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Electoral systems
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Topic: Electoral systems: should countries with non-proportional electoral systems (e.g., single member plurality) adopt more proportional electoral systems (e.g., proportional representation or mixed-member proportionality)?
Research essay instructions:
- Minimum length: 8 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font. The title page and bibliography may not be included in the word count or page length;
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Proportional and Non Proportional Electoral Systems
Electoral system is an institution in itself that provides for the methodology and practice of voting in leaders into power. Elections are carried out in each and every country and/or state by citizens (electorates) in exercising their rights and freedoms to choose their leaders. It is through this exercise that a country’s population exerts influence on the individuals they would want to govern them and the process by which citizens participate in government formation (Lijphart 2000 p.1). Electoral systems decide on the methods that will be used in voting, how the voting will actually be conducted, equipment to be used, how tallying of the votes is done and finally how a winner is decided upon. These processes differ among nations in the world in terms of outcome determination. Electoral systems are usually influenced by the political set up of that country, electoral processes of their colonizers and the electoral systems of the neighboring countries. Electoral systems have been associated with the successes of countries in exercising and spreading democratic practices within the country and/or state. This is because electoral systems not only dictate outcomes of an election but also the political alignment of the country, and ultimately politics influences the democratic realization of a country. Farrell (2001, p.4) notes that the proportionality or non proportionality of electoral systems is in the way that the outcome of the election reflects the fairness in allocation of electoral seats to parties and the overall votes achieved. There are three main components of an electoral system as noted by Farrell (2001, p.6). These include:
District magnitude- this is the magnitude or size of the electoral province, state or constituency. The district magnitude is determined by the number of representatives to be chosen in each constituency, region etc. or the amount of seats/vacancies that are open in a particular region. Some countries have numerous seats to be filled within a region/constituency while others which have the single member plurality system have only one vacancy to be filled.
Ballot structure-this describes the method by which voters exercise their voting right. There are two common ballot structures i.e. ordinal ballot structure where voters can vote for all the candidates on a ballot paper in order of preferential ranking or categorical ballot structure where voters are given a choice of candidates on a ballot paper and asked to vote for their preferred candidate.
Electoral formula- this is the method by which tallying of votes is done and seats allocated depending on the outcome of the election. Although these three components of electoral systems are all important in classifying electoral systems, electoral formula is the main distinction between most electoral systems. There are basically three categories of electoral systems i.e. plurality or majority systems, mixed systems and proportional representation systems. However there exist other systems.
Plurality/Majority Systems
These systems have a very straightforward electoral formula i.e. the candidate with the most votes wins. Despite this elaborate method of choosing legislatures, this electoral system has been deemed non-proportionate due to its unrepresentative nature in terms of party representation in national assemblies. The number of seats in the assembly won is not representative to the number of votes the party achieved hence the non-proportionality. Although it generally brings out non representative results, it has on some occasions brought out a proportionate result in terms of representation. This electoral system is distinguished mainly by the fact that it utilizes single member districts (International IDEA Handbook of Electoral System Design 2004, p. 20). There are five types of plurality/ majority electoral systems. These include:
First past the Post (FPTP)
In this system, voters are expected to vote for only one candidate and the candidate with majority of the votes wins. Most countries use this simple majority voting system even though it has been castigated for its simplicity and non-proportionality.
Block Vote
This is similar to the first past the post system only that in block vote, there are various seats to be filled in a district. Voters are given as many votes as there are seats and asked to vote for their preferred candidate in each category. Again, the candidates with the most votes win.
Party Block Vote
In this system, parties not individuals are voted for. The party that wins via a majority fills all the seats in the district. The party lists its candidates and the voters vote for the party they view has the best list to fill the vacant seats.
Alternative Vote (AV)
In this system, voters are required to vote for their candidates in terms of preference. This means that voters are allowed to vote for more than one candidate. Voters number the preference of their candidates on their ballot paper, from their most preferred to least preferred. The votes are then tallied and the candidate with majority votes wins. However, if there is no elaborate majority, then the votes of the most preferred candidate are accumulated in order until the candidate with the most preferential votes in order of preference on the ballot paper is elected.
Two Round Systems
In this electoral system, two elections are conducted. There needs to be an absolute majority for a win in the first round. However, if none of the candidates can achieve an absolute majority in the first round, then a second election is held and a simple majority decides the victor. However, the two round systems are conducted differently among nations. Some systems only allow for the two highest scoring candidates to face off in the second round thus reflecting a truly majoritarian elective system. Others allow for a candidate with a certain percentage of votes to be included in the next face off stage.
Proportional Representative Systems
In this system, the main focus is to minimize the difference that may accrue from the votes and seats available (Lutz 2006, p.100). This system tries to standardize the percentage of votes to the percentage of seats won i.e. a similar percentage of seats won for the percentage of votes gathered. The proportional representation systems include;
List Proportional Representation
In this electoral system, voters vote for a party list of candidates and seats are awarded according to the votes gathered. The successful aspirants are then picked from the lists in order of their rank on these lists. The formula for allocating seats to the party varies in different systems.
Single Transferable Vote (STV)
This is a complicated electoral system which divides the votes into quotas using a formula and each candidate votes compared to the quota mark. Voters are allowed for preferential voting and each candidate is ranked based on this system. There is redistribution of votes in each valuation step of the votes until an apparent winner is gotten.
Mixed Systems
This system integrates the PR system and the plurality/majority system in conducting elections and determining a winner. The system employs the list PR and single member district system in elections; if the two elections are intertwined and done concurrently, then the system becomes known as Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP), if the two elections do not depend on each other for outcome, then it is known as parallel system. The mixed system h...
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Proportional and Non Proportional Electoral Systems
Electoral system is an institution in itself that provides for the methodology and practice of voting in leaders into power. Elections are carried out in each and every country and/or state by citizens (electorates) in exercising their rights and freedoms to choose their leaders. It is through this exercise that a country’s population exerts influence on the individuals they would want to govern them and the process by which citizens participate in government formation (Lijphart 2000 p.1). Electoral systems decide on the methods that will be used in voting, how the voting will actually be conducted, equipment to be used, how tallying of the votes is done and finally how a winner is decided upon. These processes differ among nations in the world in terms of outcome determination. Electoral systems are usually influenced by the political set up of that country, electoral processes of their colonizers and the electoral systems of the neighboring countries. Electoral systems have been associated with the successes of countries in exercising and spreading democratic practices within the country and/or state. This is because electoral systems not only dictate outcomes of an election but also the political alignment of the country, and ultimately politics influences the democratic realization of a country. Farrell (2001, p.4) notes that the proportionality or non proportionality of electoral systems is in the way that the outcome of the election reflects the fairness in allocation of electoral seats to parties and the overall votes achieved. There are three main components of an electoral system as noted by Farrell (2001, p.6). These include:
District magnitude- this is the magnitude or size of the electoral province, state or constituency. The district magnitude is determined by the number of representatives to be chosen in each constituency, region etc. or the amount of seats/vacancies that are open in a particular region. Some countries have numerous seats to be filled within a region/constituency while others which have the single member plurality system have only one vacancy to be filled.
Ballot structure-this describes the method by which voters exercise their voting right. There are two common ballot structures i.e. ordinal ballot structure where voters can vote for all the candidates on a ballot paper in order of preferential ranking or categorical ballot structure where voters are given a choice of candidates on a ballot paper and asked to vote for their preferred candidate.
Electoral formula- this is the method by which tallying of votes is done and seats allocated depending on the outcome of the election. Although these three components of electoral systems are all important in classifying electoral systems, electoral formula is the main distinction between most electoral systems. There are basically three categories of electoral systems i.e. plurality or majority systems, mixed systems and proportional representation systems. However there exist other systems.
Plurality/Majority Systems
These systems have a very straightforward electoral formula i.e. the candidate with the most votes wins. Despite this elaborate method of choosing legislatures, this electoral system has been deemed non-proportionate due to its unrepresentative nature in terms of party representation in national assemblies. The number of seats in the assembly won is not representative to the number of votes the party achieved hence the non-proportionality. Although it generally brings out non representative results, it has on some occasions brought out a proportionate result in terms of representation. This electoral system is distinguished mainly by the fact that it utilizes single member districts (International IDEA Handbook of Electoral System Design 2004, p. 20). There are five types of plurality/ majority electoral systems. These include:
First past the Post (FPTP)
In this system, voters are expected to vote for only one candidate and the candidate with majority of the votes wins. Most countries use this simple majority voting system even though it has been castigated for its simplicity and non-proportionality.
Block Vote
This is similar to the first past the post system only that in block vote, there are various seats to be filled in a district. Voters are given as many votes as there are seats and asked to vote for their preferred candidate in each category. Again, the candidates with the most votes win.
Party Block Vote
In this system, parties not individuals are voted for. The party that wins via a majority fills all the seats in the district. The party lists its candidates and the voters vote for the party they view has the best list to fill the vacant seats.
Alternative Vote (AV)
In this system, voters are required to vote for their candidates in terms of preference. This means that voters are allowed to vote for more than one candidate. Voters number the preference of their candidates on their ballot paper, from their most preferred to least preferred. The votes are then tallied and the candidate with majority votes wins. However, if there is no elaborate majority, then the votes of the most preferred candidate are accumulated in order until the candidate with the most preferential votes in order of preference on the ballot paper is elected.
Two Round Systems
In this electoral system, two elections are conducted. There needs to be an absolute majority for a win in the first round. However, if none of the candidates can achieve an absolute majority in the first round, then a second election is held and a simple majority decides the victor. However, the two round systems are conducted differently among nations. Some systems only allow for the two highest scoring candidates to face off in the second round thus reflecting a truly majoritarian elective system. Others allow for a candidate with a certain percentage of votes to be included in the next face off stage.
Proportional Representative Systems
In this system, the main focus is to minimize the difference that may accrue from the votes and seats available (Lutz 2006, p.100). This system tries to standardize the percentage of votes to the percentage of seats won i.e. a similar percentage of seats won for the percentage of votes gathered. The proportional representation systems include;
List Proportional Representation
In this electoral system, voters vote for a party list of candidates and seats are awarded according to the votes gathered. The successful aspirants are then picked from the lists in order of their rank on these lists. The formula for allocating seats to the party varies in different systems.
Single Transferable Vote (STV)
This is a complicated electoral system which divides the votes into quotas using a formula and each candidate votes compared to the quota mark. Voters are allowed for preferential voting and each candidate is ranked based on this system. There is redistribution of votes in each valuation step of the votes until an apparent winner is gotten.
Mixed Systems
This system integrates the PR system and the plurality/majority system in conducting elections and determining a winner. The system employs the list PR and single member district system in elections; if the two elections are intertwined and done concurrently, then the system becomes known as Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP), if the two elections do not depend on each other for outcome, then it is known as parallel system. The mixed system h...
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