United Stats V.S India And The Different Electoral Systems

United Stats V.S India and the Different Electoral Systems
Despite a total number of forty democracies throughout the world, many countries, such as the United States, have more men employed in higher
positions in the political sphere, especially in the legislature. Generally, in worldwide legislatures and democracies, there are not many women
present in the legislature, if any at all. However, one democracy that is taking the initiative in empowering women and giving them equal and fair
opportunities as men in the political sphere is India. This paper will explore the reason why more women have seats in the Parliament of India as
opposed to the Congress of the United States. Also, this paper will establish the difference between a bi–party and a multiparty system of legislature of
the United... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Indian politicians believed that the objective of the policy for women's development "should consist of a shift of attitude from one of compassion and
welfare to that of treatment of women as equal partners with men," (Madhok). One way the Indian government promoted it was that nearly five years
ago, the government brought in legislation reserving seats for women on panchayats, or councils which make decisions on every important decision in
village political life. Originally the sole preserve of men, panchayats now have women members and leaders, who are slowly beginning to challenge
feudal traditions and change the way the councils run. The society in India is beginning to accept women in high political positions. In this case,
political culture plays a significant role since Indian society promotes the representation of women, and thus, it is a part of that nation's culture. Since
Indian society supports more representation of women, or at least equal representation given the population size, political culture helps push the
women's movement forward. Not only are there seats reserved for women on panchayats, or the local form of government, but there is a quota system
present in all three tiers of government. Quotas are being introduced in countries that do not have a long history of mobilization of women and of
women's integration
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

Interpreting the Perfect Electoral System
'There is no such thing as a perfect electoral system' The idea of perfection is interpreted differently amongst everybody in the UK. The word
'Perfect' is defined as having all the necessary or typical characteristics required for a given situation. So everybody will have different thoughts on
what really is a perfect electoral system. Generally, a perfect electoral system is one which has the qualities of being simple, gives a varied choice to
the electorate, is fair and proportional, gives a clear outcome and is microcosmic, it represents the people more. Firstly, it could be argued that the
more proportional electoral systems are the closest to a 'perfect' electoral system because they show what/who the people of the UK really... Show more
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The Conservatives gained 307 seats, Labour won 258 seats and the Liberal Democrats won 57 seats. Never the less, it may seem straight forward
and simple but it has a variety of advantages and disadvantages. The fact it's simple is one of the advantages, not only is it simple to understand but
the ballot paper is simple as you can only cast one vote. Also, it produces a quick and clear vote and it also produces a stable government as the
winning party adds a bonus of seats and single party governments with a working majority have significant control over the legislative process, both
of these factors contributing to the creation of a stable government. However, despite these advantages the First Past the Post system produces
disproportional outcomes, this is where the amount of seats won in the election doesn't reflect the share of votes received. Also, it favours plurality
rather than majority support, so the victorious candidates don't need a majority to gain power. Not only this, but First Past the Post produces votes of
unequal value, the constituencies are roughly the same size, they're not exactly the same size which means different constituencies have votes of
different values, also most votes are wasted due to tactical voting so these votes don't even help elect the MPs. Never the less, First Past the Post
produces a responsible government as well as a strong government. Voters have a clear choice

Politics
'THE FIRST PAST THE POST SYSTEM USED IN ELECTIONS TO THE WESTMINSTER PARLIAMENT SHOULD BE REPLACED WITH A
MORE PROPORTIONAL SYSTEM. DISCUSS'
The UK General Elections currently uses the first past the post system as a means of voting in government. Over the years this form of electing
government has come under scrutiny and many have questioned whether or not this electoral system is proportional and whether there should be an
electoral reform for a more proportional voting system.
Under first past the post, the voter puts a cross on the ballot paper, under their preferred candidate; the candidate with the majority of votes wins
government. Those in favour of the FPTP system argue that it provides a strong government in that, the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Under STV, candidates are elected in if they achieve a quota of votes. The quota is calculated as follows: total number of votes cast divided by
number of seats filled(+1). First preference votes are counted first, followed by the second preference and so on. The candidate with the least votes is
eliminated and votes are redistributed to the other candidates, meaning no votes are wasted. Those in favour of this system argue that it is favourable
because there are no safe seats under this system, meaning candidates must campaign everywhere not just for marginal seats thus tackling the problem
of geographically concentrated constituencies. However the process in which counting votes takes place is longer than that of the FPTP system
meaning the winner may not be declared straight away. Albeit a way to challenge this is through electronic ballot paper scanners.
Finally, Under the Party List system, there are two different types; Open List and Closed List. With the open list, voters choose an individual
candidate from the list of parties and the candidate with the popular vote wins. Whereas, with the closed list , voters only vote for political parties and
have no influence over which candidate is elected. Those in favour of this system argue that it is potentially the "purest" form of proportional
representation in that every vote has equal value, making it fair for all parties. Those that oppose this view would argue that the existence of

Women And Women 's Political Status
Traditionally, politics has been a gendered occupation. Men and women have been socially constructed to believe only men are capable of political
representation. The problem lies within an institutional bias, where unnatural distinctions have been put in place from a young age. In New Zealand,
the presence and contribution of women have been pivotal to the make up of contemporary party politics. Achieving parliamentary recognition and
political representation peaked during the 1970s when the country was experiencing large changes in its economic and social environment. Through
activism and pressure groups, women were able to seek recognition in New Zealand's political domain. The change to Mixed Member Proportional
(MMP) eased the access of different political groups to parliament, improving the representation of minority groups such as women that have been
under–represented in politics. Proportional representation offered new opportunities in terms of policy change through women's political participation.
It has, however, been argued that the structure of proportional representation has been a hindrance toward a significant step forward for women's
political participation. This essay will discuss to what extent the contribution of women through time, coupled with the shift to a new electoral system
in a changing social environment, has been a step forward for women's political participation in New Zealand party politics.
Kate Sheppard and other suffrage campaigners

The Canadian Electoral Process
The most important issue in relation to the Canadian electoral process is the debate over whether or not the state should implement electoral reform
for federal elections. It is my stance that replacing the Single Member Plurality system (SMP) with the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) is
undeniably in the best interest of Canadians, and I will attempt to prove this by contrasting The Limits: Electoral Systems and Electoral Reform – Or
How I Came to Love SMP by Christopher Kam, who believes in the current SMP system, and Getting What You Vote For by John Hiemstra, who
pushes for a change in favour of the MMP system. This paper will conclude with further critical analysis, as well as my justified stance the MMP
system is clearly superior. Kam... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In comparison, he points out how the MMP system would give power to a number of smaller parties, and that these parties would impair
parliament's ability to pass policy. Kam also states that under the MMP system, the party in power will not be punished nearly as severely from a
losing a few percentage points of the popular vote as under the SMP system. Because of this, parties will not try to enact policies in the interest of
the majority of Canadians and instead opt for more ideologically driven legislation. Kam argues that the solution would be to focus on ensuring the
accountability of politicians, as opposed to implementing a system that he believes will result in less severe penalties for misrepresenting constituents.
Lastly, Kam addresses the issue of "electoral deserts", the term given to regions dominated by specific parties who have no influence in other regions.
"Electoral deserts" lead parties to adopt regional–focused policies, which is a major criticism of the SMP system. To address this, Kam points to how
there are still powerful regional (separatist) parties in MMP democracies such as Italy and Germany that push regional policies, and so changing the
electoral system is not necessarily a solution. Hiemstra contrasts Kam's opinion by claiming that the current SMP

Uk Election Process
Publicity and Electioneering Activities
It is important that a candidate becomes well known in the area they are hoping to represent and to this end they will often undertake a great deal of
publicity work, such as leafleting houses, displaying posters, and canvassing door–to–door for votes. Publicity costs money and so the more wealthy
parties will have an advantage. In addition, during a general election you will often see party political broadcasts for the main parties outlining their
policies. This is because they can afford publicity campaigns that include film–making.
Voting Processes Used
As technology has evolved there have become more ways to cast a vote than ever before. Most people are familiar with the traditional way of ... Show
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These can then lead to bigger elections down the line. An election period can last for anything from 1 year up to 5 years. A mayor will serve for 1 year;
a local councillor will serve for up to 4 years and an MP will serve for up to 5 years. The Prime minister will serve up to 5 years and can call an election
whenever they want in this time period, they will usually call for an election after a successful or something that will make them be favoured by the
public to increase their chance of being re–elected.
The Influence of the Party System on Elections
Political parties have a tremendous amount of influence on the election process. Firstly and most importantly, the political party in power is the one
who chooses when to have a general election. This means they can call a general election at any time within the five–year period that suits them and
makes it more likely for them to win. The party in power is likely to have the funds to support their candidates and the resources for publicity to help
them win the seat. This puts smaller parties and independent candidates at a distinct disadvantage.
The Influence of the Party System on Elections
Political parties have a tremendous amount of influence on the election process. Firstly and most importantly, the political party in power is the one
who chooses when to have a general election. This means they can call a general election at any time within the five–year period that suits

First Past The Post System Analysis
Should we change our voting system from First Past the Post?
Currently, Canada uses First Past The Post as the federal voting system. This system, while having many benefits also has many flaws. While this
system has worked for us in the past Ontario is currently experimenting with a new system called Mixed Member Proportional. Canada should switch
to Mixed Member Proportional because it better represents what the voters want, it is a mix of the three main systems and it will create better voter
turnout.
Mixed Member Proportional better represents what the voters want. Currently, Canada is split into hundreds of ridings. Each of these ridings has a
"mini" election. One member from each party can run in anyone of the hundreds of ridings. They don't have to live there. After the ballots have been
counted for each one of these ridings ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
First Past the Post and Proportional Representation. Instead of throwing out First Past the Post and replacing it with Proportional Representation we
should try to combine them. Mixed Member proportional takes the best aspects from each of this systems and combines them to make the "perfect"
system. Ontario is already experimenting with Mixed Member proportional. Mixed Member Proportional is more transparent. They provide a list
before the election of all candidates and how they picked them. Using this list people can see if there is a strong man to woman ratio and if all races,
religions etc are represented. Along with people voting for their local candidate people also vote for their of choice. The party vote determines the
share of seats for that party. Also, there are more safeguards such as if the party doesn't have enough members to fill their share of seats they can "top
them up." Topping them up is when the party takes the top members and uses them to fill the open seats. This system will make parties represent every
race, religion and

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Electoral System
be noted that elections have been characterised by violence during and after the elections, and also despite the conduct of elections, Zimbabwean
political culture is that of a one party which has been able to win all the elections since post– independence. Also, from the literature above, there seem
to be lack of consideration on the aftermath of democratic elections in terms of electoral violence. There is much emphasis on regular conduct of
elections as a determinant to democratic governance, but there seems to be ignorance on the mechanisms to sustain democratic governance. Elections
do not indicate a perception of elections as a tool for political empowerment of the poor but rather indicate perception of an opportunity to trade votes
for material profit or favour.
4.0 Forms of Elections
There are many electoral systems throughout the world and there is little consensus as to which is the best with regard to representation, broader
participation, democratic governance, stability and legitimacy. An electoral system, or simply a... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It promotes effective and stable government. It also reduces the influence of political parties based on racial and ethnic cleavages, unless they are
geographically concentrated.It is simple to understand, cheap and fairly quick to count the votes and work out whom has won; meaning results can
be declared relatively quickly after the polls close (Cameroon, 2011). Plurality system encourages local accountability. It increases the possibility of
producing a clear winner, and is easily understandable; and it permits major changes of policy according to the electorate's wishes (Amtaika,
2013:103). Also, in a political environment, it enables voters to clearly express a view on which party they think should form the next government
without fear (Dorey, 2008). It is ideally suited to a two– party system and usually produces single party governments like in the case of

Winner-All System
Over the past two decades, there has been a debate among American citizens about whether or not we should change the way we elect our Congress
members. Right now we have the winner–takes–all system, a system that was established in the beginning of America's birth and was learned from our
former British rulers. To put it simply a winner takes all system is a form of electing a legislative official, as a Congress member. In this form, whom
ever wins the majority of the vote will get the seat as a representative in their district and their opponents will get nothing but the experience of running
for office. Typically in a winner–takes–all system, the majority of citizens are the ones mainly being represented leaving the minorities in the country...
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Firstly, due to the larger number of political parties, it can cause instability and voter confusion on who they should vote for. This chaos can be seen in
"Israel's proportional representation system during their parliamentary election in 1988 (Barnes)". Italy as well has dealt with a "voter revolt against a
PR system (Barnes)." Political instability is not good for a countries government, especially if the instability allows radical minor parties like
Neo–Nazis to gain a seat as representatives. Another issue with proportional representation system are that in order for it to be successful there needs
to be a high voter turn–out. However, proportional representation system supporters believe that the system will, in fact, bring more voters to elections
because there will be more people to choose from that they feel represent them the best. Proportional representation system supporters also state that
reasoning for Israel's and Italy's chaos with their proportional system is due to them "using a party list system to allocate the seats (Cossolotto)." The
chaos was brought about simply because it is a proportional representation system but what kind of PR system it was. Another solution the PR system
has when it comes to making sure radical minority groups don't come into power is setting a minimum amount of percentage that the party needs in
order to claim a seat. When it comes to advantages with

Electoral System And Representation Of Representation,...
The variety of electoral systems currently in place has important political implications for matters of representation, accountability, and government
effectiveness. A given electoral system determines the extent to which voters have choices in the election process, the way in which parties and
candidates are elected as representatives, the extent and form of political competition, and the means by which the electorate vote is translated into
legislative representation. Adopted by nations worldwide are two voting systems known as single–member plurality and proportional representation. As
a result of the divisions and proportions of representation, two significantly contrasting dynamics of electoral and governing processes emanate from
the practice of these two systems. This paper will comprise a systematic explanation of proportional representation and single–member plurality for its
style of voter choice and its method of electing candidates, followed by a comparison of the forms of representation offered by and resulting from each
system. Single–member plurality.
The electoral system most familiar to the democracies of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom is that of single–member plurality (SMP).
A nation is divided into many districts or constituencies. Each elector votes for a single candidate for their constituency on a ballot to represent them
in the legislative body. A candidate is elected to office if he or she receives the most votes in his or her

The Pros And Cons Of A Presidential Government
A presidential government does not depend on legislative majority to exist. A semi–presidential government does depend on legislative majority to
exist and has a popularly elected official. A parliamentary government only depends on a legislative majority. A government in a parliamentary system
is composed of a prime minister and the cabinet. A cabinet is a group of ministers. Cabinet ministers have responsibility for what goes on in their
ministry, known as ministerial responsibility. Ministers must publicly support cabinet decisions, known as collective cabinet responsibility. Two
scenarios in which a new government forms involve an office–seeking politician or a policy–seeking politician. A policy–seeking politician wants to
shape policy, while an office–seeking politician is interested in benefiting the office and wants as much power as possible. An attribute qualifies
someone for membership in an identity category. An identity category is a social group someone can place his or her self. Crosscutting attributes are
the unrelated attributes a country has, and reinforcing attributes are the correlated attributes a country has. Social cleavages are the ways a society
splits. Duverger's law, according to Principles of Comparative Politics by Clark, Golder, and Golder , states that single–member plurality systems
encourage two–party systems. An electoral system is a set of laws used to regulate the competition between candidates, or parties, or both. Rules are
easier to

Electoral Thresholds and the Representation of Women Essay
Electoral Thresholds and the Representation of Women
There are large cross–national differences in the percentage of women in legislatures. Institutional arrangement is a considerable explanatory factor in
the disparity in women's representation, and many mechanisms have been implemented to increase parity. Within PR systems, electoral systems are a
way to try to increase the representation of women. Previous studies have linked thresholds to increased party magnitude and in turn to increased
women's representation, but there have not been extensive studies to directly link thresholds to women's representation. This paper analyzes the impact
of thresholds directly, finding that the relationship between thresholds and women's ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Not all proportional electoral systems are created equal. Variousinstitutional "tweaks" can alter the woman–friendliness of a system. Electoral
thresholds provide a strong example of how particular rules can affect the membership of a governing body. There is debate regarding the effect and
importance of thresholds, and this paper adds to that discourse by directly examining the impact of thresholds on women.
An electoral threshold is the percentage of votes that must be achieved in order to gain access to the legislature. The relationship between thresholds
and women's representation has not been conclusively studied. In theory, high electoral thresholds are seen to decrease the number of parties admitted
to the legislature, thereby increasing party magnitude and women's representation. At the same time, low electoral thresholds may be important to
women's representation. Low thresholds allow new, small parties access to the legislature. These parties may be leftist and friendly to women, such as
Green parties, and increase the number of women brought into the legislature. Despite these conflicting theories, there has not been a study directly
examining the linkage between electoral threshold and women's representation. Does such a relationship exist? And if there is a relationship, why
should we even care and what does that imply? The answers to these questions are extremely important, especially since electoral thresholds are

Extreme Right Movement Parties Essay
Throughout Europe–i n the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, and most recently, the Netherlands (Dutch Election)
along with others–there has been an undeniable rise of extreme–right parties (ERPs) in government. From the presidential election is the United States
to the upcoming election in France, these parties are gaining more mainstream popularity (Coffe, Heyndel, and Vermeir). Yet this is not a new
movement; there has simply been more social awareness and political success for these parties. This rise has occurred over many decades, from the
inception of many current day European countries after World War I, World War II, and the Cold War (Jackman and Volpert)
–most notably since the
1980s (Coffe et al.).
Scholars from around the world have written for years on several common theses for why ERPs are growing in representation. Commonly, authors
incorporate ERP platforms and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Movement parties usually share some common factors. They are born from a social movement, are extremely left or right, and do not last long
(Fukuyama). Obviously, the last factor is debatable, especially when looking at ERPs specifically–some ERPs have been around for several decades
(Greven). ERPs do not only exist but are also, more importantly, represented in European governments.
Common institutional design elements in Europe make it easier for this representation to occur. More than two–thirds of European government
structures include elements such as Parliamentary or Presidential/Parliamentary hybrid systems and PR voting. Understanding these design elements in
necessary to understanding how ERPs form and how their public support translates into representation in European countries.
Parliamentary

Essay about Every Voice Heard: The Case for Proportional...
There is a fundamental problem with democracy in Canada. The problem is rooted within our federal parliamentary voting–system. However, there is a
promising solution to this issue. Canada should adopt the proportional representation system, known as the party list format (party–list PR), at the
federal level if we wish to promote the expansion of democracy. If Canada embraces proportional representation in the battle for electoral reform then
we will see beneficial results. Party–list PR will increase voter participation, which in turn will create more accurate representation in the parliament
and ultimately a positive shift away from our disturbingly partisan dominated political culture.
The current federal parliamentary ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But, why should we change the system that has served us so faithfully for so many years? Dennis Pilon argues,
It is not merely that different voting systems count votes differently, but that different voting–system arrangements alter the incentives that voters and
parties face to do certain things: to vote for one party over another, to try to appeal to one group of voters over another, and so on (Pilon 12)6.
One of the main benefits that countries which have opted for proportional representation have noticed is an undeniable increase in voter turnout. In a
political democracy citizen engagement is incredibly important. In situations where a plurality voting–system has been abandoned in favour of a
system utilizing proportional representation the rise in voter turnout averages 7 to 8% (Pilon 155)7. There is no reason to believe that Party–list PR
would have any different effect on Canadian parliamentary democracy. A possible reason SMP voting
–systems cause low voter turnout might have to
do with individual's understanding of how much their vote counts. A great number of ridings in Canada are considered political strongholds for one
party or another. This means that they were won by margins larger than any overcome in the most recentelection. Based on the combined recent results

The Democratic Government Of Canada
Summary
The Liberal Government of Canada has promised the implementation of a new electoral system within the next 18 months according to the second
chapter of the document Real Change: A New Plan for a Strong Middle Class. The document seeks to affirm that the 2015 election will be the last
federal election held under the first–past–the–post electoral system and that many reform options will be thoroughly explored to replace it. Proportional
representation (PR) systems appears to be the most beneficial and logical alternatives to our current system. However, there is variety of different
forms of proportional representation and this paper will seek to explain why Single Transferable Vote is the most viable proportional representation...
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Regionalism allows for some voters to have more power with their votes, particularly Ontario and Quebec over other provinces thus furthering regional
tension and divide.
Voters in areas with a lesser impact on the Election outcome may feel a sense of voter apathy and will be less likely to engage with political discourse.
Potentially wasted ballots on small fringe parties with no chance of winning or in electoral districts with a strong partisan leaning.
Parties that have a diffuse national support may be underrepresented in House of Commons, The New Democratic Party and in some historical
instances the Conservative Party have been negatively impacted by this.
The inverse of the prior problem occurs as well, parties with a concentrated regional support become over represented in the House of Commons; The
Bloc Quebecois have traditionally been an example of this.
Strategic voting may occur to ensure a party is removed from power, voters will vote for an opposing party with a good chance of winning versus a
party with lesser support but whose platform they agree with.
On Election Day a winner can be determined before polls across Canada close, once the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario are counted, a winner can be
determined before the polls close out West.
What is the Single Transferable Voting

Electoral Systems and the Political Parties
Introduction A political party is a political group that is known officially to be part of the electoral process that is able to support a candidate for
elections on a regular basis. Political parties as well as elections tend to play a significant role in the politics analysis in countries across the world
(especially developing countries) as well as in democratization and consolidating democratic political regimes. Political parties and elections are
usually used as a scale for measuring the extent of democracy in a country. Across the globe elections have been seen as synonymous to democracy
especially after the collapse of communism and democracies have resorted to electoral process that offer choices to its citizenry. Being that the
process of electoral engineering tend to be a complex one, the choice of specific rules that should govern election is always have profound effect on
the extent as well as the type of political competition,( Russell Dalton and Martin Wattenberg,1998). Duverge law, which has been a widely accepted
proposition in political science, concerns the relationship between electoral and party systems. Plurality tend to be a situation where the winner takes
the entire rules of election to come up with a two party competitive system, on the other hand the rest of electoral regulations such as propositional
representation will always produce a multi–party systems which is define by competition between various contending political organizations. Two

Fair Apportionment In The United States
Ever since the first democratic election of 1950, Turkish people have proven high interests in elections. The lowest participation was in 1973 with 66.82
percent and highest participation in 1987 with 93.38 percent (IDEA). Despite the high voter turnout rate, their votes have not been represented equally.
The apportionment method used have not been fair. Apportionment deals straight with the amount of political power granted to citizens living in
different areas. A fair apportionment method would grant each citizen equal amount of political power despite their locations. It is however, difficult to
apportion in accordance with the principle of equal vote value. The apportionment problem arises due to the rounding problem. In formal statement,
apportionment problem involves a group of states with some populations (p1, p2, ..., p3), and a whole number of a seats to distribute. Apportionment
distributes a whole number of seats to each state where the sum of the distributions equal to the total number of seats (Young 2004). It is expected that
each state gets their... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It used conventional rounding instead of rounding down. Webster's method does not violate any of the apportionment paradoxes, yet it can rarely
violate quota criterion. In 1941, Huntington– Hill method was adopted and is still being used today. The Huntington– Hill method is almost identical to
Webster's method (Hodge & Klima). Unlike Webster's method, Huntington–Hill method uses geometric mean as cutoff for rounding quotas. If the
quota is greater than the geometric mean of the two nearest whole numbers, round the quota up, otherwise round it down. If the total number of seats
allocated is too large or small, increase or decrease the divisor to apportion the exact number of seats. For a quota like 5.482, Huntington–Hill method
would take the geometric mean (sqrt(5*6)=5.477) and round it up to 6 because the quota is greater than the geometric

Electoral Systems in the Caribbean
Essay Question Number 4; The Electoral systems in the Caribbean needs to be changed. How real is this view?
An election as a political process serves as the single most important mechanism for citizens to participate in the selection of a government. When
conducted to international standards, elections tend to confer legitimacy on a government. In the Commonwealth Caribbean, the electoral experience
varies and tends to reflect not only the socio–political culture of the member state but also its particular electoral system.
The electoral system determines the difference between votes and seats; how votes are translated into seats. How many and what kind of votes are
needed to get a seat varies from system to system. As a result, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Electoral systems in the region are mainly of the first–past–the post type. Electoral systems are essentially the electoral formula used for electing the
executive and legislature. In the Anglo–Caribbean countries (except Guyana), the first–past–the–post system elects the members of parliament, a
majority of whom nominate the prime minister. In the Latin Caribbean and Guyana the electoral formula is more complicated, often including
proportional representation and either an indirectly or directly elected president. Caribbean electoral systems reflect the influence of the former colonial
powers and national circumstances such as the racial composition of the population.
Elections and electoral systems aim at converting the popular will expressed as votes into choices between candidates of political parties for political
offices in the executive and legislature. The electoral system therefore reflects itself in the party system and the structure of governmental
representation. This association between elections, parties and government takes different forms. Ideal electoral systems should comprise of
competition, effective government, and fair representation along with free and fair voting.
A review of the Caribbean electoral system show how these aims are attempted and the strengths and weaknesses encountered. In the Dominican
Republic there is a mixed electoral system where the

Representation Of A Proportional Representation Electoral...
Thesis statement:
Democracies with a proportional representation electoral system plus a Parliamentary system (like that of Germany) encourage smaller parties more
than the single member plurality electoral system and Presidential system (like that of America) in giving a voice to the many interests that
characterize our increasingly diverse national populations.
Introduction
This paper discusses the crucial issue of electoral systems and their peculiar utility to the effective representation in the national legislature (and even
the executive) of the diverse interests within the state. This discussion is in no way novel as it has been one of the most age–old and fundamental
questions in the study of politics. Controversially, it can be ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Aristotle criticized Plato's theory and doubted that it was viable for one man to know of the interests of all and also to be entrusted with so much
power but would not abuse it. This conversation that began thousands of years ago has recorded succinct inputs from many other thinkers and
scholars. In relatively recent history, the formation of government in America in the late 1700s sparked a quite intense conversation along the same
lines. For example, Alexander Hamilton wrote a treatise on the form of government that he believed was the best for a democratic people. Hamilton
backed a presidential form of government that had powers vested in one man and not a group of few powerful men as is the case in a parliamentary
system.
Hamilton argued that the qualities of decision, secrecy, activity and dispatch are critical to having a good government and asserted that these qualities
are more likely to be found in one man than in a greater number. Hamilton raised other interesting points in defence of presidentialism. For instance he
said that the differences in opinion that characterize a parliamentary system was dangerous and its absence from the presidential system was positive.
Again, Hamilton discussed how the parliamentary system obfuscates faults and destroys responsibility. In other words, if many people are in charge of
executive power, responsibility is diffused and as such, it is difficult to hold anyone accountable.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Proportional Representation
Proportional representation system is a system in which the variety of seats held by way of contributors of a political party in a legislature (such as a
parliament) is decided with the aid of the quantity of votes its candidates get hold of in an election.[ (n.d.). Retrieved September 04, 2016, from http:/
/www.merriam–webster.com/dictionary/proportional representation
]With the proportional illustration system several participants of parliament are to be elected per constituency. Basically each and everypolitical party
offers a listing of candidates and voters can choose a list, that is they vote for a political party. Parties are assigned parliamentary seats proportionally to
the quantity of votes they get.[ Proportional Representation. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Because PR structures reward minority events with a minority of the seats, they are much less likely to lead to situations the place a single party
holds all the seats in a given province or district. This can be specially necessary to minorities in a province which may now not have huge regional
concentrations or alternative factors of get admission to power.The voters have the ability to rank candidates, the most disliked candidate cannot win,
as they are unlikely to pick up second–, third– and lower–preference votes too and there is no need for tactical voting.[ (n.d.). Retrieved September 5,
2016, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/modern/uk_gov_politics/elect_vote/revision
]Lastly , Parliament is extra in all likelihood to be both reflective of a nation's views and more responsive to them. Parties are huge coalitions, and
can have a markedly vast vary on a lot of issues. With solely one party character per constituency, the representatives elected might also well now not
replicate the views of their electorate. Proportional representation system would help voters to choose a candidate who most closely displays their very
own views and values.
[ Switzerland, M. G. (n.d.). Voting Systems. Retrieved September 04, 2016, from

Majoritarian And Effective American Voting System
Voting systems are the set of procedures that determine who will run our local, state, and federal governments. These procedures include how the ballot
is structured, how the vote is casted, how the votes are counted, and how the winners are selected. Although there are a variety of ways a voting system
can be structured to enable citizen authorization of authority there are two dominant voting systems in Western democracies: plurality system and
proportional representation. Douglas J. Amy in (2000) and G. Bingham Powell in (2000) present a list of criteria that can be used to determine which
voting system is preferential. In this paper I will consider Accountability, High Quality Campaigns, and Stable and EffectiveGovernment as the criteria
for evaluating voting systems, and evaluate the degree to which majoritarian and proportional representation systems fulfill these criteria. In the
majoritarian vision of citizen control, concentrated power is necessary. Majoritarian elections act as ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In a majoritarian system, voters are able to easily identify which representative they should be holding accountable when unacceptable actions are being
taken. This is possible because the majoritarian system uses single– member districts in which members of the legislature are elected one at a time in
small districts (Amy 29). It also important to note that candidates are elected based on who receives the most votes. This means that it is easy for
constituents to not only identify which representative was elected to serve them but to hold them accountable as well. The same can be said about
political parties, because of the two party system it is very likely that one party will win the majority of the seats in the legislature, which means that
voters will know who to blame for unacceptable actions (Amy

Traditionalistic View Of Government
Moralistic, Individualistic, Traditionalistic are three of Elizar's types of political culture. For instance, Moralistic place high value on government and
view working toward the collective good as a noble and primary goal. Individualistic see government as a utilitarian requirement to handle functions
required of it, including enforcing the law and aggregating the people's preferences. Traditionalistic look to hierarchy and tradition to inform
decision–making. One example would be proportional representation systems, where voter can either vote for a political party with a certain list of
candidates, or they rank the candidates that they want then put them in order of their preferences. Proportional representation systems have more
political

The Electoral System Of Elections And Voting
Democracy has existed since ancient Greece, serving as an inspiration for others and the foundation of many governments of today. Nevertheless, with
time democracy has evolved and numerous forms have been produced. Though these forms are all democratic, they all have their benefits and
shortcomings. The differing electoral systems of countries highlight their levels of democracy and the effectiveness of their government. A common
subject matter in the debate of electoral systems is whether to create an effective government or represent the views of all. The many differing
electoral systems have their own pros and cons, each showing what a country values most in its government. Conceivably the most significant feature
of a democracy is the electoral system. In the scholarly article "Comparing Democracies: New Challenges in the Study of Elections and Voting",
Lawrence Leduc writes, "the electoral system... defines how votes are cast and seats allocated". The electoral system itself determines which candidate
emerges victorious from an election. However, these systems are not simple. Though electoral systems can be qualified as majoritarian, proportional, or
mixed, the systems of different countries all differ; especially in complexity and degree of representation. A webpage published by Georgetown
University with author Charles King states, "There are many different types of electoral systems in use around the world, and even within individual
countries, different electoral

The Current State Of Canadian Democracy
A number of issues plague the current state of Canadian democracy, such as poor voter turnout, the increasing polarization of politics, and even
numerous scandals regarding the Senate. Yet, arguably the most important issue in relation to the Canadian electoral process is the debate over
whether or not the state should implement electoral reform for federal elections, more specifically replacing the Single Member Plurality system
(SMP) with the Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP). Some analysts, like Christopher Kam, defend the SMP system and claim that a number
of the issues that are used as the basis for the support of MMP are actually the result of larger forces than simply the electoral format. And, that holding
politicians... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
After all, a central aspect of the proportional representation argument is that the government should be formatted in a manner that allows for the fair
representation of the political opinion of Canadians. However, Kam points out how legislation is passed in an effort to represent the will of the
majority of Canadians. But, he also argues that there is no such thing as a true majority, as there is no single policy that voters prefer to all others.
In turn, he claims that "manufactured majorities" created as a result of the SMP system are not necessarily a bad thing, as they give parliament the
stability needed to pass legislation. In comparison, he points out how the MMP system would give power to a number of smaller parties, and that
these parties would impair parliament's ability to pass policy. Kam also promotes the notion that accountability is far more important than
representative government, because under the MMP system the party in power will not be punished nearly as severely from a losing a few
percentage points of the popular vote as under the SMP system. Because of this, parties will not try to enact policies in the interest of the majority of
Canadians like under, and instead opt for more ideologically driven legislation. Lastly, Kam addresses the issue of electoral deserts, the term given to
parties dominating certain regions, and having no influence in others. This leads parties to

Essay On Role Of Women In History
Canada's population of women has hit 52% as of 2017. Even though our population is equal between men and women, our national assembly is grossly
underrepresenting the female population in Canada. Canada's House of Commons only has 22% of the members of parliament that identify as female.
This puts Canada in 48th place in the world, for the number of women in its national legislature. Women could run for positions in the House of
Commons in 1919, and almost 100 years later we have not made sufficient developments. The United Nations believes that a countries national
legislature should have a minimum of 30% women, to make sure that societies values are adequately represented.
In 2004, the Centre for Research and Information in Canada came ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This lacks a small usually left–leaning group that prioritizes minority rights. Women are disadvantaged by single–member systems because of their
"decentralized nomination structure". Even if political parties wanted more women to be nominated, it is incredibly hard due to do so. This means
that the central government does not control the nomination process, so this makes it hard for the government to create and enforce a law. Some
defenders of the first past the post system claim that women are at an advantage because of the incumbency effect of Canadian politicians. Women do
not reap the same benefits as men do in regards to incumbency. Between 2008 and 2011, 19% of women incumbents were a part of their party's
stronghold.
If Canada wants to ensure that more women are elected in the future, then they must adopt a multi–party system with proportional representation. A
multi–party system is when multiple people are voted in to represent a riding. Proportional Representation is one of the key factors if women are
going to be a prominent part of Canadian politics. "All of the 10 Countries with over 30% membership of women use proportional representation (PR)
utilizing the party–list system...". Proportional representation is so successful at giving minorities a chance to run successfully for legislature because
"voters choose a preferred party and seats are allocated to parties according

The Advantages of Electoral Systems
Electoral Systems Introduction According to Farrell, an electoral system can be defined as the determining means "by which votes are translated into
seats in the process of electing politicians into office". The electoral systems are important due to a number of reasons. They are designed to define
and elaborate how a political system is expected to function. Rhetorically, the electoral systems can be considered as the mechanism that works to
ensure the proper functioning of the democracy by keeping the wheels straight. Almost every course of politics considers some particular themes as
concerned topics of importance. They include elections and representations, parties and party organizations, the structure of government and the
politics of coalitions. All these areas, however, are not complete without the electoral system playing a major part. The design of an electoral system
defines whether it is easy or difficult for the politicians to win the seats. It also defines whether it would be hard or simple for a particular party to gain
representation in parliament. Thus, an electoral system greatly affects the functioning of political systems (Farrell 2). The primary function of an
electoral system is to ensure that the system is accepted legitimately and is run with smoothness. Other than that, however, electoral systems are also
designed to serve a number of other purposes. The functions of an electoral system are sometimes conflicting and are not favoured by

Global Electoral Norms
In her article Are there global norms and universal standards of electoral integrity and malpractice?, Pippa Norris determines just that – whether or not
the public perceptions of the integrity of an election match up with the observer reports of the elections. To be entirely honest, she does not actual
determine if there are truly global norms, for reasons I will discuss later – but essentially, her research question is not about global norms but rather the
equity or lack thereof between the opinion of the general public and the experts' data on the issue. She never quite states a hypothesis for her
reasoning, but assuming that she believes there will be some sort of relationship between the two variables, her causal logic would be that people
who live in their country have just as valid and correct an opinion of their country's electoral system as any observer to that system and may even
sometimes lend invaluable information to said observers. She uses the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights as the basis for her idea that there
are global norms for electoral integrity, which would be her causal logic (since many, many nations have signed on to the agreement, one would... Show
Part of that might be explained by her proposition that the dangers of electoral malpractice are increased when a political system is winner–take–all, as
opposed to a proportional representation system. Perhaps further research may see whether electoral malpractice is more likely in presidential and
winner–take–all systems than parliamentary and proportional representations

To What Extent Do Different Electoral Systems Produce...
To what extent do different electoral systems produce different outcomes?
In this essay I will assess the outcomes of Additional Member system, First Past the Post system and the Closed Party List system. The F–P–T–P
system is used to elect the members of House of Commons and local government in England and Wales. Voters select candidates, and do so by
marking his or her name with an 'X' on the ballot paper. This reflects the principle of 'one person, one vote'. The Additional Members system is used in
Scottish parliament, Welsh assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London assembly. It is a mixed system made up of F
–P–T–P and
party–list elements. The Regional party list (or the closed party list) is used to elect the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Also F–P–T–P ensures that one party obtains a majority of seats, for example, there have only been three full coalition governments in the UK– two in
world wars and one in 2010. Therefore, F–P–T–P voting system produces different outcomes to other voting systems as it's a majority system.
Furthermore, Additional Member system leads to different outcomes as it's a proportional system which means the proportion of seats won by the
candidates and the votes they received are proportional. For example in Scotland in 2007 the SNP received 31% of the votes and won 47 seats and
Labour won 29.2% of the votes and won 46 seats. This means that often political parties are rewarded with a fair share of the seats for the votes they
obtained, also in AMS the outcome is made more proportional by its constituency list top up, thus making it easier for third party candidates to make a
inroad into politics. Thus AMS produces different outcomes to other electoral systems due its hybrid nature, where it combines F–P–T–P voting system
with closed list system.
Moreover, Closed Party List system that is used to elect members to the European Parliament produces a different outcome to other voting systems
because it is the most proportional of all systems used in UK. For example in 2009 EU parliament elections Conservatives received 227.2% of the
votes and won 27 seats. This suggests that Closed Party List system assures accurate representation of parties

M3 A1 Lasa2 the Apportionment Problem Essay example
M3_Assignment 1: LASA 2: The Apportionment Problem
Argosy University
General Education Mathematics | MAT109 A05
November 8, 2014
Abstract
This essay determine how 100 congressional seats should be divided among the 10 states of the union. The number of seats in a state should (in any
fair distribution) be proportional to its ratio in the population. Therefore rounding according to some (acceptable) rule should be applied.
Below you will see the table showing the Hamilton method of apportionment to determine the number of seats each state would receive.
Hamilton Method (Named for Alexander Hamilton) Implementing this method is a three–step procedure.
1) Calculate each state's representation and round each one down.
2) ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The Huntington–Hill Method is a modified version of the Webster method, but it uses a slightly different rounding method. While Webster's method
rounds at 0.5, the Huntington–Hill method rounds at the geometric mean. If a state's quotient is higher than its geometric mean, it will be allocated an
additional seat. This method will almost always result in the desired number of seats which helps to avoid an Alabama Paradox.
Apportionment can achieve both a fair and unfair representation giving the research I have done on this assignment. It also depends on the
apportionment method in which is used that also plays a factor in your results.
For optimal fairness measures I believe that the Huntington–Hill method displays the most fairness. Giving the example that ai and Pi are the number
of seats for state i and its population, respectively. Then I would look at the measurements by the given fairness formula.
For the measure |ai – aj(Pi/Pj)| Adams method is optimal.
For the measure |Pj/aj–Pi/ai| Dean's method is optimal.
For the measure |(ai/aj)(Pi/Pj)–1| Huntington–Hill is optimal.
For the measure |ai/Pi – aj/Pj| Webster is optimal.
For the measure |ai(Pj/Pi) – aj| Jefferson's method is optimal.

As you can see, it might not be obvious that these seemingly similar measures of absolute fairness would give rise to such different methods to

Electoral Rules Functions : The Development And...
Majoritarian electoral rules function as the pragmatist's approach to democracy by attempting to deliver tangible results while proportional
representation aims to deliver the symbolic values of democracy such as equality and fairness. The following is an evaluation of the characteristics of
proportional and majoritarian electoral rules and how these attributes affect governments. "The development and maintenance of democracy" will be
evaluated through three metrics governability, accountability, and representativeness, all of which can be used to frame both benefits and
disadvantages of the two systems in question. Finally, the Egypt and Argentina will reveal thatproportional representation yields more stable democracy.
Majoritarian ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Outcomes are dependent upon established mathematical formulas and the use of either open–list or closed–list ballots.
Governability
Governability is, simply, a political system's ability to "get work done" and is a measure of effectiveness. The key factor in attaining high
governability is forming a majority that can move legislation (Norris 1997). Majoritarianism is intentionally designed to maximize governability by
creating a "manufactured majority" by "exaggerating" the seats that the leading party wins (Norris 1997). On the contrary, proportional systems are
intended to incorporate minority parties which may include fringe parties with more extreme or niche beliefs (Blais 1991, Richie). An analysis of 27
democracies over 45 years reveals that the average effective number of parties is 2.0 in majoritarian systems but 3.6 in proportional systems (Lijphart
1994, Norris 1997). As a result, forming a majority proves more difficult under PR than majoritarianism. Proportional legislatures become reliant on
coalition building. A study of 20 countries reveals that, in order to meet the majority mandate, "single–party" majorities were formed after 60% of
majoritarian election, but multi–party coalitions had to be formed after 90% of proportional elections (Blais et al. 1987) Democracies that deliver
tangible legislative results have high governability. However, to have such results, a majority must exist to prevent

The Main Characteristics of Alternative Vote, PR List...
The Main Characteristics of Alternative Vote, PR List (open and closed), STV, First Past The Post and AMS
There are many systems used throughout the world, which are based on democracy to ensure that the needs of the populations are taken into account.
Many countries are constantly trying to form new models and techniques to ensure equality, but there are still many systems that have disadvantages,
for example, in the First Past the Post system the candidate with the most votes may not necessarily win the election. In this essay I will explain the
main characteristics of a few of the most used electoral systems.
First of all I will explain the 'First Past The Post' system, which is also called ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This electoral system also produces a stable government but has a slow and exhaustive ballot.
The system used in Germany is called A.M.S. It was adopted in West Germany in 1949 but is now extended to United Germany. It creates a stable
government and provides legislation. This system is different from most as the elector has two different votes. One for the constituency, and a second
for a party. When the votes are counted the constituency representatives are elected from the first vote. The constituency representatives fill half of the
six houndred and fifty–six seats.
The party vote is made proportional to the amount of votes cast but computing how many seats each party would be entitles to and then subtracting
from that number the amount of seats each party has won in the constituency vote. The figure remaining is equal to the number of extra seats received
on the second vote. A party, which fails to secure 5% of votes across the country of 3 constituency seats, cannot take part in allocation of seats based
on second votes. The list is ordered and the candidates are numbered.
One complicating cam and does occasionally happen that a party wins more seats from the first vote that the total entitlement under the second vote.
The party is allowed to retain extra seats and the Bundestag in enlarged.
Proportional representation list system

Essay on Government and Electoral Systems
Majoritarian system provides for a stable government but considering South Africa's political stability in the past, it can be argued that a hybrid system
leaning more towards proportional representation is much more effective and relevant than a strictly majoritarian or proportional system to the South
African government because of it's inclusivity of all of the South African diverse citizens remedying the previous inequalities that the apartheid system
introduced. Drawing from the ideologies of Norris and Blais, the major differences between majoritarian and proportional representation and as well as
the two electoral systems that allow for accountability and social representation go into the argument for proportional representation ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
This is where majoritarian system differs from that of proportional as it has one party that represents the needs of the nation rather than various parties.
Additionally in 1994, post apartheid South Africa adopted proportional representation to remedy the inequalities caused by the apartheid regime and
essentially represented each ethnic group's needs
The introduction of the closed list policy came during the 1994, South Africa's first democratic elections when the African National Congress (ANC)
decided to implement the proportional representational electoral system with every intention of ensuring a democracy that caters for all of the South
African citizens.
Accountability refers to the duty that the elected government has to its people while it is in office . With regards to a majoritarian system, power and
accountability lie in the hands of the ruling party therefore the government is fully liable to it's citizens. However, in proportional representation, the
government is comprised of many political parties who jointly make decisions. 'Ambiguity and compromise are introduced on a secondary level
whenever coalitions are formed' . Essentially a particular party cannot be held liable in a coalition government

Democratization And Afghanist Changes Essay
Democratization and Afghanistan: Changes Needed to Stabilize Afghan Democracy
Executive Summary: In 2001, the Bonn agreement laid out the framework for a democracy in Afghanistan, however, the transition to democracy has
been met with many challenges. The establishment of a bicameral legislature, popularly elected president, and the restoration of civil liberties showed
hope for democratization, but the institutions established in the country fail to provide the stability needed for Afghanistan to successfully transition to
a democratic regime (Zain 84; Reynolds 104,105). New electoral systems are essential to providing stability and legitimacy to democracy in
Afghanistan and balancing ethnic interests in a nation marked by strong ethnic cleavages.
Context and Importance of Problem: Afghanistan has experienced political instability and conflict. After the Soviet invasion in 1979, Afghani
mujahedeen waged a jihad against the communist government. In 1989, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, but the civil war continued until
1996, when the Taliban seized Kabul and introduced fundamentalist Sharia policies. After the September 11 attack on the United States, the U.S. and
their NATO allies began bombing Afghanistan. When the Anti
–Taliban Northern Alliance forces took Kabul, the Taliban were overthrown (Rubin
63–65). In December 2001, the Bonn Agreement set up a foundation for establishing a democracy in Afghanistan. The agreement sought to set up an
interim

Comparing Democracies And Future Of A Nation
Conceivably the most significant feature of a democracy is the electoral system, which defines the history and future of a nation. In the scholarly article
"Comparing Democracies: New Challenges in the Study of Elections and Voting", Lawrence Leduc, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the
University of Toronto, writes, "the electoral system... defines how votes are cast and seats allocated". Consequently, the electoral system determines
which candidate emerges victorious from an election. However, these electoral systems are not simple. Electoral systems can be qualified as
majoritarian, proportional, or mixed; however, the systems of different countries all differ; especially in complexity and degree of representation. A
webpage published by Georgetown University created by Charles King states, "There are many different types of electoral systems in use around the
world, and even within individual countries, different electoral systems may be found in different regions and at different levels of government". The
astounding amount of different electoral systems within singular nations displays how challenging it is to choose the system best suited for a particular
nation and its people. Differing electoral systems can even potentially modify the outcome of elections. Leduc states, "Applying two different formulas
to the same distribution of votes will produce quite different outcomes in terms of members elected for each party". The fact that an electoral system can

Britain's Electoral System
The change of electoral system of Britain from first–past–the–post to form of proportional representation caused discussions and argues in the whole
country. Does new system inspirit and change course to better or lead to weak and indecisive government? Whereas first–past–the–post developed
stable majorities in parliament, there are always was a lack of suffer from grave shortcomings, for example majority of population remains
unrepresented in government bodies, and a party, which wins less voices in selection than their contestants, can be represented by more seats. Nation
is looking forward to see the fairness and progress of parliamentary works of country, which can be motivated by advantageousness of proportional
representation. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This is why the proportional representation is more fair system than first–past–the–post.
Nevertheless proportional representation has it disadvantages. First of all, there are complexity in formation of government because of multi–party
coalitions includes parties with different majorities, goals and assignments. Owing to that, it is quite hard to produce common, clear and strong
program. A regime, which is based on this background, differs with instability. Secondly this system brings to the situation when legation in
government bodies gets political power. Also, in proportional representation, because ofelection process carry out with political parties, not with
specific candidates, direct connection between constituents and their representatives is weak. Finally, whereas the election of this system is for
political parties, delegates depend on their partial guidance. It can badly result in debates and important documents adoption. It seems clear that both
first–past–the–post and proportional representation electoral systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, no doubts, despite all
this disadvantages, comparing two systems gives that in multi–party conditions proportional presentation more democratic than first–past–the–post.
Eventually, the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of proportional representation shows that even with this numerous defects of system, PR can
inspirit government with only

The Main Alternative Electoral System
Firstly, in this proposal, the different features of the main alternative electoral systems will be outlined along with the judgement of whether the
Conservative party should advocate or oppose the respective system, in addition to ordering the preferences of the following systems. To begin with,
the main alternatives, in terms of electoral reform, are mixed–member proportional (MMP) and preferential or ranked ballot where the former has
proportionality as the formula and the latter usually has majority as the threshold. In addition, there is also the current electoral system, the
first–past–the–post system (FPTP), which depends on having plurality as the threshold. As such, opposing electoral reform is key to retaining power
because... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Besides, the Conservative party can argue for the status–quo on the merits that it facilitates a majority which makes government more efficient, that it
excludes extremist or fragmented parties, and that it avoids fractionalization. The latter point is particularly true as plurality, particularly FPTP, breeds
lower amount of parties due to voters voting strategically. Because in strategic voting, voters avoid small parties for the fear of not 'wasting' their
votes, because of the high threshold in this plurality system. Adjacently, in that context, parties also have an incentive to merge to pass high thresholds
of representation. Regardless, the positive aspects of plurality include its simplicity, efficiency along its ability to produce governments that need not
depend on the support of other parties which are all facts that the Conservatives can use to lobby against any electoral change. And more pertinently in
this case, it leads to a more coherent opposition, the Conservatives in this instance, by offering voters a clear choice in a system that is easy to
understand. And this is part of the reason why the Conservatives should stay with the status–quo and advocate for it. Furthermore, an electoral reform
being proposed is a change to a preferential or ranked ballot. In this type of ballot, the formula employed to calculate the threshold of votes needed to
secure a seat is usually a majority, more than

First Past the Post versus Proportional Representation...
Britain is considering changing current first past the post voting system (FPTP) to proportional representation (PR). The main reason is that FPTP is
"quasi–democratic" voting system under which there is only one majority party ruling the government and it does not represent wishes of all voters as
some votes are wasted. Whereas, PR seems to be the best alternative voting system with proportionality of seats in mandatory places, more parties
ruling government and etc. Let us look at these two voting systems and analyze whether PR is suitable and alternative change for FPTP and do
advantages of PR outweigh disadvantages. First of all, let us start with First Past The Post. FPTP is the current voting system which is used for ... Show
In 1997 Labour pledged a referendum on PR, but it was postponed and it has been argued that two strong political parties, Labour and Torries,
would have lost the most if there were any changes in voting systems. If the referendum took place in 1997 elections, Labour majority would have
to share, approximately, from 46 seats to 166 MPs with Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrats gained 16,8% of the total votes, but won less than
10% of the total seats. To clearly understand the concept of PR and how does it work, two most common forms of PR must be evaluated. They are
Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Additional Member System (AMS). In Single Transferable Vote (STV) each voter has only one vote. As in
the name of the system word "Transferable" occurs, so votes may go from a candidate who is first preference, to the second and continues if there
is no opportunity for a preferred candidate to win or a candidate already has enough votes. In this case it is not obligatory to have a majority of
votes, because all is needed is just to reach a "quota" of 50%. Candidates, who have the least votes are eliminated and votes are redistributed. Using
this voting system, voters have more choice than in any other systems. Additional Member System is the fusion of FPTP and Party List. Also it is
known as Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). Under

UK's Main Electoral System and Should It Be Reformed Essay...
UK's Main Electoral System and Should It Be Reformed
Over the years Britain's pluralist electoral system has been scrutinised by many political and pressure groups, such as the Liberal Democrats and the
Electoral Reform Society. In their 1997 Manifesto, the Labour Party did state that they would look into the matter, by holding a referendum on the
issue, however there was no change as Labour had a large majority in 1997 and Labour has preformed disappointingly in elections where Proportional
Representation had been used. The main electoral system in the UK should be reformed because the 'first past the post' system does not represent the
electorate in a democratic manner. It also under represents ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The system is also disproportionate, an example of this is can be shown in a study of the 2001 General Election.
From the 2001 General Election results, we can deliberately see that through our pluralist electoral system, the system is disproportionate. We can
see many examples of this]. The percentage of votes to the percentage of seats is unequal, showing how its 'seats not votes that count,' and judging
by labour's "landslide" victory. In fact, we can see that Labour did not even gain a majority from voters but only from seats. Another example is
the Liberal Democrats; they received 18.3% of the electorate's votes, but only received less than half the percentage of seats at 7.9%. Labour also
received a mere 9% more votes than the Conservatives, but yet still managed to acquire around 247 more seats. This also shows that some parties,
especially Labour in the 2001 elections, are over represented and this can lead eventually lead to a dangerous 'one party system', which certainly
undermines our ideology of a Democracy. On average 70% of votes are also wasted during a single election. We find that 100.0% of votes are
accounted for, only 40.7% actually counted, therefore, votes a drastically wasted.
Other arguments to demonstrate how the

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