Electoral Systems

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Thanuseelan Jeyaseelan

Government & Politics Homework

Electoral Systems

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a)

The Alternative Vote - This uses the same constituency system in First Past the Post, but instead of voting for one candidate, preferences are recorded on the ballot paper. If no one candidate wins an overall majority, the candidate who received the least first-choice votes is eliminated and the second choices of the voters who backed them are allocated to the other candidates. This continues until one candidate receives an overall majority.

Benefits

- It retains the single member constituency system and its advantages: it is likely to produce one clearly victorious party which can form government and keeps a clear and simple line of accountability between voters and their MP.

- It ensures all MPs are credible, having been elected by an absolute majority of their constituents.

- It makes individual votes less likely to be wasted: if your first-choice candidate isn't chosen, your second or third choice will probably be.
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Drawbacks

- It would not necessarily make the party composition of parliament more in proportion with votes cast across the country.

- The thousands who don't wish to back one of the major political parties still remain disenfranchised.

b)

The Additional Member - This is a mixed system, there is one vote for a constituency MP and one party vote.

Benefits

- It retains the advantages of a simple single-member constituency system and helps balance the disproportionate results this can produce.

- By providing for a party vote it bests reflects ...

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