Comparative Politics Final 3 31 Chapter 13 Elections and Electoral Systems Classifying Democracies o Elections are fundamental to all democratic governments o An electoral system is a set of laws that regulate electoral competition between candidates or parties or both Decides how votes are aggregated up and legislative seats are distributed Electoral Systems and government is composed o An electoral formula determines how votes are translated into seats o Two main types of electoral formula Majoritarian US Proportional Majoritarian Systems Majoritarian Electoral Systems Electoral system of most of Western Europe and throughout the world o A majoritarian electoral system is one in which the candidates or parties that receive the most votes to win Seems straightforward doesn t it o A plurality is the option that gets the most vote o An absolute majority is the best option that gets 50 1 of all the possible votes o A qualified majority is the option that must receive greater than 50 to surpass a supermajority threshold usually 60 66 o A unanimous majority is the option that wins the support of all voters o Geographic constituencies are central to all majoritarian electoral systems Determines the universe of the applicable majority o Majoritarian systems are candidate centric Voters select individuals rather than parties o High on identifiability We know our representatives specifically their names If you have a problem you can pick up the phone and call them o In a single member district plurality SMDP system voters cast a single vote for a candidate in district The candidate with the most votes wins Examples United Kingdom India Canada Nigeria Zambia United States Congress First past the post Single member just refers to the fact that candidates are competing for only one seat SMDP Systems Majoritarian District magnitude 1 District magnitude the number of representatives elected in a o Advantages district Straightforward Identifiable representative Candidates incentivized to appeal to the median voter o Disadvantages Absolute majority unnecessary Candidates can win with 30 40 of vote Unrepresentative outcomes Voters who favored other candidate are out of luck Encourages strategic voting Voters avoid wasting their vote o Louise Bagshawe wins o wasted votes 60 the last 3 parties because just Louise wins Alternative vote Majoritarian o The alternative vote is a system of preferential voting o Preferential voting involves voters ranking candidates in order of preference on the ballots o Voters in single member districts rank order the candidates A candidate who receives an absolute majority is elected o If no candidate wins an absolute majority the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his votes are are reallocated until one candidate has an absolute majority o Advantages Identifiable representative Winner with absolute majority Voters preference ranking accounted for Incentivizes sincere voting Incentivizes the cultivation of a broad base of support Increased legitimacy o Disadvantages It s complicated Requires a literate voting population Can still result in disproportional outcomes The 49 9 4 2 Two round systems Majoritarian o A two round system TRS has the potential for two rounds of elections If no candidate wins an absolute majority then a second election takes place Winner of the second round is elected All candidates that want to run can run In first round voters vote for whoever they want o If no candidate wins an absolute majority they have another election In the next election the top two candidates compete in an election o The winner of that is election o Advantages Winner obtains an absolute majority Voters may coalesce around candidates between first and second rounds Easy to implement in societies with high illiteracy o Disadvantages Costly administration for both voter and government Have to count ballots twice hold elections twice Disproportional Condorcet winner not guaranteed she meant to cut this out Can trigger violence in deeply divided societies she meant to cut this out Single Non transferable Vote Majoritarian o In single nontransferable vote SNTV systems voters cast a single candidate centered vote in a multi member district Different district magnitude o The candidates with the highest number of votes are elected Example Japan until 1996 o INSERT SLIDES ABOUT SNTV WITH DIAGRAMS Had the Hammers party coordinated they could have won an additional seat o Advantages o Disadvantages Multimember districts allow for minority representation Multiparty representation from a single district Like the Hammers possibly winning two seats Favors incumbent and well organized parties Few incentives to build broad based coalitions Incentivized to strategic voting Party Block Vote Majoritarian o A party block vote is a candidate centric system in multi member districts where all seats are allocated to the party that wins the majority Djibouti is a small central African nation on the coast of the Red Sea Single party authoritarian state since 1979 The opposition has limited rights of participation The party block vote magnifies the control of the ruling party o When DM 1 multiple seats can be allocated across different parties as in proportional representation Under the party block vote the UDA wins zero legislative seats From pizza elections in class Electoral rules are important because they are decisive in determining representation If you change a rule you can change the outcome Proportional Representation Proportional Representation o A proportional electoral PR system allocates seats to parties in proportion to the vote share the parties win in the district or the nation Proportional translation of votes into seats Geography does not matter as much unlike in MES o Proportional representation systems differ in important ways 1 District Magnitude 1 Number of seats in a district in HOR district 1 in Senate district 2 The use of electoral thresholds 3 The precise formula used to allocate seats to parties 4 The type of party list employed District Magnitude o District magnitude is critical for determining proportionality The district magnitude is the number of representative elected in a district district magnitude proportionality Electoral Thresholds o The electoral threshold stipulates the minimum percentage of votes a party must win to gain a seat Legally imposed formal thresholds or exists as a mathematical property of the electoral system natural thresholds
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