The Politics of Electoral Systems Flashcards
Electoral System Design Criteria
- Providing representation
- Making elections accessible and meaningful
- Providing incentives for conciliation
- Facilitating stable and efficient gov
- Holding the gov accountable
- Encourgaing political parties
- Promoting legislative opposition and oversight
- Making the electoral process sustainable
Electoral System Design Criteria: #1 Providing Representation
In the forms of: geographical, ideological, party-political, descriptive
Electoral System Design Criteria: #2 Making elections accessible and meaningful
- incentivise participation
- accessibility
- ensure that the power of the body elected has any meaning
Electroal System Design Criteria #3 Providing incentives for conciliation
The electoral system as a tool for conflict management
- ES encourages inclusive appeals to the electorate (not just a small core vote base)
- Incentivise less divisive and exclusionary policies bu making a party less ethnically or ideologically exclusive
Electoral System Design Criteria #4 Facilitating stable and efficient government
the system can contribute to stability and legitimacy
the system should act electorally neutral towards all parties and candidates
the system should not openly discriminate against any political grouping
Electoral System Design Criteria #5 Holding the government and representatives accountable
Candidate-centered ES seem to strengthen this accountability
Electoral systems do have a major impact on broader issues of governance (in both Pres and Par elections)
Electoral System Design Criteria #6 Encourgaing political parties
the ES needs to encourage the growth and maintenance of strong and effective political parties (for stability’s sake)
the ES should prevent party fragmentation adn entrenchment of parties
Electoral System Design Criteria #7 Promoting legislative opposition and oversight
the ES needs to ensure that a viable opposition exists that can critically assess legislation
opposition is able to question the preformance of the executive, protect minority rights, and represent its constituentes effectively
Electoral System Design Criteria #8 Making the electoral process sustainable
- costs factor in when picking a system… but watch out a cheap and easy one may not be sustainable and can be at odds with the country’s needs -> disaster
- A system that at the onset is more expensive and complex to administer may in the long run help ensure the stability of the country and aid in democratic consolidation
A sustainable political framework takes into account the resources of a country both in terms of the availability of people with the skills to be election administrators and in terms of the financial demands on the national budget
Representatives’ Accountability
the ability of the electorate to effectively check on those elected
Candidate centered ES seem the best at this
to be able to remove those who betray promises made during the campaign, are incompetent, are lazy
International Standards
there is no official set of international standards but there is a consensus on:
1. free, fair, and periodic elections
2. guaranteed universal adult suffrage
3. secrecy of the ballot
4. freedom from coercion
5. commitment to the principle of one person, one vote
increasing focus on representation of minorities
OSCE
Observes elections throughout its 57 participating states
- provides technical assistance to improve the legislative and administrative framework for elections in specific countries
- mantra = democratic elections form the basis for legitimate government
- one of the international organiztions (state based or NGOs) that undertake election observation at the invitation of a host coutnry
- participation of international observers is a legitimizing factoe
Circumstances that cause the process of review/editing/replacing an electoral system
- Inherited from colonial admin and not changed much
- The result from peace process negotiations ending a divisive war (process not always open to the people)
- The system was imposed by the groups responsible for post conflict political reconstruction
- The past authoritarian regime had a big role in establishing it as they were being disposed from power
- An expert commission is set up to investigate the electorla system alone or as part of the broader constitutional context -> recommendations being put to a national referendum
- Citizens may be involved more widely in the design process by the establishment of a non-expert citizens’ assembly on the electoral system
- Mali, Malawi, the Soloman Islands, and Palau
- Lesotho, South Africa, and Lebanon
- the Coalition authorities in Iraq and rhe Transnational National Council in Afghanistan
- Chile
- UK, Mauritius, Fiji, New Zealand
- British Colombia in Canada
The 2 most common circumstances for major electoral change?
- During the transition to democracy or right after it (when the whole political frame work is “up for grabs”
- When there is a crisis of governance in an established democracy.
examples for #2:
the precieved illegitmacy of 2 successive majority governments with fewer votes than their major apponents in NZ.
The perception that high levels of corruption in Italy and Japan were endemic to the political system rather than the results of the actions of particular individuals
3 Waves of Electoral System Design in New Democracies
- 1820-1920
- Post WW2 Europe and Decolonization
- 1970s-1990
Ben Reilly and Andrew Reynolds 1999
*realated to Samuel Huntington’s ‘waves of democratization’
First Wave Democracies
1820-1920
Gradual evolutionary process
Designed by indigenous elite
Mix of conscious design and accidental evolution
central importance of party politics in influencing the type of electoral system
SMP in Anglosaxon democracies
Second Wave Democracies
- Post WWII Europe and decolonization
- Influenced by colonial inheritance and external imposition
- Big role of external elites
The electoral system adopted in a former colony may not be very approptiate to meet the needs of the particular country
Third Wave Democracies
- 1970s-1990s
- conscious design
- the necessity for and utility of well crafted electoral systems as a key constitutional choice for new democracies
- bargaining among competitive elites -> compromises -> gradual consolidation -) subsequent changes
What happened btw 1993-1994
3 established liberal democracies (Italy, Japan, and New Zealand) radically changed their voting systems
Electoral reforms in established democracies used to be super rare (ES were resilient until late 20th cen bc familiarity breeds stability)
Interest-based explanations (electoral reform)
A change in electoral institutions will occur when a political party or coalition of political parties supports an alternative which will bring it more seats than the status quo electoral system, and also has the power to effect through that institutional alternative
Benoit 2004
Institutional explanations (electoral reform)
Seeks to explain the conditions under which a reformist agenda may emerge in established democracies.
Useful distinction btw inherent and contingent factors
Power-maximization still relevant, inherent and contingent factors, norms over the proper functioning of electoral systems
Matthew Shugart (2001, 2008)
Idea/Values/Ideology based explanations (electoral reform)
Ideas trump interests.
Giving citizens their say over the reform process.
When politicians are willing to embrace a reformist agenda that is not in their best interest.
Institution and Interest explanations say the power is in the politicans, but ideas takes the control away from poltiicans and elites
When politics and partisan interests produce electoral reforms
- Australia’s decision to do AV in 1918 to try to precent splits in the dom party that could hurts its position
- The Irish Free State in the 1920s doing PR to protect the minority community in the SOuth
- French electroal reforms of 1985-6 (from 2R to PR ro 2R) to reduce the chances of a gaullist win
- External factors/scandals promoted electoral reforms in Italy and Japan in 1993/4
- Italian electoral reform of 05 from MMM to PR with majority prize, to reduce the chance of a centre-left victory
interest based explanations
Trends in Electoral System Reform
Trending towards more PR
none have shifted towards less PR
the most common switch has been from a plurality/majority system to a mixed a system
Change is much more widespread at the sub-natioanl level
Electoral Reform Debate in SMP Countries
- out of Canada, USA, and India - New Zealand is the only obe to amek the swirch
- others have debated it a little bit and Canada is the only one to experiment
