Electoral Systems and

Representation
Voting lodges sovereignty
“in the people”:

• It legitimates government,
leaders, and legislation
• Obligates citizens to abide by
government laws and policies
An Afghan
refugee in
Pakistan votes
in Afghan
elections,
2004.
Direct Democracy - The Referendum

Proposition 8, California:

“Only marriage between a man and a

woman is valid or recognized in
California.”
Expanding the Franchise

Male
Male
All adult citizens
White
Property
WhiteOwners
Types of Electoral Systems
 Majoritarian Systems

• Majority:
50% + 1
• Plurality:
more than any other party/candidate
 Ridings:

Toronto
 A ‘first past the post’
system over-represents
the winning party.
 October 2008 election
Party Popular vote Parliamentary
seats
Conservatives 38% 46%

Liberals 26% 25%

NDP 18% 12%

BQ 10% 16%

GP 7% 0%
 United Kingdom Elections, 1951

Seats % of Popular Vote

British
Conservative 321 48%
Party

Labour Party 295 48.8%

Other 9 3.2%
 NDP and Bloc Québécois
Seats vs. Popular Vote

18%
16% NDP
49
Percent 14%
Share of 12%
37
Seats/Vote 10% Bloc
8% Québécois
6%
4%
2%
0%
Seats % of Popular
Vote,
Nationwide
Over-representation of winning party

• BAD IDEA
– Unfair to minority parties and minority groups

• GOOD IDEA
– More stable. A small lead in votes translates
into a large lead in parliamentary seats.
Manufactured majority.
Types of Electoral Systems
 Proportional Representation

• Multi-member district

Green
20%
1 candidate
Liberal
40%
2 candidates

NDP
20%
1 candidate
Conservative
20%
1 candidate
Political parties present final lists for 19th Israeli Knesset

Following a tumultuous few weeks of political shuffling,

34 parties have finalized the lists they will be running in next month's elections.
By Haaretz | Dec.07, 2012 | 12:26 AM
Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu
1. Benjamin Netanyahu|
2. Avigdor Lieberman
3. Gideon Sa'ar
4. Yair shamir
5. Gilad Erdan
6. Silvan Shalom
7. Uzi Landau
8. Israel Katz
9. Danny dannon
10. Sofa Landver
 Coalition Governments

Israel
(Coalition Parties,
April 2009):

Likud (27 seats)

Yisrael Beitenu (15)
Labour (13)
Shas (11)
Jewish Home (3)
 Who votes - and why?

• Sociology:
– demography: race, sex, class
• Psychology:
– beliefs and attitudes
• Rational Choice Theory
– People make calculated choices based on
their interests
 Representation

1. Symbolic
representation
2. An agent acting
on your behalf
3. Shared
characteristics
Canada
In the 2008 federal election:

• 940,000 voters supporting the Green Party elected

no one, while fewer Conservative voters in Alberta
alone elected 27 Conservative MPs.
• In the prairie provinces, Conservatives received
roughly twice the votes of the Liberals and NDP
combined, but took seven times as many seats.
• Similar to the last election, a quarter-million
Conservative voters in Toronto elected no one and
neither did Conservative voters in Montreal.
• New Democrats: The NDP attracted 1.1 million more
votes than the Bloc, but the voting system gave the
Bloc 49 seats, the NDP 37.
Toronto 44 ward map
25 ward map (red lines) superimposed
on 44 ward map (blue lines)
Toronto federal election map
(ridings)
www.fairvote.ca