Go over- basics of electoral systems Flashcards
FPTP
- ‘Plurality’ system - diff to majority system
Alasdair McDonnell— 24.5%, Belfast South - UK general elections- 5 years after the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011. However, this Act does have a provision to allow for an election to occur should 2/3 of MPs vote for one= 2017, Brexit
* 650 constituencies. Each constituency contains an electorate of approximately 70,000 people, although varies
* Each constituency is represented by one seat, held by a single MP, in the House of Commons. These are therefore known as single-member constituencies.
* Each party will select a candidate to run for election within a constituency.
* The voters of a constituency cast a single ballot, choosing between the candidates put forward. To do this, they simply put an ‘X’ in a box next to their candidate of choice on the ballot paper.
* The candidate with the most votes wins that constituency seat and becomes its elected representative.
Consequences:
2 party system, winner takes all + strong, single govt
AMS
Scottish Parliament + Welsh Parliament
- Only system in UK which gives voters two independent votes to cast — 1 for local representative & 1 for regional representatives
When a voter goes to the polls in AMS, they are presented with two different ballots. On each one they must cast their vote
with a simple ‘X’ in a box. However, on the constituency vote they are electing a person, whereas in the regional vote they are casting their vote for a party
This first part of the election works in exactly the same way that FPTP works in UK general elections.
* The first ballots for constituency representative.
* Wales = 40 small single-member constituencies
* Each constituency elects a single representative on a plurality, ‘winner-takes-all’ basis.
* Those elected are given a seat in either the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Parliament, and the first ballots are now effectively thrown away.
- This second part of the election works more proportionally, and is designed to correct some of the problems of FPTP.
* The whole of Scotland and Wales are divided into large multi-member constituencies — 8= Scotland, each with 7 elected members, and 5 = Wales, each with 4 elected members.
* Each party running for election draws up a list of candidates for each region, ranking them in the order they will be elected.
* The second ballots are counted within each region.
* To decide who gets the first seat, this system uses the d’Hondt formula, +1
* Once this formula is completed for every party, the first seat is allocated to the party with the highest number resulting from this equation.
* This process is repeated, until all seats in a region are allocated to a party.
The party gives the seats it has won to the correct number of candidates from the top of its list downwards. Each person in Scotland is therefore represented by a local MSP in their constituency, seven further MSPs in their region, as well as the MP who they elect to send to Parliament.
STV
Only system = ordinal voting. This allows a voter to rank candidates in order of preference
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Northern Ireland= 18 large, multi-member regions, each electing six representatives to send to the Northern Irish Assembly.
* The voter is given a ballot paper with all the candidates running in their region. This may include multiple candidates running for the same party. They cast their ballot by numbering candidates 1, 2, 3, and so on.
* Once the election is over, the total number of ballots cast in each region is counted.
* In order to win, a candidate needs to achieve the ‘Droop quota’:
* Any candidates who have achieved the Droop quota are automatically given a seat.
* Any votes that they achieved over this number are redistributed according to any second preferences. If any more candidates now have the Droop quota, they too are given a seat.
* If there are seats remaining and no one else has reached the Droop quota, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed.
* This process continues until all available seats are filled.
Advantages:
Greater representation (same as AMS)
Proportional
Voter choice
Disadvantages:
Weaker constituency link
Complex
Unlikely single-party govt
SV (Supplementary Vote)
London is treated as one large constituency for the election of the London mayor.
* Candidates are given a ballot paper with all of the candidates listed and two columns — one for the voter’s first choice and one for their second choice. The voter puts one ‘X’ in each column to vote.
* All of the first-choice ballots are counted. If anyone has a majority, they win the election.
* If no one has a majority, all but the top two candidates are eliminated in one go. The second preferences for all of the eliminated candidates are taken into account and the votes redistributed. If both a voter’s first- and second-choice candidate have been eliminated, then their vote is ignored.
* With only two candidates left and all votes redistributed, one of them must now have a majority — this person is the winner.
Advantages:
Simple system
Majority result
Voter choice
Disadvantages:
Two-party system
Wasted votes
