Voting Systems Explained

1. Voting Systems Explained By Harry J. Angers

2. What is a voting system? • Elects MPs to Parliament. • Various forms used in different countries. Key Words • Legislature: a body that looks at, amends and rejects/approves laws. • Reichstag: the lower house of the German Parliament. It was fully elected by people over 20 and formed the government. • Reichsrat: the Reich council. It represented the states, indirectly elected by the Ländesrats of Germany. 67 members. • Ländesrat: the state legislature/assembly. Had powers in areas like Education. • Parliamentary Government: the government is the majority party/parties in the Reichstag.

3. House of Commons Seating Arrangement

4. What voting systems are there? • There are three main groups of voting system: • Majoritarian: a system that elects MPs using a majority. Be it a simple majority (whoever has the most votes wins (FPTP)) or a normal majority (50% +1 vote (AV)). Use single member seats. Systems: FPTP; AV; SV; and SB. • Proportional: a system that elects MPs based on the % of the vote they get. E.g. 20% votes = 20% seats. Use multi-member seats. Systems: List and STV. • Hybrid: a system that does a mix of the above two systems. So 50% seats by PR and 50% by FPTP. Systems: AMS and AV+.

5. Majoritarian - FPTP • FPTP = First Past the Post. • It elects MPs in single member constituencies. • You put an “X” by the candidate you like. • E.g. If there was an election tomorrow in the Lancing constituency and the votes were as follows: • Party A: 10,000 - elected • Party B: 7,000 • Party C: 3,000 • Party A’s candidate is elected because he has the most votes. This is the system used in the UK.

6. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages • It is simple to use and understand. • There is a constituency link. • Provides for strong government. • Reduces the representation of fringe parties. Disadvantages • It is not proportional. • Tyranny of democracy – too strong a govnt. • Minority’s choice, not the majority’s. • It makes it harder for third and other parties to gain representation even with 23% of the vote. E.g. Lib Dems have only 57 seats (8%) with 23% of the vote.

7. Majoritarian – AV,SV and SB • AV = Alternative Vote. • It elects MPs in single member constituencies. (all Majoritarian systems do). • No “X” this time. You number candidates “1”, “2” “3” in order of preference. • To get elected you need 50% of the votes +1 to get elected. • If no one achieves 50% +1 then the candidate with the lowest votes is eliminated. This keep happening until one candidate achieves 50% +1. Proposed by the Coalition and used in Australia.

8. Majoritarian – AV,SV and SB 2 • SV = Supplementary Vote. • Same as above except if no one gets 50% +1 then only the top two candidates remain. Used in the London Mayoral elections. • SB = Second Ballot. • Same as above, but if no one achieves 50% +1 then a second ballot is held with the top two candidates. Used in French Presidential elections.

9. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages • Majority’s choice, not the minority’s. • Still provides strong govnt. • Still provides a constituency link. • Easy to understand and use – if you can count to 5… Disadvantages • Still not proportional. • Does little to account for representation issue. • Still can fall prey to tyranny of democracy.

10. Proportional - List • The list system lists candidates and/or parties. Votes are by preference as with AV. Seats are, however, distributed by % of vote achieved. • Uses multi-member constituencies. • E.g. If party A get 20% of the vote, it gets 20% of the seats. • Used by Germany until 1933. • The list system has two versions: • Open: parties and candidates are listed. More candidate-centric than closed. • Closed: parties only listed. Candidates are on party lists. The higher you are on the list the more likely you are to be elected.

11. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages • It is proportional in the purest of forms. • It provides representation for smaller parties. • Cooperation is necessary because it is hard to get a majority. Disadvantages • Weak government occurs. • Fringe parties can gain representation. • No constituency link.

12. Proportional - STV • STV = Single Transferable Vote. • Elects MPs in multi-member constituencies. • Uses a quota to elect MPs based on a formula. • If the candidate achieves the quota, they are elected. If they go over the quota their votes are redistributed. • If no candidate gets the quota then the candidate with the lowest vote is eliminated. • Used for NI Assembly elections.

13. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages • It is proportional. • It provides representation for smaller parties, but does makes it harder for fringe parties to get in. • Constituencies are of a reasonable size in comparison to other PR systems. Disadvantages • Constituencies are still in 100,000s. • Weak government still occurs.

14. Hybrid - AMS • AMS = Additional Member System. • Uses a mix of multi-member and single member constituencies. The ratio is not fixed. i.e. it could be 50-50, 60-40 etc. • The candidates in the multi-member constituencies are elected using PR. • The candidates in the single member constituencies are elected using FPTP. • This system is currently used in Germany post-1945 and Scotland and Wales Assembly elections.

15. Hybrid – AV+ • AV+ = Alternative Vote Plus. • Same as AMS, but the single member constituency voting system used is AV. • This system is considered more proportional than AMS. • This system is not currently used anywhere.

16. Advantages & Disadvantages Advantages • Best of both worlds – some MPs are proportionally elected and some have constituency link. • Stronger government. Disadvantages • Two classes of MP are created.