Critically assess these chocolate

bars from the US and UK

Critically assess the electoral systems operating in US
presidential and UK general elections

Outline a criteria for effective for

electoral systems
Compare and evaluate the UK and US
electoral systems
Critically assess the UK and US electoral
systems
 Unit 3 and 4 – 30 Marks - ‘statement’ discuss / evaluate the view that y? To what
extent have..? ‘statement’ evaluate the reasons for and consequences of x… Assess
the s of x…?

AO1 – knowledge and understanding

A covers all features of elections in detail
Makes many detailed synoptic links to compare a wide range of
points
B Shows detailed knowledge and understanding of a wide range of
election features
Makes detailed synoptic links to compare UK and US elections
C Shows relevant and accurate knowledge and understanding of
elections
Makes synoptic links to compare UK and US elections
D Identifies relevant knowledge and understanding of elections
Starts to make synoptic links to compare UK and US elections

Outline a criteria for effective for electoral systems

 Critically assess the electoral systems operating in US
presidential and UK general elections

WORD BANK
 Legitimacy
 Representation
 Equal rights
 Participation
 Mandate
 Transparency
 Accountability
 Rule of Law

The UK and the US whilst both, legitimately, claiming to be liberal democracies have
very different arrangements for elections. These differences have a huge impact upon
the type of government and politics produced as a consequence.

Outline a criteria for effective for electoral systems

Compare and evaluate the UK and US electoral systems
 AO1 – knowledge and understanding
A Covers all features of elections in detail
Makes many detailed synoptic links to
compare a wide range of points

B Shows detailed knowledge and

understanding of a wide range of
election features
Makes detailed synoptic links to
compare UK and US elections
C Shows relevant and accurate knowledge
and understanding of elections
Makes synoptic links to compare UK and
US elections
D Identifies relevant knowledge and
understanding of elections
Starts to make synoptic links to
compare UK and US elections

Compare and evaluate the UK and US electoral systems

Compare and evaluate the UK and US electoral systems
Compare and evaluate the UK and US electoral systems
 9 Things that the USA
could learn from UK
elections
1. Using the Queen as
head of state as an
unelected
2. Shorter cheaper
elections
3. More focus on
national party policy
and principle over
personalities
4. Banning TV
campaign ads
5. No leader term limits
6. Strict limits in the UK
on campaign
spending
7. No Primaries
8. 5 year fixed terms
between elections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9BSKFcat2g
(less frequent)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXWsZbBUDJQ
9. No electoral college https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2sGhJKOoFc
http://mashable.com/2015/03/31/uk-us-
election-differences/#fcMobbVPZsq2

Critically assess the UK and US electoral systems

 Unit 3 and 4 – 30 Marks - ‘statement’ discuss / evaluate the view that y? To what
extent have..? ‘statement’ evaluate the reasons for and consequences of x… Assess
the s of x…?

AO1 – knowledge and understanding

covers all features of elections in detail
A Makes many detailed synoptic links to compare a wide range of
points
Now using
what you
Shows detailed knowledge and understanding of a wide range
B of election features have learnt go
Makes detailed synoptic links to compare UK and US elections back to some
of your work
Shows relevant and accurate knowledge and understanding of and using a *
C elections insert some
Makes synoptic links to compare UK and US elections comparative
links with UK
D Identifies relevant knowledge and understanding of elections politics
Starts to make synoptic links to compare UK and US elections

Critically assess the UK and US electoral systems

 Wider Reading
• See Insight for PDF reading
• Update with any 2016 election examples for the
USA
• Sort out and review notes from Unit 1
• Bring an interesting article about voting behaviour
in the USA in the 2016 presidential election

Outline a criteria for effective for electoral systems

UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
UK elections are decided using the single member
plurality or FPTP. Elections to the House of
Commons are completed in constituencies which
elect and MP to the House of Commons using a
winner takes all system. Once votes are counted
all votes for candidates who did not win are known
as wasted votes. Seats in which the outcome is
expected to be close are know as marginal seats
and seats which are likely to be predictable are
known as safe seats. Incumbents are usually likely
to be re-elected. This system benefits the 2 party
system and third parties tend to lose out with the
most wasted votes as their votes tend to be more
spread out. However there are other electoral
systems used in other UK elections For example in
European elections: closed list, Scottish and Welsh
devolved assembly elections: AMS mixed and in
Northern Ireland STV. Turnout tends to be slightly
higher in the UK at closer to 60-70%.
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Presidents are elected using the electoral college
system which uses a winner takes all system in all
states except Maine and Nebraska. This means that
it is possible for a candidate to win the popular vote
but not the presidency. For Congressional elections
each state elects their 2 senators in state wide
elections and in districts for the House of
Representatives. These use the winner takes all
system and so have wasted votes. In both types of
election there are Swing and safe states/districts in
which outcomes are less predictable and so
candidates focus largely on these in their
campaigns. Turnout is usually around 50-60% but
will be higher in races which are seen as genuinely
competetive and in Swing states.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Prime ministers are indirectly elected. They
are the leader of the party who wins a
majority of the seats in the house of
Commons. Party leaders are selected by party
members in different ways depending on how
each party internally decides. Usually the
Parliamentary party (the party elite who are
MPS) usually have a large say and ordinary
voters have no say on this and so who
become Prime minister.
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Presidents and Congress are voted for directly
in the USA. They do have to be selected
through primaries and caucuses and the
House of Representatives and the Senate may
have to select the winner in the case of a
deadlocked Electoral College but the principle
is that the public directly vote for the
executive in the USA.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
The General election is fought with usually only
around a month to go before the elections day.
Although voters are voting for MPs campaigns are
party centred and national although party leaders
do play a role. TV debates have become a recent
features in which party leaders take part. These
have been taken from the US system and many
have seen this as evidence the role of party leaders
and the Prime minster as becoming more
presidential. The Media do play a role and have
been said to be able to influence voters to a large
extent, however there is no TV advertising although
party political broadcasts exist but not on
mainstream TV. Parties use manifestos to share
their policies with the electorate and are generally
considered fairly binding. It is not uncommon
during Commons Question Time for Opposition
MP’s to state: “In your manifesto you said………why
hasn’t this happened?”
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
The General election campaign is lengthy and
involves huge amounts of money which is raised
during the invisible primary. Much of which is spent
on campaign advertising. Due to campaign finance
reform and the use of soft money by 527 groups
and PACs the campaign can be quite negative. The
campaign therefore is candidate centred and
focuses on the individuals standing for elections.
Televised debates are a feature of US elections and
take place between the candidates of the 2 main
parties (and rarely third party candidates).
Candidates run on platforms and will tend to focus
on one issue or plank which is not considered to be
binding. It is what would be done given the perfect
opportunity to do so.
Campaigns tend to be localised for Congressional
elections which makes incumbency an advantage
for congressional elections as candidates can show
what you have done for your local area/state. n
America, some say that there are 50 elections as
opposed to just one.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Candidates who stand as MPs are selected
from their party or they can fund themselves
to stand as independents. This takes place
immediately before the General Election. The
Conservatives did begin to hold primaries in
seats with no incumbent to chose the
conservative candidate where they sent
ballots to all registered voters in the
constituency but this has not been continued.
Some parties are seeking to stop the 3Ms of
candidates (male, middle class and middle
aged) so they may use all women short lists as
a for of positive discrimination for minority
candidates. The Labour party have been seen
to parachute in candidates they prefer near to
an election to increase their chances of
winning the seat.
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Candidates are selected using either primaries
or caucuses in which party members and
some members of the public cast votes for
delegates who then select the final party
candidate for president at the National
Conventions which take place in the summer
before the general election. It is lengthy, time
consuming and a very expensive media
process. The parties don’t play a huge role in
selecting candidates other than the super
delegates who make up 20% of the National
Conventions.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Campaign finance is legally limited. Election
expenditure is very low and the whole 2015
election in the UK cost lest than was spent in
one state Senate race. Most campaign
fundraising and spending is undertaken by the
political parties which makes it subject to
greater scrutiny and legislation and people are
also less willing to contribute to parties other
than party members. Candidates can spend
up to £30,700, plus 9p per voter in county
constituencies, and 6p per voter in borough
seats ahead of the official campaign. During
the official campaign a candidate can spend
£8,700, plus 9p per voter in county
constituencies and 6p per voter in borough
seats. All donations over £50 must be
declared
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Campaign finance is legally limited however
the Supreme Court rulings based on freedom
of speech (the first amendment) have meant
various loopholes have meant that campaign
spending has continued to rise with
November 2012 costing $6 billion dollars now
being a regular feature and set to continue to
rise with the use of soft money loopholes by
527s and Super PACs raising funds and the use
of the internet to raise huge amounts of Hard
Money where Obama has set the trend to
refuse federal matching funds.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Referendums can take place between
elections but they are always called by the
government and usually on constitutional
issues such as the EU or Devolution which
require an extra mandate for increased
legitimacy.
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
Referendums can be called by state
legislatures. Initiatives and propositions can
be called by groups of citizens with 5-10% of
the total populations’ signatures. Recall
elections can initiated by the people should
there be situations in a fixed term election
that a person in office has shown misconduct
or scandal.
Add any
UK Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
UK Parliamentary elections take place every 5 years
in years ending with 0/5.
The House of Lords is not subject to election
however this may be reformed in the future.
Elections which take place in individual
constituencies between elections are called Bi-
elections and are closely followed as they provide a
litmus test to show the popularity of the parties.
They can often result in poor results for the
government’s party. MPs are less likely to be re-
elected based on incumbency and so there are
more competitive seats.
Add any
US Electoral Feature
This Feature of elections is :
The US has fixed term elections for all offices. The
US president serves 4 year terms and can only serve
2 terms in total. The House serve 2 years terms and
the Senate 6 and they may also go through
primaries and caucuses. The US President has no
flexibility. The date of each US national election is
set in stone by the constitution and the President
goes into it on the back of whatever news is around
at the time – be it good or bad. He cannot call an
election – as it has to take place in the first week on
November. Congressional elections which take
place between presidential election years are
known as mid term elections and they often result
in a decline in votes for the president's party. Such
frequent elections and the lengthy invisible primary
make people describe the permanent campaign
which switches voters off – talking about voter
fatigue.
Add any