‘electoral deserts’ (e.g. no Conservative MPs in northern
cities, few Labour MPs in south east England)
• Limited choice
• ‘Wasted votes’
Disproportionality
Deviation from proportionality
– simple measure of difference between votes and seats
• District magnitude
– size of constituencies
– larger constituencies produce more proportional outcomes
• Electoral formula
– plurality rule less proportional than formulas used in PR systems
Failing to deliver?
John Curtice: single member plurality now less likely to
(1) deliver single-party government with working majority
(2) keep out smaller parties
• Growth in support for smaller parties & number of seats
they win
– Liberal Democrats (1997-2010); SNP (2015-); DUP (2017)
– makes it more difficult to win a parliamentary majority
• Fewer marginal seats
– fewer seats change hands between two main parties
– fewer marginal seats (56 won by 5% or less in 2015)
Marginal seats & 2017 general election
Increase in number of very safe seats – 64 seats won by margin of 45%+ • Increase in number of marginal seats – 97 seats won by 5% or less (+41) – 70 seats changed hands • Increase in number of super-marginal seats – 11 seats won by fewer than 100 votes – 31 seats won by margin of less than 1%
Failing to deliver? fptp
Bias to Labour
– Labour seats have fewer voters
– turnout lower in Labour seats
– Labour votes more efficiently distributed until 2015 - won seats
with smaller majorities, tactical voting
• Bias to Conservatives in 2015 & 2017
– Conservative vote more efficiently distributed
• more effective targeting of seats (from 2010)
• incumbency advantage of 2010 MPs
– Impact of other parties changed
• Conservatives gained 27 seats from Lib Dems in 2015
• Labour lost 40 seats to SNP in 2015; Cons gained more seats from
SNP than Labour did in 2017
2017 general election & electoral system
Advantages • Clear outcome • Strong, stable government • Responsible government • MPs & constituents 2017 election: • Increased vote share for two main parties • But hung parliament -> minority govt Disadvantages • Disproportional • Plurality not majority • Wasted votes • Limited choice 2017 election: • Less disproportional • More MPs won majority • More marginal seats • Tactical voting
Additional Member System (AMS)
Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, London Assembly
• elector has 2 votes: constituency & regional list
• constituency members form at least 50% of assembly
– elected by simple plurality in single-member constituencies
• regional list members
– elected by closed list PR in multi-member regions
– list seats allocated to parties on correctional basis (D’Hondt
formula)
• balances proportionality & constituency link
– but two categories of representative
Single transferable vote (STV)
Northern Ireland, Scottish councils
• electors number their preferences
• candidates must achieve a quota (Droop quota)
• votes in excess of quota are redistributed on basis of 2nd preference
• if no candidate reaches quota, lowest place candidates drop out and
their 2nd preferences are redistributed
• process continues until seats are filled by candidates meeting the
quota
• proportional outcome; large multi-member constituencies
Impact: citizens
Citizens familiar with multi-party politics
– smaller parties usually perform better in elections beyond
Westminster
– but 2015 general election saw highest vote share for parties
other than Conservative, Labour & Lib Dems
• Voter preferences are more sophisticated
– ‘split-ticket’ voting e.g. elector votes for a different party on
regional list than for constituency
• Voter satisfaction with new systems
– but some problems e.g. spoiled ballots
Impact: parties
Election campaigns are still party-centred
– voters cannot choose between individual candidates in FPTP,
closed list PR, closed list AMS
• Strategic voting
– are there new incentives for parties to encourage tactical voting
or ticket-splitting, and seek electoral pacts?
