voting systems Flashcards
advantages of additional member system
(3 PEE)
P- one advantage of ASM is it is a fairer system because it is seen as proportional
E- this means it is seen as fair because it produces a close match between shares of votes and shares of seats
E-for example in the 2021 scottish parliament election SNP won 47.7% of vote share and nearly 50% seat share
P- another advantage of AMS is it gives smaller parties more parliamentary representation
E- this is because the vote is proportional and so the number of votes a party gets is closely linked to the number of seats the smaller parties have more success
E- for example in the SP 2021 election green party (8) seats and lib dems (4) seats having 12 seats between them
P- a final advantage of AMS is voters have more choice with having 2 votes
E- this means that they can give support to more than just 1 party if they wanted too and there will be less wasted votes. it also allows for more people to vote for a msp they would like to see represent their constituency but then they might support a different party for the whole region.
E-for example many voters give their second vote to smaller parties like the Scottish green party but may have voted for SNP candidate in their constituency
disadvantages of additional member system
(3 PEE)
P- one disadvantage of AMS is it can lead to an unstable and weak government
E- this is because there is no majority they needed to negotiate with the other parties to pass any laws that they want
E- for example the minority SNP government of 2016-2021 fund it difficult to get its budget approved for 2017/18and had to negotiate with other parties eventually agreeing more money for councils in return for votes for the greens
P-another disadvantages of AMS is it creates conflict between the constituency MSP and the seven list MSPs
E- there can be rivalry between the 2 classes of MSPs, MSPs elected via the regional list have been seen as having “got in via the backdoor” or as “assisted place” or even “second class members”
E- for example anas sarwar is the current scottish labour leader despite having been directly elected by voters
P- a final disadvantage of AMS is it can get complicated as of what to do with their 2 votes
E- some voters arent sure on how to complete the ballot paper. they think they have to vote for the same party
E- for example with the pink ballot paper voters use FTPT to choose a candidate for the constituency then using the beige one to vote for a party for their region
