Majoritarian and consensus democracy? Varieties of electoral systems: Winner-take-all ...
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- Majoritarian and consensus democracy? Varieties of electoral
systems: Winner-take-all Proportional representation Mixed
Dimensions for evaluating institutions Normative Positive
Endogenous electoral rules
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- The complex relationship between social cleavages, issue
preferences, electoral systems, and party systems
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- WestminsterConsensus Democracy 1) Concentrated executive
powerPower sharing in the executive (coalition) 2) Cabinet
DominanceExecutive/Legislative Balance 3) 2-partyMultiparty 4)
Plurality ElectionsProportional Representation 5) Pluralist
interest groupsCorporatism, peak associations, etc. 6) Unitary
Decentralized 7) Unicameral legislatureStrong Bicameralism 8)
Constitutional FlexibilityConstitutional Rigidity 9) No judicial
reviewStrong role for judicial review 10) Central Bank controlled
byCentral Bank independence executive
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- A single-member district plurality (SMDP) system is one in
which individuals cast a single vote for a candidate in a
single-member district. The candidate with the most votes wins.
Examples: United Kingdom, India, Canada, Nigeria, Zambia
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/interactiv
e/2010/may/10/proportional-representation- alternative-vote-plus
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/interactiv
e/2010/may/10/proportional-representation-
alternative-vote-plus
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- A two-round system (TRS) has the potential for two rounds of
elections. Candidates or parties are automatically elected in the
first round if they obtain a specified level of votes, typically an
absolute majority. If no candidate or party wins this level of
votes, then a second round of elections takes place. Those
candidates or parties that win the most votes in the second round
are elected.
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- Examples: Most presidential elections in Latin America French
legislative and presidential elections
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- A proportional, or proportional representation, electoral
system is a quota- or divisor-based electoral system employed in
multimember districts. The rationale behind PR systems is to
produce a proportional translation of votes into seats.
Proportional electoral systems can be divided into those that use
party lists and those that do not.
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- How would a PR system work in the UK?
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- In a list PR system, each party presents a list of candidates
for a multimember district. Parties receive seats in proportion to
their overall share of the votes. These seats are then shared among
candidates on the list in various ways.
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- List PR systems differ in important ways: 1. The precise
formula used to allocate seats to parties 2. The district magnitude
3. The use of electoral thresholds 4. The type of party list
employed.
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- Some are more proportional, some more friendly to larger
parties
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- However, the key variable for determining the proportionality
of an electoral system is the district magnitude. The district
magnitude is the number of representatives elected in a district.
The larger the district magnitude, the greater the degree of
proportionality.
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- Although all PR systems use multimember districts, the average
size of these districts can vary quite a lot. In the Netherlands
and Slovakia, the average district magnitude is 150. In Chile, the
average district magnitude is 2.
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- Thresholds (e.g. Germany) Open vs. Closed Lists
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- In a closed party list, the order of candidates elected is
determined by the party itself, and voters are not able to express
a preference for a particular candidate. In an open party list,
voters can indicate not just their preferred party but also their
favored candidate within that party.
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- The electoral formula determines how many seats a party wins.
In a closed list system, these party seats are allocated according
to the order of the party list. Example: If a party wins 10 seats,
then the top 10 candidates on the party list are elected.
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- The electoral formula determines how many seats a party wins.
In an open list system, these party seats are allocated according
to whichever party candidates win the most votes. Example: If a
party wins 10 seats, then the top 10 vote-winners on the party list
are elected.
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- Implications?
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- An electoral tier is a level at which votes are translated into
seats. The lowest electoral tier is the district level. Higher
tiers are constituted by grouping together lower tier
constituencies; they are typically at the regional or national
level. Many mixed electoral systems have multiple electoral tiers,
with majoritarian formulas used in a lower tier and proportional
formulas used in a higher tier.
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- Dimensions for evaluating electoral institutions
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- Protection of liberty Protection of minorities Decisiveness,
especially under stress Credibility of commitments Stability
Quality of democracy Representativeness Accountability Rent-seeking
and corruption
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- Public versus private goods Broad versus targeted programs and
expenditures The extent of redistribution Budget deficits Size of
government as a share of GDP
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- PR and minorities
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- Are coalition governments less decisive? What about minority
governments?
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- Again, coalition versus single-party government
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- Weimar Germany?
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- What can go wrong under PR? What can go wrong under SMDP?
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- Clarity of responsibility How important are districts?
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- Barriers to entry Party lists
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- Geography and marginal districts Core support vs. swing
district models. Do small districts encourage pork?
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- Functionalist arguments about social heterogeneity Colonial and
historical legacies Strategic elites Boix Calvo Strategic
fools?