Electoral Systems Unit 3 Flashcards
Why is STV used in Northern Ireland
Forces a coalition government to occur To prevent conflict and prevent extremist parties gaining a majority.
What type of electoral system is stv
Proportional
What type of electoral system is SV
Majoritarian
What is SV
2 choices (first and second preference) majority of 50% wins
Ams how does it work
2 votes. One for candidate in their constituency.
and another for their preferred political party
Fptp- what type of electoral system and how does it work
Majoritarian, voters cast their vote for party. Majority of 50%
2 advantages of FPTP
1.Creates stable and strong governments, able to make coherent decisions.
2. MPs have a close relationship with constituents and meet them regularly at surgeries.
3.keeps out small extremist parties by discriminating against them
2 disadvantages of fptp
- Discriminates In favour of the 2 main parties
- Votes are wasted on losing candidates or on huge majorities in safe seats
2 advantages of sv
- It is simple to understand and use.
- It reduces tactical voting as you can vote for your first choice candidate without fear of wasting vote
- Encourages moderate campaigning as gaining second choice votes in important
2 disadvantages of sv
1.promotes voting for candidates from the 3 main parties because only 2 candidates can make the cut- smaller parties won’t secure enough first preferences.
2. If there are more than 2 strong candidates voters must guess, which 2 will make the final cut and if they guess incorrectly their second choice vote will be wasted
Where is Sv used
London mayor elections
How does STV work
- STV uses multi member constituencies and voters and number their choices 1,2,3
2.to be elected a candidate needs to get more than the quota
Advantages of stv
Greater choice- voters can choose between parties
