Chap 13 - PR Flashcards
(21 cards)
What two things do all PR systems have in common?
- Employ MULTI-MEMBER districts
2. Use a QUOTA or DIVISOR to determine who is elected in each district
Which scholar argues that PR systems have number of advantages over Majoritarian systems?
LIJPHART
- Produce a more accurate translation of votes into seats
Where does Lijphart say PR is essential?
Ethnically and religiously divided societies
What does Lijphart refer to SNTV as?
a semi-proportional system.
What system is used in local council elections in England and Wales?
Block voting (BV)
What happens in block voting?
Voters have as many seats as votes
What are the advantages of PR?
- More accurate TRANSLATION OF VOTES into seats
- Allows SMALL PARTIES to win representation in proportion to their size.
- REDUCES STRATEGIC voting
What do critics of PR say?
- Divides in society are REPLICATED in legislature
2. No requirement for cooperation as in AV and SV
Who is a critic of PR and opts for AV and SV?
Reilly
Who examined the district magniture?
Carey and Hix
What size of district magnitude is recommended by Carey and Hix?
3-8
Who does Tsebelis say is most able to change existing policies in terms of government types?
TSEBELIS:
COALITION govts LESS ABLE to change existing policies than single party governments
What are critics sceptical of in PR?
Accountability
What do Carey and Hix say diminishes as the district size and magnitude increases?
The need for STRATEGIC voting
Would be zero once the magnitude is above 10
What trade off do Carey and Hix hope to balance?
The representativeness-accountability trade-off
What measure do Carey and Hix suggest to reduce party fragmentation?
A legal threshold such as 5% of national votes to get seat
Why don’t Carey and Hix like SMD (single member districts)
In the UK they create unrepresentative governments, although they create simpler coalitions and have less parties
What part of the world has mainly PR electoral systems?
Latin America
What don’t Carey and Hix like about large multimember districts?
Highly representative but:
- highly FRAGMENTED party systems
- UNWIELDY MULTIPARTY coalition government
What do Carey and Hix think expanding the district magnitude from 1 to 5 will do to parliament and government?
- increase the number of effective parties in parliament by 1.
- increase the number of parties in govt by a half
Who notes that when given the chance, voters overwhelmingly use a preferential extra vote?
Carey
