Electoral Systems

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Electoral Systems
Electoral Systems - Part 2 Values, Features,
Reform

• Values, Features, Reform
• Presentation to Commissioners
• January 8-9, 2004

Presentation to Commissioners January 8 and 9,
2004
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Summary

• Purpose review of key points in academic
  literature
• Focus
• Electoral system families
• Electoral system truths, effects, and values
• Comparison First-past-the-post vs. Proportional
  representation
• Electoral system reform

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Electoral System Truths

• There is no perfect electoral system.
• All electoral systems have biases.
• Electoral systems influence behaviour by
  parties, by voters with built-in
  incentives/disincentives.
• Best electoral system reflects most important
  democratic values of society.
• Electoral systems affect legitimacy.
• Same electoral systems have different effects in
  each jurisdiction.

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Electoral System Effects

• Mechanical
• Translate votes into seats
• Elect a government
• Choose individual representatives
• Determine party viability

• Behavioural
• Voter turnout participation
• Party diversity democratization
• Candidate / party appeals and base
• Exclusionary or inclusive political activity

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Basic Electoral System Hypothesis

• Political parties and politicians are rational
  actors responding to the incentives/disincentives
  contained in the electoral system, namely
• Electoral formula
• Threshold
• Ballot structure

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Electoral System Values

• Fairness are there built-in biases that affect
  results/turnout?
• Representation does it produce results that
  broadly reflect the way society looks?
• Equality do all votes count or are many wasted?
• Accountability can voters clearly identify and
  hold governments accountable does it produce
  effective opposition?
• Effectiveness does it produce stable, working
  governments able to govern?
• Legitimacy do voters accept the results of the
  election actions of the government / legislature?

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Values Comparison

• FPTP
• Stable, effective governments
• Clear accountability
• Direct relationship with member
• Broad-based, centrist parties
• Systemic legitimacy

• PR
• Fairness to voters/parties
• Equality of votes
• Greater diversity of parties and representation
• Greater voter participation
• Systemic legitimacy

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Two Key Questions

• Which democratic values matter most to New
  Brunswickers?
• Which electoral system will reflect those values
  most?

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FPTP vs. PR Different Perspectives

• FPTP chooses a government.
• Key word accountability
• PR elects a legislature.
• Key word representation

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FPTP Arguments For

• Results
• Clear, obvious results
• Simple to count
• Easy to vote
• Produces stable, single party majority
  governments
• Parties
• Nourishes strong 2-party system
• Effective opposition (govt-in-waiting)
• Encourages centrist, broad-based parties

• Accountability
• Maintains direct relationship with MLA
• Clear lines of accountability to MLA to
  government
• Satisfaction
• Familiar to voters, parties
• Economic/social progress

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FPTP Arguments Against

• Results
• Majority of votes cast not needed to win (winner
  take all)
• Wasted votes
• Arbitrary translation of votes into seats
• Regional political wastelands
• Women/minorities under-represented
• Accountability
• Dominant one-party rule
• Reduces opposition representation

• Parties
• Minority/third parties excluded
• Adversarial system encouraged
• Discourages compromise / inclusion / brokerage
• Satisfaction
• Turnout declining
• extra-political activities increasing

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PR Arguments For

• Results
• Congruence between votes cast and seats won
• Fewer wasted votes
• Mirror representation of society in legislature
• More women, minorities elected
• Produces coalition/minority governments
• Accountability
• Single member component can exist

• Parties
• More parties represented in legislature
• Parties more representative
• Encourages inter-party cooperation / compromise
• Some internal democratization
• Satisfaction
• Increased turnout
• Checks and balances on government
• Economic/social progress

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PR Arguments Against

• Results
• Minority/coalition governments
• Less effective / stable government
• Not always true proportionality
• Accountability
• Direct link with member diffused

• Parties
• Party leadership power reinforced
• Extremist parties can gain
• narrow political appeals rewarded
• Satisfaction
• More politics by parties and members

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Canadians Attitudes Towards Voting SystemFeb.
2001, Ipsos-Reid Survey Policy Options,
July-August, 2001

• How Voting System Works Now
• 50 believe candidate must get majority of all
  votes cast in riding to win seat
• 47 believe party must win majority of all votes
  cast to form government

• Want from Voting System
• 92 want good representation from different
  regions
• 71 say should produce strong majority
  governments that can get things done
• 76 say should produce stable governments
• 64 say should award seats in Parliament based on
  proportion of popular vote received by party

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Canadians Attitudes Towards Changing Voting
SystemFeb. 2001, Ipsos-Reid Survey Policy
Options, July-August, 2001

• 60 prefer system which gives each party a number
  of seats based on its proportion of popular vote
• 36 prefer system which produces strong majority
  governments
• 59 answered yes to direct question of changing
  electoral system to provide PR in House of
  Commons (38 said no)

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Recent Electoral System Changes

• These 3 jurisdictions changed from
• first-past-the-post to mixed member
  proportional.
• New Zealand (1996) FPTP MMP
• Scotland (1999) FPTP MMP
• Wales (1999) FPTP MMP

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Satisfaction with Changes

• Scotland 58 said keep to the new way of
  voting (32 return to FPTP) 2000 survey
• Wales 56 said keep to the new way of voting
  (33 return to FPTP) - 2000 survey
• New Zealand (then) 42 favoured new MMP system
  at time of election (31 favoured FPTP) 1996
  survey
• New Zealand (now) 44 favour MMP 43 favour
  FPTP - Nov. 2003 survey

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Academic Sources

• International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and
  Electoral Assistance) Handbook of Electoral
  System Design
• Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE)
  Project Electoral Systems Handbook
• Electoral Engineering Voting Rules and Political
  Behaviour, Norris, Pippa, 2002
• Electoral Systems A Comparative Introduction,
  Farrell, David, 2001
• Criteria for Assessing Electoral Systems,
  Blais, Andre, 1999
• Canadian Perspectives on the Voting System,
  Bricker, Darryl Redfern, Policy Options,
  July-August, 2001
• MMP A Study of Public Attitudes, Report of New
  Zealand House of Representatives Review of MMP,
  2003
• Renewing Democracy Debating Electoral Reform in
  Canada, Law Commission of Canada, Discussion
  Paper, 2003
• Plurality-Majority Electoral Systems A Review,
  Courtney, John 1999