p. 281- 292 Elections & the Electoral System Flashcards
Electoral System:
by which votes people cast are translated into…
the representation of political parties int eh House of COmmons
The minimum voting age was dropped form 21 to 18 in…
Most restrictions on WHO (Aboriginal people, women etc) could vote were removed in…
1970
1960
The right to vote is granted constitutionality through the
charter of rights and freedoms
How many seats are there in the HOC..
Seats are typically allocated to provinces based on…
- 388
- population
To become a candidate to vote you require:
- ____ signatures from eligible voters on your________
- ______depostit
- Name an _____ ________ who will….
To become a candidate to vote you require:
- 100 signatures from eligible voters on your NOMINATION
- $1000 depostit
- Name an OFFICIAL AGENT who will report all of your official expenses
The independent elections oversight body in Alberta is called:
Elections…
Alberta
Shocker…
Who sets the boundaries of ridings?
independent commission governed by Elections CANADA
Gerrymandering is the…
drawing of boundaries for partisan advantage
To register a political party:
1.
2.
3.
- 250 voters must support the party’s application
- Party must run at least one candidate in each election
- have a leader, 3 officers and auditor and a chief agent
Attempts to ban any political party would likely be struck down by…
the charter of rights and freedoms bitches
Which Ontario Premier called an early election when they held a lot of public favour only two years after being elected? How did that go? Why?
David Peterson- they said, “nay,nay”, because there were no pressing issues it was seen as a transparent attempt to take advantage of popularity and well…he was not longer popular.
In single member plurality (SMP) , plurality means the winner requires
more votes than any other candidate in their riding, even if they do not gain the majority
Single member plurality system means electing ___ ___ from each riding. Those who….
Single member plurality system means electing one representative from each riding. Those who get the most votes wins (regardless of majority)
The HOC is based on..
Representation by population
the ______ requires district lines must be redrawn every…to account for….
constitution requires district line be redrawn every 10 years to account for population changes
An electoral system by which the proportion of seats a party receives in the legislative body reflects the proportion of votes the party obtained.
Types:
Proportional Representation
Types= List and Single Transferable Vote System
An electoral system whereby voters cast one vote for the party of their choice and one for the candidate they prefer
Mixed member proportional system
The strengths of SMP (FPP) are:
1) it is easy to …
2) prevents …
3) less ….,
4) vote for the _____, rather than the _______,
5) tends toward pan-Canadian parties b/c …
The strengths of SMP (FPP) are: 1) it is easy to obtain majority governments,
2) prevents extremist groups from seizing power,
3) less complicated voting system,
4) vote for the person, rather than the party,
5) tends toward pan-Canadian parties b/c it makes majority attainable.
system where voters have a numbered ballot where they rank their candidates in order of who they would prefer to win rather than …..
Alternative vote system:
system where voters have a numbered ballot where they rank their candidates in order of who they would prefer to win rather than CHOOSING ONE CANDIDATE WITH A TRADITIONAL “X”.
-This produces a majority of votes needed to be elected. If there is no clear winner with more than 50%, the lowest initial candidate would be dropped off of the ballot and their votes would be redistributed based on the remaining rankings on the ballot.
ALTERNATIVE VOTE SYSTEM produces a…
majority of votes needed to be elected
Alternative vote system:
If there is no clear winner with more than ____, the lowest initial candidate would be
Alternative vote system:
If there is no clear winner with more than 50%, the lowest initial candidate would be…dropped off of the ballot and their votes would be redistributed based on the remaining rankings on the ballot.
True or false:
Voter turnout tends to be somewhat higher in countries with PR systems.
Why or Why not?
True- because every vote counts towards the number of representatives a party gains
PR systems often give more….and feature a higher …in legislative bodies
PR systems often give more choices to voters and feature a higher proportion of women and minorities members in legislative bodies
Almost always feature governments based on coalition of parties
PR systems
Preferential voting:
whereby a voter ranks candidates in order of preference. IF a majority is not received by first preference then…
the second preferences of the candidate with the least votes are added to the votes of the other candidates . This process continues until one candidate has a majority.
Review notes on Single-transferable vote system and
list system as they do not go well with notes
Combine proportionality of PR systems with the constituency representation of single member districts. The two dominant types are _________ and ___________.
example:…
Mixed Member proportional system
- superpostion
- corrective
ex: Germany 50% List and 50% FPP
