Voting Systems
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| 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 |
| Purposes of elections? | To form government, to ensure representation, and to give government the right to rule (mandate) |
| What are the different types of elections? | General elections, devolved assemblies elections, local elections + mayoral elections |
| How many constituencies is the UK divided up into? | 650 constituencies |
| What is the job of the four parliamentary boundary commissions? | Review in an apolitical way the boundaries of parties to keep up with population change |
| Examples of boundary commission working? | The final recommendations from parliamentary boundary commissions proposed that Rochdale Borough Council should represent 20 three-councillor wards across the borough. The boundaries of all existing wards should change |
| What is FPTP? | At a general or local election, voters put a cross (X) next to their preferred candidate on a ballot paper. Ballot papers are counted. The candidate with the most votes represents the constituency or ward. |
| What country is FPTP used in? | England general elections |
| Pros of FPTP? | Forms a strong government, easy to understand |
| Cons of FPTP? | Encourages tactical voting, isn't a representative system, big parties are overrepresented, creates a two-party system |
| Example of winners bonus? | Labour won 178 seats with only 43% of the vote + SNP won 95% of Scottish seats with 50% of the vote. |
| Examples of underrepresentation in elections? | 2010 - Lib dems won 23% of the vote but only 8% of the seats + UKIP won only 1 seat (out of 650 with 13% of the vote (proportionally would have been 85 seats) |
| What is AMS? | Voters are given two votes on separate ballot papers. One vote is for a constituency member and one vote is for a party list. In Scotland and Wales, list members are elected by region. In London, there is a single London-wide list. Constituency votes are counted first and the members for each constituency are elected using first-past-the-post. |
| Which election is AMS used in? | Scottish parliament elections |
| What is STV? | Constituencies which elect more than one representative use STV. Voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or vote for only one candidate. |
| Which elections are STV used in? | Used for NI Assembly, local government, local elections in Scotland, and will also be used for local elections in Wales starting in 2022. |
| Pros of AMS and STV | Minor parties more likely to win representation, giving a multi-party system, winners bonus is reduced, reduced tactical voting |
| Cons of AMS and STV | More likely to produce minority governments |
| Example that AMS is more complicated to use? | 2007 in Scottish elections approx 146,000 ballot papers were done incorrectly |
| Examples of minority government? | From 2007-2011, the SNP formed a minority government in the Scottish Parliament |
| What is AV? | Voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or vote for one candidate. |
| What elections use AV? | AV is used for Irish presidential elections and for by-elections in the Republic of Ireland |
| What is SV? | The SV system is like the AV system. Voters are limited to a first and second preference choice. A voter marks a cross in one column for their first preference candidate. They mark another cross in a second column for their second preference if they wish to do so. |
| Which election is SV used in? | It was decided to use SV and it is now in use for the direct election of eleven English mayors, including the Mayor of London. |
| Pros of SV and AV? | More proportional outcomes than FPTP, SV was chosen to elect mayors because it was more simple to use than AV, and it would help give the winner a clear mandate. |
| Cons of SV and AV? | Counting voter’s second preferences may actually lead to less proportional outcomes |
| Examples of SV and AV being not that more proportionate? | For example, had the 2015 general election been run under such a system, the Conservatives and Labour combined would have only had one less seat |
| Statistics about Labour's performance in past elections | 27.6% of the vote and 209 seats. (32.2% of the seats) |
| Statistics about Lib Dems performance in past elections? | The Alliance received a quarter of votes in the 1983 election but won just 23 seats. |
| Statistics about SNP's performance in past elections | In 2019 the SNP experienced a surge in the general election, winning 45.0% of the vote in Scotland. Overall the party finished with 48 out of 59, or 81% of Scotland's Westminster seats. |