3.1 different electoral systems Flashcards
(55 cards)
1
Q
what are the functions of electoral systems?
A
-elections are used to choose representatives. in democracy, legislators and decision makers have to be elected
-elections are the most important ways in which citizens become involved in politics. For many it is their only form of political participation
-elections are a time when government and elected representatives can be called to account. During an election campaign the candidates must justify what they and their party have done
-democracy demands that the people have choice over who represents their ideas and interests. Elections should provide that choice
-elections have an educative function. During election campaigns the public can become better informed about the key political issues that face their locality, region or nation
-elections provide a mandate. The winners in an election are granted democratic legitimacy, the political authority to carry out the political programme that they are proposing
2
Q
what are the democratic aspects of Uk elections?
A
- there is freedom of information and of the media
- the secrecy of the ballot is a key principle of Uk elections, though it is not guaranteed
- there is relatively little corruption and malpractice is punishable by law
- the conduct of elections is safeguarded by the Electoral Commission which is independent of government
- the constituency system ensures clear representation for citizens
- the counting of votes is carefully and thoroughly regulated
- elections are held on a regular basis by law
- any citizen can register to stand to be an MP. A required deposit of £500 means many can afford to stand
- virtually all adults are permitted to vote
3
Q
what makes a good election system?
A
- in Dec 1997 Blair asked the former Home Secretary Roy Jenkins to investigate possible changes to the electoral system used for UK general elections
The criteria: - proportionality
- stable government
- voter choice
- MP/constituent link
- participation
- simplicity
4
Q
what is a plurality electoral system?
A
to win a seat, a candidate only requires one more vote than any other candidate, meaning they do not need to secure an absolute majority
5
Q
what type of electoral system is plurality?
A
FPTP
6
Q
where is FPTP used?
A
- General elections
- Local council elections in England and Wales
7
Q
what is a majoritarian electoral system?
A
used to select a single candidate, these systems are designed to attempt to secure an absolute majority for the winning candidate
8
Q
what type of electoral system is majoritarian?
A
SV
9
Q
where is SV used?
A
- London mayor
- By elections for STV
- other metro mayors
10
Q
what is a proportional electoral system?
A
a system that attempts to allocate seats in direct proportion to votes cast. As such they are multi-member constituencies
11
Q
what type of electoral system is proportional?
A
STV
12
Q
where is STV used?
A
- Northern Ireland parliament
- Scottish local government
13
Q
what is a hybrid electoral system?
A
a system that mixes two other types of system, such as plurality and proportional
14
Q
what type of electoral system is hybrid?
A
AMS
15
Q
where is AMS used?
A
- Scottish parliament
- welsh send
- greater London assembly
16
Q
what is FPTP?
A
FPTP is a straightforward electoral system where voters simply pick a single candidate to represent their constituency. The votes are counted and whoever gains the most votes wins the seta, regardless of the total number of votes cast or the relative proportion
17
Q
what are the key features of FPTP?
A
- small, single member constituencies
- winner takes all based on a plurality
- voting is simple, place an X nest to your chose candidate
- voters get one vote for one candidate
- voters choose a candidate, not a party
18
Q
how does FPTP work?
A
FPTP operates by dividing the country into 650 constituencies of roughly equal size, the average adult population of a constituency is 75,000. Tightly populated London constituencies are much smaller in size than sparsely populated constituencies in rural areas
19
Q
evidence of an absolute majority in the 2024 election vs a plurality?
A
- Westmorland and Lonsdale, the lib dems got over 62% of the vote
- Wokingham lib dems got 47.7% of the vote
20
Q
advantages of FPTP?
A
- it is a simple system and voters can understand exactly what they are voting for
- it helps to ensure representatives are closely bound to the needs and concerns of their constituency
- it helps to ensure small extremist parties find it difficult to gain representation
- it tends to produce an outright winner, that is, a party that has an overall majority in the HOC and therefore produces a clear mandate
- it is traditional, having been sued as the main voting system throughout British electoral history, and is part of British political tradition
21
Q
disadvantages of FPTP?
A
- it gives an advantage to parties that have concentrated support in certain regions
- it is disadvantageous to parties whose support is dispersed widely
- it favours the large parties and prevents serious challenges from small parties
- there is a ‘winners bonus’, where the biggest party tends to win more than its proportionate share of the vote. in 2024. labour got 33% of votes but 63% of seats
- in some recent general elections (2010, 2015 and 2017), the system failed to produce a decisive government majority
22
Q
key issues relating to FPTP: example of concentrated support?
A
- in 2024, the lib dems had 12% vote share equaling 72 seats
- in 2024, reform had 14% of vote share, and only won 5 seats
- in 2019 it took Green Party 866,400 votes to win a seat, while SNP only needed 25,900
23
Q
key issues relating to FPTP: explain concentrated support?
A
- the FPTP electoral system has the effect os favouring those parties that have their support concentrated in certain areas
- the reason why this occurs is that parties with dispersed support e.g green find it very difficult to secure a high enough total to win an individual constituency contest and hence gain few seats in parliament
24
Q
key issues relating to FPTP: example of safe seats?
A
- 73.7% of votes did not directly affect the outcome in 2024 – 21.2 million votes in total.
- bootle is an example of a safe seat as it has remained as a labour seat since 1945
25
key issues relating to FPTP: explain safe seats?
- a safe seat is a constituency where it is almost certain that the same party will win the seat at every general election
- it is largely immune to swings in voting choice
- it means that votes are not equal in value
- MPs in safe seats are less accountable
- less money is spent campaigning there
26
what may marginal seats lead to?
tactile voting
27
key issues relating to FPTP: example of marginal seats?
-The number of constituencies with majorities under 1,000 votes rose from 23 in 2019 to 51 in 2024, indicating a more volatile and competitive political environment.
-Hendon (London): Result: Labour gained the seat from the Conservatives. Majority: 15 votes (0.04% margin)
28
key issues relating to FPTP: explain marginal seats?
- marginal seats are those where the outcome of an election is in doubt. such seats are likely to change hands from one party to another quite frequently
- parties concentrate their efforts on marginal seats
- votes in marginal seats are more valuable
29
what is the additional member system?
isa hybrid system that combines FPTP with a proportional representation system, in this case on called 'closed party list'
30
how does AMS work?
a proportion of the seats is awarded through FPTP. The rest are awarded by a regional closed party list
31
where is AMS used?
in the Scottish and welsh parliament and in the Greater London assembly
32
how is AMS a compromise?
it is designed to make a party system proportional, but preserves the idea of parliamentary constituencies with an MP to represent them. it helps smaller parties, but also favours the large ones
33
how does AMS work in Scotland and Wales?
- a proportion of the seats are elected through FPTP
- the remainder of seats are elected on a proportional system based on several regions of the country. This is known as the regional closed party list part of the system
- the variable top-up system adjusts the proportion of votes cast on the list system, based on the over or under representation parties have experienced in the FPTP seats. The seats awarded from the list system are adjusted ti give more proportional results
- parties that do less well in the constituencies have their proportion of list votes adjusted upwards
- makes the total result in seats close to proportional to the total votes cast in both systems
34
pros of AMS?
- produces broadly proportional outcome and fair to all
- gives voters two votes which equals more choice
- combines preserving constituency representation with a proportional outcome
- helps small parties that cannot win constituency contests
35
cons of AMS?
- produces two classes of representation, those with a constituencies and those elected through the lists
- more complex, may confuse voters
- can result in extremist parties
36
what does the outcome of elections look like that use AMS? (example being the 2021 elections to the Scottish parliament)
the proportion of seats won by each party is quite close to the proportion of votes each of them win, so the result is broadly representational. the SNP recoeved 48% of votes and 49% of seats
37
Where is the supplementary vote used?
in the uk its main use is to elect city mayors
38
How does SV work?
- voters have 2 choices, a first and a second. If any candidate achieves an overall majority (e.g 50%) of the first choice round, they are automatically elected. If this does not happen, the top 2 candidates go into a second round of counting (and others drop out)
- the second choice votes of the eliminated candidates are added to the first choices for the top 2 candidates
39
what does this SV system ensure?
- as there are only 2 candidates left, one of them is certain to achieve and absolute majority. So the winner has an overall majority of a combination of first and second choice votes
- in the 2016 London mayor election , Sadiq Khan, the eventual winner, achieved only 44.2% of the first choice votes, but 101,427 voters put whims there second choice which was enough to give him absolute majority with 56.8%
40
what are the advantages of SV?
- winning candidate must have overall majority
- it is relatively simple for voters to understand
- voters have great opportunity to express their support for mote than one party
41
what are the disadvantages of SV?
- the winning candidate may be chosen as a second choice candidate
- it will probably entrench and promote the two party system
- third parties will be more excluded from winning seats than under FPTP
42
do you think the SV would make a substantial difference to the current composition of the HOC?
yes, it will make a difference because votes will feel less wasted if the candidate has to get a majority rather than just 1 more so people may vote for 3rd parties more however it will not make a substantial difference because it will promote the 2 party system so ultimately will not lead to a substantial difference
43
where is the single transferable vote used?
in Northern Ireland
44
how does the STV work?
- there are typically six seats available in each constituency
- each party is permitted to put up as many candidates as there are east (e.g up to 6), however the normal is 4 because they are likely not to win all 6
- voters place the candidates in their oder of preference by placing a number, 1,2,3 etc. beside their names. They can Gove a preference for all possible candidates or only those candidates they support
- voters can vote for candidates from different parties or even all the parties, though few do
- as the count, an electoral quota is calculated. This is established by taking the total number of votes cast and dividing it by the number of seats available plus 1. so if 50,000 votes were cast and six seats are available the quota is 50,000/(6+1=7)
- initially, all the first preferences are counted for each candidate, any candidate who achieves the quota are elected automatically
- after this, essentially the candidate that came last is eliminated and the second and subsequent preferences from their ballot papers are added to the other candidates. if this results in an individual achieving the quota, they are elected
- this process continues until six candidates have achieved the quota and are elected
45
why is STV used?
it is designed to ensure voter's preferences are aggregated to make sure that 6 most popular candidates overall are elected
46
example of STV?
in a single constituency contest from the NI assembly election in 2016 illustrated how this works for the Fermanagh and south Tyrone constituency. with the DUP, 2 candidates were offered and 2 elected but with Sinn Fein 4 were offered and 2 elected. The quota was 6740, only one candidate (Arlene Foster of the DUP) achieve the quota on the first preference votes
47
example of how promotional STV is?
in the results off the NI assembly election, 2017 the DUP won 28 seats and had 28.1% of first preference votes. Sinn Fein won 27 seats and had 27.9% of first preference votes. and the SDLP won 12 seats with 11.9% of first preference votes
48
advantages of STV?
- it produces a broadly proportional outcome
- it gives voters a very wide choice of candidates
- voters can vote for candidates from different parties and show a preference between candidates of the same party
- it helps small parties and independent candidates to be elected
49
disadvantages of STV?
- it Is quite a complex system that some voters do not understand
- the vote counting is complicated and can take a long time
- it can help candidates with extremist views be elected
50
compare the vote systems in terms of 'a clear winning candidate'
- FPTP produces a clear winning candidate
- STV produces a weaker winning candidate due to multi-member constituencies
- AMS has a clear winning candidate but also top-up candidates
- SV same as AMS but maybe stronger as it will secure a majority of final votes
51
compare the vote systems in terms of 'secures a clear winning party and mandate'
- FPTP usually secures a clear winning party and mandate
- STV much less likely to achieve this and more likely to rely on coalitions
- AMS much less likely to secure single-party government
- SV is more likely to achieve this as to promotes the two main parties
52
compare the vote systems in terms of 'it is easy to understand'
- FPTP is very easy to understand
- STV is much more complicated and time consuming but has worked where used
- AMS is a mixture of 2 systems operating on different principles making it slightly more complicated but has worked where used
- SV is slightly more complicated but has worked where used
53
compare the vote systems in terms of 'stopping extremist parties and small parties'
- FPTP stops extremist parties and other small parties winning seats
- STV is much more likely that smaller or extremist parties will gain some form of representation
- AMS is more likely that smaller parties will gain some form of representation but limited
- SV would usually make it harder for smaller parties and more extremist parties to gain a seat
54
compare the vote systems in terms of 'lack of proportionality'
- FPTP produces a lack of proportionality
- STV produces far more proportional representation of parties
- with AMS the worst aspects of proportionality are tempered by the top-up seats, though not eliminated
-SV is possibly even less proportional than FPTP
55
compare the vote systems in terms of 'strong constituency links'
- FPTP has strong constituency links
- STV creates much weaker constituency links
- AMS has strong constituency links for the FPTP part, but weaker for the top up seats
- SV exactly the same as AMS
