ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

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  • Created by: Q_
  • Created on: 02-04-19 10:18

MAJORITARIAN SYSTEMS

  • A candidate must secure an absolute majority of the vote to win; in a pluraltiy system, they need to only win more votes than the second-placed candidate. 
  • Candidates are elected in single-member constituencies. 
  • The outcome is not proportional - large parties take a higher proportion of seats than their share of the vote merits, while smaller parties are often under-represented. 
  • The systems tend to produce single-party governemnts with working parliamentary majorites. 
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PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SYSTEMS

  • Candidates are elected in multi-member constituencies.
  • Electoral formulas are used to allocate seats in the legislative assembly. 
  • The outcome is proportional - there is a close fit between the share of the vote won by a party and the share of the seats it is allocated.
  • The systems tend to produce coalition governments as no single party wins a majority of the seats. 
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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

FPTP

  • Used in general elections to the House of Commons

Key Features:

  • Plurality system
  • Single-member constituencies
  • Disproportional outcome
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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

SUPPLEMENTARY VOTE

  • Used to elect the Mayor of London and Police and Crime Commissioners.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Majoritarian system
  • Used to elect individuals
  • Voters record two preferences
  • Winning candidate has a majority
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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

REGIONAL LIST

  • Used for European Parliament elections in Great Britain, List seats for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. 

KEY FEATURES:

  • Proportional representation system
  • Electors vote for a party in multi-member regions
  • Proportional outcome
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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE

  • Used for Assembly, local and European Parliament elections in Northern Ireland, and local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

KEY FEATURES

  • Propotional representation system
  • Electors rank candidates in mutli-member costituencies
  • Proportional outcome 
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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

ADDITIONAL MEMBER SYSTEM

  • Used for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. 

KEY FEATURES

  • Mixed electoral system 
  • Electors cast two votes - one for a constituency candidate elected by FPTP and one for a regional list candidate elected by closed list PR
  • List candidates are allocated to parties on a corrective ebassi to produce a proportional outcome. 
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