EXTRA-Types of Electoral system Flashcards
What are the two general categories of electoral systems?
- majoritarian systems
- proportional systems
What is a majoritarian system?
majoritarian systems use member constituencies in which only one representative is elected to serve the area. The candidate that gets a majority is elected
What is a proportional system?
proportional systems use multi member constituencies in which a number of representatives are elected to serve a very large area. These are designed to ensure that the seats a party obtains in the legislature broadly reflects its share of the vote
What is plurality or majoritarian systems based on the idea of?
They were based on the idea of one elected representative per constituency
What are majoritarian systems not designed to produce?
they are not designed to produce a proportional result in which parties gain seats in relation to votes they obtain. They are designed to produce a clear winner
What do supporters of the majoritarian system believe?
that governmental stability is more important than proportionality
What is the distinction between plurality and majoritarian systems?
In plurality systems, the candidate who gets a plurality of the votes is elected; i.e. they get more votes than the other candidate. In majority ones, the candidate who gets the majority of the votes is elected; i.e. they get more than half the votes cast
What method do Plurality/Majoritarian systems include?
FPTP
the Double Ballot (french elections)
the Alternative Vote
the Supplementary Vote
What do proportional systems make use of?
they make use of multi member constituencies or districts in which several representatives are elected
What are proportional systems designed to achieve?
they are designed to achieve dar greater proportionality than plurality/majoritarian systems
Under a proportional system what does the number of seats that a part gets in the legislature a reflection of?
it is a reflection of its share of the popular vote
What 3 groups can proportional systems be divided into?
-list systems
-mixed systems
-hybrid systems with a STV
(single transferable vote)
Which former Labour Home Secretary set out four useful criteria for the Jenkins inquiry that was set up by the Blair government to examine the most appropriate way of electing our MPs?
Jack Straw
What did Jack Straw, the former Labour Home Secretary set our four useful criteria for?
the Jenkins inquiry that was set up by the Blair government to examine the most appropriate way of electing our MPs
What is the Jenkins inquiry?
this was set up by the Blair administration to examine the most appropriate way of electing our MPs
What were the 4 criteria that Jack Straw set our as former Labour Home Secretary following the Jenkins Inquiry?
- stable government
- broad proportionality
- link between honourable members and geographical constituencies
- an extension of voter choice
Why is the choice of electoral system important?
It raises issues about the nature of representative government and the purpose of elections
What does the electoral system determine? (3)
it determines the nature of party systems, the fate of individual parties and the formation of governments
What did one report on the subject of electoral systems note?
“there can be nothing more fundamental in a democracy than proposals to change an electoral system”
What is representative government based on the idea of?
representative government is based on the idea that the elected legislature represents the will of the people
Which category of electoral system caters to all shades of opinion including the minority?
the proportional systems
Why do some people not think that a system should arithmetically reflect the way the electorate vote?
as in some views, an election very broadly represents the swing in the public mood and it is important to produce a strong government based on an effective parliamentary majority
What does the FPTP system in Britain allow government ?
this allows the government to develop coherent and consistent policies without facing the risk of regular defeats in the legislature
What is the politics of coalition?
this refers to a situation that arises when no single party has an overall majority in the legislature necessitating discussion and compromise in order to form a government of more than one party
