El ect or alSy st em i nt hePhi l i ppi nes ThePhi l i ppi neshasuni v er s al di r ec ts uff r ageatage18andol dert oel ec tt hepr es i dent ,v i c e pr es i dent( whor unsi ndependent l y ) ,andmos toft hes eat si nt hebi c amer al l egi s l at ur e,c ons i s t i ngof t h eHo us eo fRe pr e s en t a t i v e san dt h eSe na t e ;ami mi n or i t yo fHo us eme mb mb er sk n owna ss ec t o r a l r epr es ent at i v esar eappoi nt edbyt hepr es i dent .El ec t i onsar ehel dnotj us tf ornat i onal l eader s hi pbut al s of orr epr es ent at i onatt hepr o vi nc i al andl oc al l ev el s .I nt hel as tel ec t i onsi nMa y2004,s ome74 per c entofel i gi b l ev ot er spar t i c i pat ed,butt hep r oc es swasma ma r r edb yv i ol enc eandn umer ou s i r r egul ar i t i es ,whi c ht hepol i t i c al oppos i t i onc ont i nuest opr ot es t , ev enc al l i ngf ort hepr es i dent ’ s i mp ea c hme nt .[ So ur c e:Li b r a r yofCo ng r e ss* ] El ec t i onsi nt hePhi l i ppi nesar et hear enai nwhi c ht hec ount r y ' sel i t ef ami l i escompet ef orpol i t i c al power .Theweal t hi es tc l anscont es tnat i onal andpr o vi nc i al offic es .Fami l i esofl es serweal t h c ompe t ef ormuni c i pal offic es .I nt h ebar ang ay s ,wh er emo mos tp eo pl ear eeq ual l ypoor ,e l ec t i on c onf er sso ci al pr es t i gebu tn or eal po we ro rmone y .* Thecon st i t ut i onal s oempo wer st hecommi s s i ont o" a c cr edi tc i t i z ens ' ar msoft h eCommi s s i o non El ec t i ons . "Thi sr ef er st ot heNat i onal Mo v ementf orFr eeEl ec t i on s( NAMFREL) ,apr i v at egr oup es t abl i s hedi nt he1950s ,wi t hadv i c eandas s i s t anc ef r om t heUni t edSt at es ,t ok eepel ec t i ons hones t .NAMFRELr ec r ui t edpubl i c s pi r i t edc i t i z ens( 320, 000v ol unt eer si n104, 000pr ec i nc t si nt he 1987c ongr es si onal el ec t i ons )t owat c ht hev ot i ngandmoni t orbal l ot c ount i ng,andi tpr epar eda " qui c kc ount , "bas edmos t l yonur banr e t ur ns ,t opubl i c i z et her es ul t si mmedi at el y .Bec aus et he Commi s s i ononEl ec t i o nsc ant ak ewee ksore v enmo mo nt hst oc er t i f yoffic i al r e t ur ns ,t heNat i o na l Mov ementf orFr eeEl ec t i onsma mak esi thar derf oruns cr upul ouspol i t i c i anst odi s t or tt her es ul t s . NAMFRELi t s e l fh ass o me me t i me sbe ende no un ce db yel e c t i o nl o se r sa sbei n gat o ol o fUn i t edSt a t e s i nt er v ent i onandhasnotal wa ysbeeni mpar t i al .I n1986i tf a vor edAqui no,andi t sc hai r man,J os e Co nc ep c i o n,wa ss ub s eq ue nt l yna me me dAq ui n o' smi mi n i s t e ro ft r a dea ndi n du s t r y . * The1987c ons t i t u t i one st ab l i s he sane ws y s t em o fel e ct i ons .Thet e r msofr epr es ent at i v e sar e r educ edf r om f oury ear st ot hr ee,andt hepr es i dent i al t er mi sl engt henedf r om f oury ear st os i x . Senat or sal s os er v eas i x y e art er m.TheCons t i t ut i on' st r ans i t or ypr o vi s i onsar es chedul edt oe xpi r e i n1992,af t erwhi c ht her ei st obeat hr eey earel ec t i onc y cl e.Suffr agei suni v er s al atageei ght een. Theco ns t i t u t i ones t ab l i s hedaCo mmi mm s s i ononEl e ct i onst hati se mpo mp wer edt osuper v i s ee v er y a sp ec to fc ampa i g nsan de l e ct i o ns .I ti sc omp os edo fac h ai r pe r s ona nds i xc ommi s s i on er s ,wh o c annotha vebeenc andi dat esf oran ypos i t i oni nt hei mmedi at el ypr ec edi ngel ec t i ons .Amaj or i t yof t h ec o mmi mm s s i on er smu mu s tb el a wy e r s ,a nda l l mu s tb ec o l l e ge ed uc at e d.Th eyar ea pp oi n t e db yt h e p r e s i d en twi t ht hec o ns en to ft h eCo mmi mm s s i o no nAp poi n t men t san ds e r v eas i n gl es e v en y e art e r m. TheCommi s s i ononEl ec t i onse nf or c esa ndadmi ni s t er sa l l el ec t i onl a wsan dr egul at i onsa ndhas or i gi nal j ur i s di c t i onov eral l l egal di s put esar i s i ngf r om di s put edr es ul t s .T oc ount ert heunwhol es ome i n flu en c eo c ca si o na l l ye x er c i s e db yso l di e r san do t h era r me dg r o up s,t h ec o mmi mm s s i o nma ydep ut e l awenf or c ementagenc i es ,i nc l udi ngt heAr medFor c esoft hePhi l i ppi nes .I ndi r es i t uat i ons ,t he c ommi s si onc ant ak eent i r emuni c i pal i t i esandpr o vi nc esunderi t sc ont r ol ,oror dernewel ec t i ons .*
Thefi nal dec i s i ononal l l egi s l at i v eel ec t i onsr es t swi t ht heel ec t or al t r i bunal soft heSenat eand Ho us eo fRe pr e se nt a t i v e s .Ea chel e ct o r a lt r i b un al i sc ompo se do fni n eme mb mb er s ,t h r e eo fwho ma r e me mb mb er so ft h eSu pr e meCo me ur td es i g na t e db yt h ec hi e fj u s t i c e.Ther e mai ma n i n gs i xa r eme me mb mb er so f t heSenat eort heHous e,c ho senont h ebas i sofpr o por t i onal r epr es ent at i o nf r om pa r t i esi nt he c h a mb mb er .*
A country’s electoral system is the method used to calculate the number of elected positions in government that individuals and parties are awarded after elections . In other words, it is the way that votes are translated into seats in parliament or in other areas of government (such as the presidency). There are many dierent dierent types of electoral systems in use around the world, and even within individual countries, dierent electoral systems may be found in dierent regions and at dierent levels of government (e.g., for elections to school boards, city councils, state legislatures, legislatures, governorships, governorships, etc.). Electoral systems can be divided into three general types:
1. Plurality electoral systems Also called !rst"past"the"post# or winner"ta$e"all# systems, plurality systems simply award a seat to the individual candidate who receives the most votes in an election. The candidate need not get a ma%ority (&') of the vote to win* so long as he has a larger number of votes than all other candidates, he is declared the winner. +lurality systems normally depend on single"member single"member constituencies, and allow voters to indicate only one vote on their ballot (by pulling a single lever, punching a hole in the ballot, ma$ing an , etc.) +lurality electoral systems also tend to encourage the growth of relatively relatively stable political systems dominated by two ma%or parties (a phenomenon $nown as “Duverger’s Law”). Such an electoral system, though, clearly does not represent the interests of all (or even most) voters. In fact, since a candidate need have only a plurality of votes to be elected, most voters may actually have voted against the winner (although their votes are split among several candidates).
Elections for the House and Senate in the nited States and for the House of !ommons in the nited "ingdom use the plurality system. #he S presidential election is also generally considered a plurality system, but the e$istence of the Electoral !ollege actually ma%es it a strange hybrid of plurality and ma&ority systems.
2. a!ority electoral systems Also called second ballot# systems, ma%ority electoral systems attempt to provide for a greater degree of representativeness by re-uiring that candidates achieve a ma%ority of votes in order to win. a%ority# is normally de!ned as &'"plus"one"vote. If no candidate gets a ma%ority of votes, then a second round of voting is held (often a wee$ or so after the initial ballot). In the second round of voting, only a select number of candidates from the !rst round are allowed to participate. In some countries, such as /ussia, the top two vote" getters in the !rst round move on to the second round. In other countries, such as 0rance, all candidates with a minimum threshold percentage of votes (in the 0rench case, 12.& of all registered voters) move on to the second round. 3i$e plurality systems, ma%ority systems usually rely on single"member constituencies, and allow voters to indicate only one preference on their ballot. 'residential elections in ustria, inland, 'ortugal, *ussia and other east European states, as well as presidential and +ational ssembly elections in rance, ma%e use of various forms of ma&ority electoral systems. #he S Electoral !ollege also has components of a ma&ority system, because a presidential candidate must get -/ plus/one electoral votes (01- out of 23) in order to win. If no candidate reaches the 01- mar%, the election is decided by the House of *epresentatives. In determining who votes for whom in the Electoral !ollege, though, the S presidential race is a strict plurality system: #he candidate who gets a plurality of the popular vote in a state gets all that state4s electoral votes.
". Proportional representation Also $nown as +/#, proportional representation is the general name for a class of voting systems that attempt to ma$e the percentage of o4ces awarded to candidates re5ect as closely as possible the percentage of votes that they received in the election. It is the most widely used set of electoral systems in the world, and its variants
can be found at some level of government in almost every country (including the 6nited 7tates, where some city councils are elected using forms of +/). #he most straightforward version of '* is simply to award a party the same percentage of seats in parliament as it gets votes at the polls. #hus, if a party won 5- of the vote it would receive 5- of the seats. However, there are clear problems with such a system: Should parties that receive only -.--6 of the vote also be represented7 8hat happens if the voting percentages do not translate evenly into seats7 How do you award a party 69. seats if it got 69. of the vote7 ore sophisticated '* systems attempt to get around these problems. #wo of the most widely used are discussed below. +arty list sytems
6nder party list forms of +/, voters normally vote for parties rather than for individual candidates. 6nder a closed party list system the parties themselves determine who will !ll the seats that they have been allocated* voters vote only for a particular party, and then it is up to the party to decide which party members will actually serve as representatives. 3egislative elections in Israel and 8ermany are conducted according to such a system. 6nder an open party list system, voters are given some degree of choice among individual candidates, in addition to voting for entire parties. 9enmar$, 0inland, Italy, 3u:embourg and 7wit;erland all have versions of open party list systems. nder all party list systems, though, one still needs some method for allocating seats to individual parties. ;ne commonly used method is named for the nineteenth/century , and E) have gained 6-- (6-), 6- (6), 2-- (2-), 5-(5-), and - () votes, respectively. ssume also that, in our electoral constituency, there are 2 seats up for election? that all votes cast are valid? and that the electoral system has a 1 vote threshold. (#hat is, parties must get at least 1 of the total valid votes cast in order to participate in the distribution of seats.) 'arty E would
thus be elimiated from competition at the outset. #he d4Hondt method of seat allocation then proceeds in the following steps. 6. 'lace the total number of votes garnered by the competing parties (, <, !, and >. E has been eliminated) in a row. 6-- 6- 2-- 5-0. >ivide each figure in the row by 6, 0, 2, . . ., n. (How far you ta%e the division varies. #he more seats you have to allocate, the further you have to divide. or our purposes, 2 or 5 divisions should do the tric%.)
Party A
Party B
Party C
Party D
1''
1&'
<''
=''
div. by 1
1''
1&'
"##
$##
div. by 2
&'
>&
1&'
2##
div. by <
<<
&'
1''
1<<
div. by =
2&
<>.&
>&
1''
2. 'ic% the highest @uotient in the list (including the @uotients obtained by dividing the votes by 6). #he highest @uotient is A5--B in the 'arty > column. 8e therefore award one seat to 'arty >. 5. 'ic% the ne$t highest @uotient in the list. #he ne$t highest @uotient is A2--B in the 'arty ! column. 8e therefore award one seat to 'arty !. . 'ic% the ne$t highest @uotient in the list. #he ne$t highest @uotient is A0--B in the 'arty > column. 8e therefore award another seat to 'arty >. 8e have successfully filled all the seats available in this constituency. #he final results of the election are therefore: Party C 6 seat (or 22 of the total available seats) Party D 0 seats (or CC of the total available seats)
+otice why we call this system Aproportional representation:B nder a plurality system, 'arty > would have received 6-- of the seats because that party received a plurality (5-) of the vote//even though C- of voters voted against 'arty > by choosing other parties. nder '*, however, we are able to represent some of the interests of the other voters. 'arty >4s representation in parliament is reduced to CC of seats, while 'arty !4s is increased to 22 of seats. #he system yields a result that is clearly not perfectly proportional. enmar%, +orway and Sweden, where the divisor is 6.5 plus the set of odd numbers (6.5, 2, , 1, 9, . . . , n). ;ther methods divide the votes by a mathematically derived @uota, such as the Droop quota or the Hare quota (see below) ;ne other feature of party list systems is called the vote threshold. 'arty list systems normally establish by law an arbitrary percentage of the vote that parties have to pass before they can be considered in the allocation of seats. #he figure ranges from -.C1 in the +etherlands to in Dermany and *ussia, or even more. ny party that does not reach the threshold is e$cluded from the calculation of seats. #he vote threshold simplifies the process of seat allocation and discourages fringe parties (those that are li%ely to gain very few votes) from competing in the elections. ;bviously, the higher the vote threshold, the fewer the parties that will be represented in parliament. 7ingle transferable vote (7T?)
7T? is another important form of proportional representation. In various forms, it is used widely in many countries, although only Ireland, Australia, and alta have used it in ma%or national elections. @ther countries have used it in local elections, and even some communities in the 6nited 7tates (such as ambridge, A) use it today. any student organi;ations in Burope also use this system for election to university student associations, because it yields an even more proportional result than party list systems, and certainly more proportional than plurality or ma%ority voting.
S#= was originally developed by #homas Hare (63-C/6396), a roop. #he >roop @uota is used to determine the minimal number of votes that an individual candidate must get in order to be awarded a seat. It is calculated using the formula:
G=(S6)J 6 where = is the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency, and S is the total number seats up for election in the constituency. Hence, if we have 6,--- votes cast for 2 seats, the >roop @uota is G 6,--- (2 6) J 6 K 06. #hat means that any candidate who is able to get at least 06 votes will be assured of winning a seat. ;nce the >roop @uota has been calculated and all the votes collected, we still have to allocate the seats. In this e$ample, assume that we have candidates (, <, !, >, E) for 2 seats. In accordance with S#=, individual voters have ran%ed each of these candidates (6 to , with one being the first/choice candidate) on their ballots. #he allocation of seats then proceeds according to the following steps//but remember that there are a variety of S#= methods in use. 8e will try to %eep things very simple here: 6. 'ull each ballot out of the ballot bo$ one at a time and place them in piles according to the first/choice candidate mar%ed on the ballot (e.g., if a ballot indicates candidate ! as the first choice, place it in a pile mar%ed A!B).
0. s soon as one pile of ballots reaches 06, that candidate is awarded a seat. Fet us assume that candidate ! was the first to reach the >roop @uota of 06 first/choice ballots. 2. !ontinue drawing ballots out of the ballot bo$ and placing them in piles according to the first/choice candidate mar%ed on the ballot. roop @uota) are AtransferredB to the ne$t/choice candidate//hence the name Asingle transferable vote.B 5. !ontinue with Step 2 until another candidate reaches the 06 mar%. #hen, continue carrying out Step 2 until you fill all the available seats. or e$ample, let us assume that we have already elected candidate ! on first/choice ballots alone, and that by combining second/choice ballots from candidate ! with further first/choice ballots from the bo$, we have also been able to award a seat to candidate . How do we fill the third seat7 8e continue in a similar manner as before. ny ballots that list candidate ! as the first/choice will be transferred to the second/choice candidate? if the second/choice candidate turns out to be candidate (who has also already been elected), then we will transfer them to the third/choice candidate. Similarly, all first/ choice ballots for candidate will be transferred to the second/choice candidate indicated on the ballot? if the second/choice candidate turns out to be candidate ! (who has already been elected), the ballot is transferred to the third/choice candidate. nd so on. . roop @uota and we still have empty seats to fill7 In this case, simply eliminate the candidate with the lowest number of first/choice ballots and transfer those votes to the second/choice candidates. *epeat this step as many times as necessary (always eliminating the lowest vote/getter) in order to reach the number of votes mandated by the >roop @uota. s with party list systems, there are a variety of ways of conducting an S#= election. or e$ample, instead of using the >roop @uota, we might use the Hare quota (= S)
or the Imperial quota G= (S 0)J. country4s choice of which system to use depends on its history and the degree to which policyma%ers value genuinely proportional representation. S#= can clearly be rather confusing. Some voters may feel that a plurality system is somehow more Anatural,B or that S#= and other forms of '* are simply Atin%ering with the numbers.B
A democratic electoral system can be said to be one whereC •
elections are regular and fair
•
votes are of e%ual value
•
the will of the ma!ority is achieved
•
the interests of minorities are ta$en into consideration
•
there is a high level of participation by the electorate
•
there is the ma:imum possible franchise
•
voting is accessible
There are three main characteristics of any electoral system that determine how it wor$sC •
•
District agnitude D this refers to the number of representatives elected from the district or riding. These could be single member ridings or multi"member ridings. &allot 'tructure D this refers to the number of voting
preferences given a voter on a ballot for them to mar$. The range of choices includes a single choice for a party or candidate* a multiple preference between parties and candidates* and weighting preferences between candidates by ran$"ordering them. •
(lectoral )ormula D this refers to the method by which votes are turned into seats, given the district magnitude and ballot structure being used. It could include thresholds stipulating the percentage of votes necessary to get elected.
Types of Blectoral 7ystem There are several categori;ations of electoral systems available. 0or simplicity we will recogni;e four categories here. •
+lurality 7ystems
•
a%ority 7ystems
•
+roportional /eprsentation 7ystems
•
i:ed 7ystems
Ee should however point out that even though the speci!c e:amples within each category may vary in a number of interesting ways all of them have common characteristics and appear to behave in similar ways with somewhat predictable conse-uences.
+lurality 7ystems Also called !rst"past"the"post# or winner"ta$e"all# systems, plurality systems simply award a seat to the individual candidate who receives the most votes in an election. The candidate need not get a ma%ority (&') of the vote to win* so long as he has a larger number of votes than all other candidates, he is declared the winner. The main features of plurality systems are as followsC •
•
•
•
Fased on the principle that the contestant with the most support ought to be elected. 8enerally re-uire simple and transparent voting and counting processes. andidates are elected with a plurality (i.e. not a ma%ority) of votes cast. ain models includeC 7ingle ember +lurality* ulti"ember +lurality (also called Floc$ ?ote).
)irst past the post voting *)PP+ This system of vote counting is the simplest " the voter only votes for one candidate and whoever gets the highest number of votes is elected. It is the easiest vote counting system to calculate results. The winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily an absolute ma%ority (&' 1). 0++ is used in the 6nited Gingdom, anada, India, the 6nited 7tates and many other countries.
&loc, vote *&-+ Ehen the 0++ system is used in multi"member electorates where electors have as many votes as there are seats to be !lled it is $nown as the F?. @nce a candidate is elected, all ballot papers are
returned to the count to elect the ne:t member. The highest"polling candidates !ll the positions regardless of the percentage of the votes they actually receive. The F? is used in Fermuda, 3aos, Thailand, Guwait, the +hilippines and other countries.
a%ority 7ystems Also called second ballot# systems, ma%ority electoral systems attempt to provide for a greater degree of representativeness by re-uiring that candidates achieve a ma%ority of votes in order to win. a%ority# is normally de!ned as &'"plus"one"vote. If no candidate gets a ma%ority of votes, then a second round of voting is held (often a wee$ or so after the initial ballot). In the second round of voting, only a select number of candidates from the !rst round are allowed to participate. In The main features of ma%ority systems are as followsC •
•
•
•
Fased on the principle that an elected representative should be elected only if she or he has the support of more than half of the voters. ay re-uire preferential voting or more than one round of voting if there are more than two candidates, or a natural ma%ority does not e:ist. andidates are elected with a ma%ority (i.e. more than &') of votes cast. ain models includeC Alternative ?ote* Two"/ound ?ote.
Preferential voting *P-+ +? is usually used in single"member districts and gives electors more options than 0++ when mar$ing their ballot paper. Blectors must ran$ all candidates by placing the number H1’ for their preferred candidate and consecutive numbers from H2’ for their 2nd
choice, H<’ for their
ptional preferential voting *P-+ In @+? electors place the number H1’ for their preferred candidate and this is enough for a valid vote. They may continue numbering candidates in order of their preference to the e:tent they choose. All candidates do not have to be ran$ed. J7E uses @+? for the election of representatives in the 3egislative Assembly (3ower ouse) and in local government areasKwards for mayoral elections and when one or two vacancies are to be !lled.
/wo round system */0'+ The T/7 is conducted in the same way as an 0++ election and if a candidate receives an absolute ma%ority of votes, they are elected. If no candidate receives an absolute ma%ority a second round of voting is conducted, often a wee$ or two later and the winner of this round is declared elected. The 2nd round may be a contest between the two biggest vote winners (the 6$raine) or those who receive over a certain percentage of the votes of the registered electorate (0rance). The T/7 is used in countries such as 0rance, ali, Togo, Bgypt, Iran, Felarus and 6$raine.
+roportional /epresentation 7ystems
+roportional representation is the general name for a class of voting systems that attempt to ma$e the percentage of o4ces awarded to candidates re5ect as closely as possible the percentage of votes that they received in the election. It is the most widely used set of electoral systems in the world, and its variants can be found at some level of government in almost every country (including the 6nited 7tates, where some city councils are elected using forms of +/). The main features of +roportional /epresentation (+/) systems are as followsC •
•
•
•
•
Fased on the assumption that parties are the real contestants and the principle that their seat shares should accurately re5ect their vote shares /e-uires multi"member districts (the bigger the more proportional the !nal result can be) ounting and seat determination processes are generally comple: and not immediately transparent andidates are elected based on the total percentage of votes cast for their party. ain models includeC 3ist* i:ed ember +roportional* 7ingle Transferable ?ote* 7ingle Jon"Transferable ?ote* +arallel.
List proportional representation *List P0+ ost +/ systems use some form of 3ist +/. 3ist +/ is used in multi" member electorates where votes are cast in order of preference for the parties which have registered a list of candidates. +arties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the total vote and winning candidates are ta$en from the lists in order of their position.
ied member proportional *P+ + systems try to combine the elements of ma%ority and +/ systems. A proportion of the parliament is elected by ma%ority
i:ed 7ystems The main features of mi:ed systems are as followsC •
•
•
•
Involve combinations of the other four basic families within a single system 8enerally designed to introduce an element of proportionality ay mi: dierent types of electoral families across the entire country, or mi: dierent types in dierent parts of the country an produce legislators with dierent mandates, dierent constituencies, dierent roles
7ummary of Blectoral 7ystems The table below summari;es the range of dierent electoral systems. Electoral system Districts Type
Description
first-past-the-post singleplurality (FPTP) member
The candidate that obtains more votes than any other is elected, even if that person only won a minority of votes cast.
two-round system singlema!ority (TR) member
" runoff election is held between the two top vote-getters, in order to ensure that the winner obtains a ma!ority of votes cast.
alternative vote ("#), or instant runoff
singlema!ority member
#oters indicate an order of preference among candidates. $f no candidate obtains a ma!ority outright, the last-place candidate is removed, and the associated secondchoice votes are added to the totals of the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until a candidate secures a ma!ority.
bloc% vote ()
multiple- plurality member
#oters may cast as many votes as there are open seats. $f there are n seats to be filled, the top n vote-getters are elected.
single nontransferable vote ('T#)
multiple- semi#oters can only cast a single vote among member proportional candidates for n seats. The top n votegetters are elected.
single transferable vote (T#), also %nown as preference or choice voting
multiple- proportional #oters indicate an order of preference member among candidates. andidates whose firstchoice vote totals attain the are *uota+ (votes castn) + are elected. The last-place candidate is removed, and the associated second-choice votes are added to the totals of the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until all n seats are filled.
mi/ed member proportional (00P)
mi/ed
proportional The legislature consists of a bloc% of seats that are elected by plurality or ma!ority from single-member districts, and another bloc% of seats that are elected in multi-member districts under a proportional system. The proportional seats are awarded in such a way as to compensate for disproportional effects in the single-member district outcomes.
parallel
mi/ed
semiThe legislature consists of a bloc% of seats proportional that are elected by plurality or ma!ority from single-member districts, and another bloc% of seats that are elected in multi-member districts under a proportional system. The proportional seats are awarded independently of the outcomes in singlemember districts.
party list
multiple- proportional #oters choose from among party lists, and member seats are awarded in proportion to the vote received by each party. andidates are seated in the order listed.
Trends in 6se of Blectoral 7ystems
•
•
•
•
Barly electoral systems were mainly based on the +lurality principle 9uring the 1Lth century a%ority systems became more popular and more widely adopted +roportional /epresentation list systems were widely adopted in the opening decades of the 2'th century, often at the time the right to vote was being e:panded. They were seen as a way of ensuring that no one group (for instance, wor$ing class socialists) would be able to capture a ma%ority uriously, +roportional /epresentation systems made little headway in the democracies that were descended from the Fritish parliament (with the e:ceptions of the adoption of the 7ingle Transferable ?ote by Ireland and Tasmania). o
•
In the last decade of the 2'th century there was a sudden revival of interest in electoral system change, reform and e:perimentationC o
o
•
the creation of new democracies in once ommunist parts of Bastern Burope the decision of established democracies to try and change their politics by altering their electoral system.
7ome went from plurality to +/ (Jew Mealand), others moved in the other direction (Italy) while others moved to new complicated mi:ed systems (Napan) o
•
Australian upper houses began adopting 7ingle Transferable ?ote in 1L=L and now over half have done so.
the adoption by Fritain of dierent systems for dierent elections
The recent past has seen a sharp growth in the interest in proportional electoral arrangements and the adoption of i:ed
electoral systems in an attempt to reap the perceived bene!ts of more than one type of electoral family.
/ypes of (lectoral 'ystems electoral system
distric ts
type
description
!rst"past"the" post (0+T+)
single" membe plurality r
The candidate that obtains more votes than any other is elected, even if that person only won a minority of votes cast
two"round system (T/7)
single" membe ma%ority r
A runo election is held between the two top vote"getters, in order to ensure that the winner obtains a ma%ority of votes cast
alternative vote (A?), or instant runo
single" ma%ority membe r
?oters indicate an order of preference among candidates. If no candidate obtains a ma%ority outright, the last"place candidate is removed, and the associated second" choice votes are added to the totals of the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until a candidate
secures a ma%ority.
bloc$ vote (F?)
multipl e" plurality membe r
?oters may cast as many votes as there are open seats. If there are n seats to be !lled, the top n vote" getters are elected
single non" transferable vote (7JT?)
multipl e" semi" membe proportional r
?oters can only cast a single vote among candidates for n seats. The top n vote"getters are elected.
multipl e" proportional membe r
?oters indicate an order of preference among candidates. andidates whose !rst"choice vote totals attain the are OuotaP(votes castKn1) 1P are elected. The last"place candidate is removed, and the associated second"choice votes are added to the totals of the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until all n seats are !lled.
single transferable vote (7T?), also $nown as preference or choice voting
mi:ed member proportional (+)
mi:ed
proportional
parallel
mi:ed
semi" proportional
The legislature consists of a bloc$ of seats that are elected by plurality or ma%ority from single"member districts, and another bloc$ of seats that are elected in multi"member districts under a proportional system. The proportional seats are awarded in such a way as to compensate for disproportional eects in the single" member district outcomes. The legislature consists of a bloc$ of seats that are elected by plurality or ma%ority from single"member districts, and another bloc$ of seats that are elected in multi"member districts under a proportional system. The proportional seats are awarded independently of the outcomes in
single"member districts.
party list
multipl e" proportional membe r
?oters choose from among party lists, and seats are awarded in proportion to the vote received by each party. andidates are seated in the order listed.