Electoral Systems- The Additional Member System (Hybrid System) Flashcards
Additional member system
(AMS)
An electoral system used for a number of elections in the UK, including the Scottish and Welsh Parliamentary elections.
AMS maintains elements of
FPTP, specifically the use of constituencies.
Proportional representation (PR)
A description of any electoral system that awards seats broadly in proportion to the votes cast for each party.
Where does the AMS system operate ?
operates in elections to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and the Greater London Assembly.
What type of system is AMS ?
it is a hybrid between first-past-the-post and proportional representation (PR).
How does AMS work?
+ Each voter has two votes — one for a candidate and one for a party.
+ Each constituency elects one candidate (using FPTP), whereby voters choose their preferred candidate. Two-thirds of the seats are allocated in this way.
+ The other third of the seats are elected on the basis of closed regional list voting, whereby voters have an additional vote to select their preferred political party.
+ This is where the country is divided into regions and each party offers a list of candidates for each region.
+ Seats awarded from the party list system are adjusted to give a more proportional result (using a complicated formula called the D’Hondt method).
+ Simply put, parties that do less well in the constituencies have their proportion of list votes adjusted upwards.
+ Those that do proportionally well under first-past-the-post have their list votes adjusted downwards.
+ The overall effect is to make the total result close to proportional of the total votes cast.
Outcomes of AMS include:
+ The overall outcome tends to be approximately proportional to the votes cast.
+ AMS usually denies parties a large majority of seats. This is why the SNP has had to run minority governments in Scotland and why Labour has frequently entered into coalitions in Wales.
+ Small parties can win seats even though they do not have a chance of winning any constituencies. UKIP won its first seats in the Welsh Assembly in 2016.
+ There are two types of representative — a constituency representative and a party list representative.
+ The party list representatives have taken on leadership roles more easily because they have fewer distractions (like constituents) to contend with.
+ Coalitions have been relatively stable.
+ A minority of voters ‘split their ticket’ by voting for one party in the constituency vote but a different party in the list part of the system.
Advantages of AMS
It produces a broadly proportional outcome and so is fair to all parties.
It gives voters two votes and so more choice.
It combines preserving constituency representation with a proportional outcome.
Disadvantages of AMS
It produces two classes of representative — those with a constituency and those elected through the lists. The latter tend to be senior.
It is more complex than first-past-the-post. Having two votes can
confuse some voters.
It can result in the election of extremist candidates.
It is more likely to result in minority or coalition government.
