Elections and electoral systems - Electoral systems - Proportional electoral systems
9 important questions on Elections and electoral systems - Electoral systems - Proportional electoral systems
Proportional, or proportional representation (PR), electoral system is:
The two main strengths of PR systems are:
- They tend to produce a more accurate translation of votes into seats
- small parties are able to win representation in proportion to their size
Four criticisms of PR systems are:
- They tend to produce coalition government (so who is then responsible)
- They allow small, extremist parties to win representation
- Small parties have a strong role in the government formation process and receive concessions that are disproportionate to their actual level of support in the electorate
- They create a weak link between constituents and their representatives, because no single representative is responsible for policy in a given district
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All proportional electoral systems employ either quotas or divisors, these are:
- Quota: the 'price' in terms of votes that a party must pay to guarantee themselves a seat in a particular district
- Divisor (or highest average system): divides the total number of votes won by each party in a district by a series of numbers (divisors) to obtain quotients. District seats are then allocated according to which parties have the highest quotients.
List PR systems differ with respect to:
- The electoral formula used to allocate seats to parties
- the district magnitude
- the use of electoral thresholds
- the type of party list
The most important factor influencing the proportionality of an electoral system is the district magnitude:
All proportional systems have an electoral threshold, which is the minimum level of support a party needs to obtain legislative representation. It can exist in two ways:
- A natural threshold: a mathematical by-product of the electoral system, such as the district magnitude. It is not written into electoral laws.
- A formal threshold: is explicitly written into the electoral law. They are often introduced in an attempt to reduce party system fragmentation by preventing very small parties from gaining representation.
The single transferable vote (STV) is:
A few strengths of STV systems are:
- STV systems provide voters with an opportunity to convey a lot of information about their preferences. STV systems allow individuals to vote for candidates from different parties.
- They create incentives for candidates to appeal to groups outs their core set of supporters and campaign on broad-based centrist platforms.
- They tend to create a strong link between representatives and their constituents.
- They reduce the incentive for voters to behave strategically because their votes are less likely to be wasted.
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