Voting systems Flashcards
What is first past the post
Simple majority voting used in democratic countries and requires voters to tick only one box
Strengths to first past the post
Informal voting is minimal and is really easy to count and allows independent parties to more easily win
Weaknesses to first past the post
Winning candidate may only get a minority of the votes and minor parties find it hard to win against major parties
What is preferential voting
Used for house of reps and is numbered 1-however many people run
strengths to preferential voting
The candidate in ensured to have a majority vote and promotes a strong two party system
Weaknesses to preferential voting
Complicated to count and produces more informal votes
What is proportional voting
Used for senate and in order to win you must reach a quota
Strengths to proportional voting
Allows minor parties to win seats and more representative of the wishes of the electorate
Weaknesses to proportional voting
Complicated, costly and time consuming and promotes an instability in parliament
What is a quota
A quota is a required amount of voters for a candidate to be elected
When was the last federal election held
21st of may 2022
