ELECTORAL SYSTEM

ELECTORAL/VOTING SYSTEM
According to Andre B. “an electoral or voting system is
how votes are translated into seats”. It determines how
many votes and what kinds of votes are necessary to
award seats to candidates and parties in an election.
Different electoral systems produce different kinds of
result, and give voters different kinds of choices.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM…
An electoral system is the set of rules that
determines how elections and referendums are
conducted and how their results are determined.
Political electoral systems are organized by
governments, while non-political elections may take
place in business, non-profit organizations and
informal organizations.
Electoral systems consist of sets of rules that govern all
aspects of the voting process: when elections occur,
who is allowed to vote, who can stand as a candidate,
how ballots are marked and cast, how the ballots are
counted (electoral method), limits on campaign
spending, and other factors that can affect the
outcome.
Some electoral systems elect a single winner to a
unique position, such as prime minister, president or
governor, while others elect multiple winners, such as
members of parliament or boards of directors.
Political electoral systems:
1. are defined by constitutions and electoral laws,
2. are typically conducted by election commissions,
and
3. can use multiple types of elections for different
offices.
TYPES OF ELECTORAL SYSTEM
There are three (3) main types of electoral systems in
the world with several variations among each on
1. Plurality
2. Majority
3. Proportional representation
Plurality Electoral System
(‘first-past-the-post’): Plurality voting is an electoral
system in which each voter is allowed to vote for only
one candidate, and the candidate who polls the most
among their counterparts (a plurality) is elected.
In single winner plurality voting, each voter is allowed
to vote for only one candidate, and the winner of the
election is whichever candidate represents a plurality
of voters, that is, whoever received the largest number
of votes. This makes plurality voting among the
simplest of all electoral systems for voters and vote
counting officials
BALLOT TYPES
Generally plurality ballots can be categorized into two
forms:
1. The simplest form is a blank ballot where the name
of a candidate(s) is written in by hand.
2. A more structured ballot will list all the candidates
and allow a mark to be made next to the name of a
single candidate (or more than one, in some cases);
however a structured ballot can also include space
for a write-in candidate.
EXAMPLE OF PLURALITY BALLOT
DISADVANTAGES
TACTICAL VOTING
FEWER POLITICAL PARTIES
WASTED VOTES
GERRYMANDERING
MANIPULATION CHARGES
SPOILER EFFECT
TACTICAL VOTING
This is when a voter supports another candidate more
strongly than their sincere preference in order to
prevent an undesirable outcome.
FEWER PARTIES
It is entirely possible that a voter finds all major parties
to have similar views on issues and that a voter does
not have a meaningful way of expressing a dissenting
opinion through his vote.
As fewer choices are offered to voters, voters may vote
for a candidate although they disagree with him,
because they disagree even more with his opponents.
Consequently, candidates will less closely reflect the
viewpoints of those who vote for them.
WASTED VOTES
Wasted votes are votes cast for losing candidates or
votes cast for winning candidates in excess of the
number required for victory.
GERRYMANDER
In gerrymandering, constituencies are deliberately designed
to unfairly increase the number of seats won by one party at
the expense of another. In brief, suppose that governing
party G wishes to reduce the seats that will be won by
opposition party O in the next election. It creates a number
of constituencies in each of which O has an overwhelming
majority of votes. O will win these seats, but a large number
of its voters will waste their votes. Then the rest of the
constituencies are designed to have small majorities for G.
Few G votes are wasted, and G will win a large number of
seats by small margins. As a result of the gerrymander, O's
seats have cost it more votes than G's seats.
SPOILER EFFECT
The spoiler effect is the effect of vote splitting between
candidates or ballot questions with similar ideologies. One
spoiler candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a
major candidate with similar politics thereby causing a strong
opponent of both or several to win. Smaller parties can
disproportionately change the outcome of an FPTP election by
swinging what is called the 50-50% balance of two party systems,
by creating a faction within one or both ends of the political
spectrum which shifts the winner of the election from an absolute
majority outcome to a simple majority outcome favoring the
previously less favored party. In comparison, for electoral systems
using proportional representation small groups win only their
proportional share of representation.
MANIPULATION CHARGES
Manipulation charges: The presence of spoilers often
gives rise to suspicions that manipulation of the slate
has taken place. The spoiler may have received
incentives to run. A spoiler may also drop out at the
last moment, inducing charges that such an act was
intended from the beginning.
Majority Electoral System
Majority rule is a decision rule that selects
alternatives which have a majority, that is, more than
half the votes. It is the binary decision rule used most
often in influential decision-making bodies, including
the legislatures of democratic nations
DISTINCTION WITH PLURALITY
Though plurality (first-past-the post) is often
mistaken for majority rule, they are not the same.
Plurality makes the option with the most votes the
winner, regardless of whether the fifty percent
threshold is passed. This is equivalent to majority rule
when there are only two alternatives. However, when
there are more than two alternatives, it is possible for
plurality to choose an alternative that has less than
fifty percent of the votes cast in its favor.
Proportional Representation
Proportional representation (PR) characterizes
electoral systems by which divisions in an electorate
are reflected proportionately in the elected body.
If n% of the electorate support a particular political
party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that
party
Proportional Representation
1. Party-list proportional representation is the
single most common electoral system and is used by
80 countries, and involves voters voting for a list of
candidates proposed by a party.
2. In closed list systems voters do not have any
influence over the candidates put forward by the
party, but
3. In open list systems voters are able to both vote for
the party list and influence the order in which
candidates will be assigned seats.
RULE & REGULATIONS
In addition to the specific method of electing candidates,
electoral systems are also characterized by their wider
rules and regulations, which are usually set out in a
country's constitution or electoral law. Participatory rules
determine candidate nomination and voter registration,
in addition to the location of polling places and the
availability of online voting, postal voting, and absentee
voting. Other regulations include the selection of voting
devices such as paper ballots, machine voting or open
ballot systems, and consequently the type of vote
counting systems, verification and auditing used.
SUMMARY
Plurality voting is distinguished from a majoritarian
electoral system, in which, to win, a candidate must
receive an absolute majority of votes—i.e. more votes
than all other candidates combined.
Both systems may use single-member or multi-
member constituencies, In the latter case it may be
referred to as an exhaustive counting system: one
member is elected at a time and the process repeated
until the number of vacancies is filled.
Advantages compared to proportional
representation: Plurality is often conflated with
single-winner electoral systems in general, in order to
contrast it with proportional representation. In this
context, it shares advantages, such as local
accountability, with other single-winner systems.
CHARACTERISTICS
Electoral System: Elections often hold under clearly
defined electoral system.
Suffrage: The electorate does not generally include
the entire population; for example, many countries
prohibit those judged mentally incompetent from
voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for
voting. While in Nigeria the voting age is 18, in other
countries it is sixteen.
Used in Democracy: Because democracy is often
regarded as government of the people by the people
and for the people, election is often the main
mechanism used to endure that leadership is arrived at
based on the wish of the people.
Used in Constitutional Monarchy: Elections are
also used in constitutional monarchies where
leadership is not arrived at through voting, but
heredity, but, at the same time, operations of leaders
are subjected to certain constitutional provisions.
Periodicity: Elections come periodically. While in
certain countries they are held every four years as in
the United States and Nigeria, other countries use five
or six years. Whatever it is, the period of elections is
often also contained in a government’s constitution.
FUNCTIONS
Political recruitment
Peaceful transfer of power
Interest articulation
Interest aggregation
Enhancement of political equality
Citizens control of government
Sense of political community
Extra party political participation
Political communication