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Glossary
Absolute Majority: More than half (i.e.,
50 percent + 1)
Alternative Vote (AV): The same constituency boundaries are used
under AV as FPTP and voters elect one person to represent them. Voters
rank candidates in order of preference, putting '1' next to their first
choice, '2' by their second choice and so on. If a candidate receives a
majority of first place votes, he or she would be elected just as under
the present system. However if no single candidate gets more than 50% of
the vote, the candidate with least number of votes is eliminated and their
votes redistributed according to the second preferences. This process is
repeated until one candidate gets an absolute majority.
Approval Voting: A system in which voters can vote for as many
candidates as they like, or "approve of". For example, if used
in the last presidential election, voters could have voted for both Perot
and Bush, if they liked both of them. The winner is the one who gets the
most votes. Never used in public elections, but is used for some private
organizations.
Borda Count: A Weighted System using Choice Voting. For example, if
five are to be elected, the first preference gets five points, the second
gets four, etc. The highest point-getters are the winners. This is a
semi-proportional system, but its proportionality is poorer than
Cumulative Voting.
Choice Voting: This system is also called STV (Single Transferable
Voting), Preference Voting, Ranked Choice Voting, the Hare system, the
Hare/Clark system, PR/STV, and other names. This system is the most common
form of PR in English-speaking nations. Despite being based on voting for
candidates rather than parties, it allows blocs of like-minded voters to
win proportional representation. The voter ranks the candidates in order
of preference, and the vote is counted in a manner giving proportional
results in a multi-winner contest. Ranking additional candidates has no
impact on a higher choice candidate's chance to win. Candidates win by
reaching a "victory threshold" that is roughly the number of
votes divided by the number of seats. If a candidate has too little
support among first choices to win, votes for that candidate are
transferred to voters' next choices.
Cumulative Voting: A semi-proportional system of voting in which
voters have as many votes as seats elected in their constituency, and can
allocate them however they wish--including giving more than one vote to a
particular candidate. Generally results in fair minority representation.
Since it does not allow for the transferring of votes, voters can and do
still easily waste their votes. Cumulative voting is semi-proportional
because votes can be "wasted" if a candidate receives more than
necessary to win, or if two or more candidates "split" the vote
of a particular constituency.
Electoral System: The general name for all the rules concerning
elections, i.e., the voting system, boundaries, registration of electors,
candidacy, campaign spending, broadcasting, etc.
First-Past-the-Post (FPTP): FPTP is the system currently used to
elect Members of Parliament. A voting system based on single-member
electorates in which the candidate who wins a simple majority of votes is
elected. The candidate who gets the most votes wins, regardless of whether
he or she has more than 50% support.
Fractional STV: This form of Choice Voting is recommended for all
public elections, and for non-governmental elections when a computer will
be used. In older forms of Choice Voting, when a candidate was elected,
and had surplus votes, some method had to be chosen to determine which
ballots would be transferred and which would stay with the candidate.
Sometimes they were chosen randomly, sometimes just the last ballots would
be chosen, and there are other methods. With fractional STV, a fraction of
each ballot is moved to the next most preferred candidate on each ballot,
so there is no randomness involved. This is a pain to do by hand, but
fortunately there are computer programs to handle the count, if one wishes
to use the fractional method. Note that mathematicians and statisticians
have shown that the vast majority of the time that the "random"
method will give the same results as the Fractional STV. See also
"Simplified STV"
Instant Runoff Voting (IRV): Also known as "alternative
vote" and "majority preference" voting. A system used when
only one person can be elected, such as a mayor or president. IRV is based
on the same "transferable vote" mechanism as choice voting, but
is a "winner-take-all" system for electing a single candidate
such as president or governor. Voters rank the ballot in order of
preference. At first, only the #1 rankings are counted. If no candidate
has a majority, then the weakest candidate (the one with the fewest number
of votes) is defeated, and all of his/her ballots are transferred to the
#2 candidate on each ballot. This process continues until someone has a
majority. The system is normally abbreviated as "IRV", but is
also sometime abbreviates as "IRO" or "IR". It is also
sometimes called Majority Preference Voting (MPV), or Alternative Voting
(AV).
Interactive Representation (IR): In this system, elected officials
have the same number of votes as the number of people that voted for them.
It uses an IRV-like procedure to limit the number of candidates. So, each
elected official has a different number of votes. This is a very pure form
of PR, but without voting for parties. It is a relatively new concept, and
to our knowledge, has never been used in a government election. There are
some concerns about whether or not it would be legal in public elections.
The group that is promoting IR also advocates some other major systemic
reforms. Sometimes used as an abbreviation for the Instant Runoff system.
International Order: The combination of major actors, rules,
mechanisms and understandings to manage the co-existence and
interdependence of states.
Limited Voting: A semi-proportional system in which each voter has
less votes than the total number of open seats. For example, there may be
five seats to fill, but each voter has one vote. The top vote getters win.
Because majority voters have only vote each, they will still normally
control a majority of the elected body, but minorities will be more fairly
represented. However, votes can be and commonly are wasted, because there
is no system to transfer votes from one candidate to another.
List System: In this most widely used form of PR, the voter votes
for one party and its list of candidates to represent them. Party lists of
candidates can be either "closed" or "open." A closed
list means that parties determine the order of their candidates to be
elected, often by primary or caucus. An open list allows voters to
determine a party's list of candidates by indicating preferences for
individual candidates. If a party wins 30 percent of the vote, its
candidates win roughly 30 percent of the seats in the legislature, 10
percent of the vote wins roughly 10 percent of seats, and so on.
Nationwide lists are used in some countries, but most have regional lists
in smaller constituencies. A minimum share of the votes can be required to
earn representation; Germany has a 5 percent threshold.
Majority Government: A government made up of one or more political
parties that together have an absolute majority of MPs in the House of
Representatives.
Microcosm: The idea that a governing body should be a miniature
replica of the society it represents.
Minority Government: A government made up of one or more parties
which together do not have an absolute majority of all the seats in the
House of Representatives, and which therefore rely on the support of other
parties outside the government on votes of confidence and in order to pass
legislation.
Mixed Member Proportional(MMP): Increasingly popular around the
world, this is a hybrid system in which voters have two votes -- one for
their district representative, and one for their favorite party. Usually
50% of the seats are awarded by district, and 50% by the party lists. The
overall representation is based on the parties' votes. MMP combines
geographic representation and proportional representation of ideological
interests. Depending on how party lists are allocated, MMP can be fully
proportional or semi-proportional. First used in Germany.
Modified At-Large Systems: An election system that is an
alternative to traditional at-large plurality systems. With modified
at-large elections, the election is still held at-large, but the use of
Choice Voting, Cumulative Voting, or Limited Voting, allows for minority
representation.
New International Economic Order: A revision of the international
economic system in favor of Third World countries.
Non-Compensatory Mixed Member: These semi-proportional systems have
some seats filled from districts and some from party lists, but the
overall representation is not determined by the party vote. This means
that the bigger parties that win almost all the seats in the districts
will be over-represented in government, while the smaller parties will be
under-represented.
Normative: Political analysis based on values, commitments and
ideas.
One-Party-Dominant System: A party system in which there are
political alternatives but a single political party dominates the
political process as a result of the overwhelming support of the
electorate.
Pairwise: A family of single-winner election methods in which the
voters rank the candidates in order of preference, and then each pair of
candidates has their own little election to see who wins. For example, if
candidates A, B, and C are running, and A beats C, but B beats A and B
beats C, then B is the winner. This is the case even if B received the
fewest number of #1 votes. In Pairwise, that doesn't matter. Pairwise can
get complicated if there is no clear winner (A beats B, B beats C, and C
beats A, for example). There are many ways to resolve this, so there are
many methods that fit into the Pairwise category.
Parliamentary System: A system in which (a) the head of government
is not directly elected, (b) the head of government can be removed by a
vote of parliament, and (c) the terms of office are not fixed -- early
elections can be called. Should never be confused with PR, which affects
how candidates are elected when the people vote. Is the opposite of
presidential systems. Note that some systems are neither pure
parliamentary or presidential systems. England, Germany, Canada and
Switzerland are a few examples of parliamentary systems.
Party List: A form of PR in which voters vote for their favorite
party. Each party is awarded seats in proportion to the votes that it
receives from the electorate. In Open-List systems, they also vote for
their favorite candidates within the party.
Pluralism: The open competition of political interests.
Plurality Election Systems: An election system in which the winners
are the ones who receive the most votes, without any transferring or other
mechanism to allow for minority representation. One common example is a
city council in which there are 5 seats to fill, all voters get five
votes, and the candidates with the top five totals win. Plurality systems
are horrible in terms of minority representation. Another is the
Presidential election -- the candidate who receives the most votes wins
each state, even if they don't have majority support. Also sometimes
called "At-Large" elections, and District Elections have
traditionally been the proposed remedy.
Political Culture: Attitudes, values, beliefs, and orientations
that individuals in a society hold regarding their political system.
Political Economy: The study of the involvement by the state in the
economy of the nation-state.
Preference Voting: Any sort of voting system in which the voter
ranks the ballot in order of preference, such as the Single Transferable
Vote, the Instant Runoff, Pairwise, Weighted systems, and Bucklin.
Proportional Representation (PR): Proportional representation is
the term used to describe any electoral system that ensures that the
number of seats each party gets is roughly the same as their share of the
vote. The main three types of PR are "MMP", "Choice
Voting", and "Party List". There is also a fourth type of
PR called Interactive Representation. Is the opposite of "winner take
all" or "first past the post" systems. Provides for
majority rule, but with fair minority representation. Minimizes the number
of wasted votes in each election.
PrV: Sometimes used as an abbreviation for Preference Voting
Representative Democracy: A system of government based on the
election of decision-makers by the people.
Residual Powers: Those powers in a federal system of government not
explicitly allocated in a constitution.
Responsible Government: A form of government in which the political
executive must retain the confidence of a majority of the elected
legislature or assembly, and it must resign or call an election if and
when it is defeated on a vote of non-confidence.
Runoff System: An electoral system in which additional rounds of
balloting are held (with trailing candidates dropped) until a candidate
receives a majority of the votes cast.
Semi-Proportional Election: These systems are more proportional
than winner-take-all systems, but not as good as PR systems. The three
most common kinds of semi-proportional systems are Cumulative Voting,
Limited Voting, and non-compensatory mixed member systems.
Simplified STV: A set of rules for counting a Choice Voting
election, which is suitable for a hand count for organizations that have
up to 500 votes in a contest. The system is still fully proportional and
fair, just simpler, not quite as sophisticated as Choice Voting can be. In
Simplified STV there are no surplus ballots. The Hare Threshold is used,
the Fractional STV system is not used, and duplicate rankings are not
allowed. See also "Fractional STV".
Single Transferable Vote (STV): STV is used to elect the Northern
Ireland Assembly, as well as for local and European elections in Northern
Ireland. It is the system favored by the Electoral Reform Society and is
currently being considered by the Scottish Executive for Scottish local
elections. With STV constituencies are combined to produce multi-member
constituencies each electing several MPs. Parties can field more than one
candidate. A single ballot paper is used on which voters rank the
candidates in their order of preference - 1,2,3 and so on. From the total
votes cast a 'quota' is calculated, which is the minimum number of votes
needed for a candidate to be elected. If a candidate has more than the
quota of votes the surplus portion of the votes is transferred to the
voters' next preferences. Similarly, if a candidate does not have
sufficient votes to be elected his or her votes are transferred to the
next preferences on the ballot papers.
Single-Member-Plurality (SMP): An electoral system in which the
candidate with the most votes wins, even though that win may not represent
51% of the votes.
Single-Party Government: A majority government or a minority
government made up of only one political party.
Single Non-Transferable Voting (SNTV): A type of Limited Voting in
which each voter gets one vote. Unlike Single Transferable Voting,
however, the vote is never transferred, so it is a much less powerful
vote.
Weighted Systems: Typically used in sports polls; each voter ranks
the ballot, with each level of vote getting a different number of points.
Ex) a #1 vote might give that candidate/team 5 points, a #2 vote might be
worth 3 points, etc. The points are added up to determine the overall team
rankings. Not a bad system when the voters are very knowledgeable and very
objective. Not a great system for public elections, because the stakes are
so much higher, and people tend to be strong supporters of their favorite
candidates.
Winner Take All Systems: Systems in which 50.1% of the voters can
win 100% of the representation. These systems, by definition, are
un-proportional, the very opposite of Proportional Representation.
Examples are plurality elections and runoff elections, the two most common
types of election systems used in the United States.
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