Voting Systems

Question 1

When is First Past The Post used?

Answer 1

General elections and in local elections in England and Wales.

Question 2

What type of constituency does First Past The Post use?

Answer 2

Single member consitituencies

Question 3

How many votes does each elector cast in First Past The Post?

Answer 3

One

Question 4

How does an elector cast their vote in First Past The Post?

Answer 4

By marking an X next to their preferred candidate.

Question 5

What type of voting system is First Past The Post? What does this mean?

Answer 5

Simple plurality, meaning that the winner only needs one more vote than any other candidate.

Question 6

What are three possible advantages of the First Past The Post system?

Answer 6

1) It’s simple and easy to understand for the public.
2) It mostly provides strong and stable one-party governments
3) The AV referendum of 2011 arguably proves that it is popular with the electorate.

Question 7

What are three possible disadvantages of First Past The Post?

Answer 7

1) Some electors have to vote tactically rather than for their preferred candidate.
2) FPTP means that some votes are wasted.
3) It is possible to win without the support of the majority of your constituents, which calls in to question the victor’s legitimacy

Question 8

What does AMS stand for?

Answer 8

Additional Member System

Question 9

Where is AMS used?

Answer 9

In Scottish elections and in New Zealand

Question 10

What type of constituency is used in AMS?

Answer 10

Single member and multi member constituencies

Question 11

How many votes are cast per elector in AMS?

Answer 11

Two - once for a candidate and once for a party

Question 12

How do electors vote in AMS?

Answer 12

Electors receive two ballot papers. On the first they put a cross by the name of their preferred candidate, and on the second they put a cross by the name of their preferred party.

Question 13

What type of system is AMS?

Answer 13

It is both simple plurality (the election of the representatives uses FPTP) and proportional representation (the election of the parties is used to try and undo the distortion in party representation created by FPTP).

Question 14

What are three advantages of AMS?

Answer 14

1) Pretty much prevents gerrymandering due to the second vote for party preference.
2) It encourages political diversity as smaller parties can gain representation via the second vote.
3) It offers the best of both worlds between simple plurality and proportional representation.

Question 15

What are two disadvantages of AMS?

Answer 15

1) It does not have a good track record of building a stable government.
2) Some could argue that it offers the worst of both worlds.

Question 16

What does AV stand for?

Answer 16

Alternative Vote

Question 17

When and where is AV used?

Answer 17

It is used in local Scottish by-elections and in Australia.

Question 18

What type of constituency is used in AV?

Answer 18

Single member constituencies

Question 19

How many votes are cast per elector in AV?

Answer 19

AV uses preference voting, so electors can use as many or as few votes as they like.

Question 20

How do electors vote in AV?

Answer 20

Electors rank the candidates in order of preference for as long as they like.

Question 21

What type of voting system is AV?

Answer 21

Majoritarian - a candidate must gain 50% of the vote in order to win. If nobody gains 50% of the vote, the candidate in last place is eliminated and their second choice votes are redistributed.

Question 22

What are three advantages of AV?

Answer 22

1) It allows people to vote more honestly
2) It encourages parties to reach out beyond their “core supporters” as second/third etc choice votes are important too
3) It has a proven track record of providing strong and stable governments

Question 23

When is the Closed Party List System used in the UK?

Answer 23

During elections to the European Parliament.

Question 24

What type of constituencies are used in the Closed Party List System?

Answer 24

Multi-member constituencies

Question 25

How many votes does each elector cast in the Closed Party List System?

Answer 25

One

Question 26

How do electors cast their vote in the Closed Party List System?

Answer 26

By putting a cross next to the name of their preferred party. The party will decide who will take their seats.

Question 27

What type of system is Closed Party List?

Answer 27

Proportional

Question 28

What are three advantages of Closed Party List?

Answer 28

1) Minor parties have a greater chance of gaining representation.
2) The result is more representative of the votes cast compared to other methods.
3) Women and minorities can benefit from the parties deliberately putting them higher up on the party list.

Question 29

What are three disadvantages of Closed Party List?

Answer 29

1) It provides very little chance to hold representatives to account.
2) Can create unstable coalitions.
3) It does not provide electors with a clear point of contact with government.

Question 30

What does STV stand for?

Answer 30

Single Transferable Vote

Question 31

Where and when is STV used?

Answer 31

It is used in Scottish local elections as well as in Northern and the Republic of Ireland.

Question 32

What type of constituency is used in STV?

Answer 32

Multi-member constituencies

Question 33

How many votes does each elector cast?

Answer 33

STV uses preference voting, so as few or as many as the elector chooses.

Question 34

How do electors vote in STV?

Answer 34

Electors rank the candidates on the ballot paper in preference order for as many candidates as they so wish.

Question 35

What are three advantages of STV?

Answer 35

1) The result is more representative of the votes cast compared to other systems.
2) There are no safe seats so parties must work harder to gather support.
3) There are no tactical votes.

Question 36

What are two disadvantages of STV?

Answer 36

1) Sparse areas create large constituencies, for which it is hard for the representatives to listen to all their constituents.
2) The result takes a long time to calculate compared to other systems.

Question 37

What are two disadvantages of AV?

Answer 37

1) It tends to create a two party system.

2) Allows for gerrymandering.

Question 38

What does SV stand for?

Answer 38

Supplementary vote

Question 39

When is SV used?

Answer 39

For mayoral and police commissioner elections.

Question 40

What type of constituency is used in SV?

Answer 40

Single member constituencies.

Question 41

How many votes are cast per elector in SV?

Answer 41

Two

Question 42

How do electors cast their votes in SV?

Answer 42

Each electors choose a first choice and a second choice candidate by putting a X by the name of their preferred candidate in each column.

Question 43

What type of electoral system is SV?

Answer 43

Majoritarian

Question 44

What are two advantages of SV?

Answer 44

1) It is more straightforward than AV.

2) It is less likely to produce a two party system than some other systems.

Question 45

What are three disadvantages of SV?

Answer 45

1) It is not guaranteed that the winning candidate will actually gain 50% of the vote.
2) Wasted votes still apply.
3) Some will vote tactically.