POLSC 135 1st Edition Lecture 38Outline of Last Lecture:Electoral Systems & Elections Outline of Current Lecture: Electoral Systems & Elections (cont.)Current Lecture:I. SMDP Systems- A single-member district plurality (SMDP) system is one in which individuals cast a single vote for a candidate in a single-member district. The candidate with the most votes wins.- Examples: United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, Nigeria, Zambia- Criticisms: - a candidate can win without a majority of the vote - produces unrepresentative outcomes- encourages strategic voting- Law: Single-member district plurality systems encourage two-party systems- Hypothesis: Proportional representation electoral rules favor multiparty systems- The alternative vote is a system of preferential voting.- Preferential voting involves voters ranking one or more candidates or parties in order of preference on the ballots.- The alternative vote, used in single-member districts, is an electoral system in which voters mark their preferences by rank ordering the candidates.- A candidate who receives an absolute majority is elected. - If no candidate wins an absolute majority, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and her votes are reallocated until one candidate has an absolute majority of the valid votes remaining.II. Two-Round Systems- A two-round system (TRS) has the potential for two rounds of elections.- Candidates or parties are automatically elected in the first round if they obtain a specified level of votes, typically an absolute majority.- If no candidate or party wins this level of votes, then a second round of elections takes place.- Those candidates or parties that win the most votes in the second round are elected.- There are two types of two-round system- Majority-runoff two-round systems- Majority-plurality two-round systems- Majority-runoff TRS are candidate-centered systems in single-member districts in which voters have a single vote.- Any candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes in the first round is automatically elected.- If no candidate obtains an absolute majority of votes, then the top two vote winners go on to compete in a runoff election.- Whoever wins the most votes (a majority) in the second round is elected.- Majority-plurality TRS are candidate-centered systems in single-member districts in which voters have a single vote.- Any candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes in the first round is automatically elected.- If no candidate obtains an absolute majority of votes, then all candidates that overcome some preordained threshold of votes can contest the second round.- Whoever wins the most votes in the second round is elected.End
View Full Document
Unlocking...