Elections and Electoral Systems

Sincere Voting

When the voter votes for the candidate that is their most preferred

Strategic Voting

When the voter votes for the most preferred candidate that has the realistic chance of winning

Split-ticket Voting

When a voter in an election votes for candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election

Straight-ticket Voting

Where a voter chooses candidates from the same political party for every office up for election

Retrospective Voting

Voting to decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past

Prospective Voting

Voting based on predictions of how a party or candidate will perform in the future

First Order Elections

Elections that determine the government and/or executive power in a political system

Second Order Elections

Elections that are viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media

Referendum

A vote of the electorate on a limited issue of public policy such as a constitutional amendment

Initiative

A procedure which allows citizens either to initiate a popular vote on a given proposal or to place it on the legislature's agenda

Recall

(1) A popular vote on whether an elected official should be removed from office during normal tenure (2) Typically require a minimum proportion of the votes cast for that office in the previous election for the motion to be brought up for popular vote

Majoritarian System

(1) Can either require an absolute majority or a plurality (2) Often produce outcomes where one party achieves a majority of seats available, even if the party's candidates do not achieve a majority of votes

Single-Member District Plurality System (SMDP)

Candidates win with the most votes, even if they do not win with an absolute majority of votes (candidate could win with only one vote); Used in the UK and former british colonies, US

Single Nontransferable Vote (SNTV)

(1) Similar to SMDP systems in that candidates that win the most votes gain a seat, even if they do not win a majority of votes (2) The system is more proportional due to multimember districts; Used in Puerto Rico, Vanuatu

Alternative Vote (AV)

(1) Candidate-centered preference voting system used in single-member districts where voters rank order the candidates; voters note their first, second, third, etc. choices on the ballot (2) If no candidates win the absolute majority, then the candidate with the fewest votes is dropped and their voters' second choice is apportioned; Used in Australia

Majority-Runoff Two-Round System (TRS)

(1) Single candidate-centered vote in a single member district; any candidate who obtains an absolute majority in the first round wins the elections (2) If no candidate reaches this threshold, then the two candidates earning the highest number of votes campaign in a runoff election 1-2 weeks later; the candidate that earns the majority of votes, wins the election

Proportional System

Electoral system where the goal is to produce proportional outcomes

District Magnitude

(1) The number of representatives elected in an election (2) The system is more proportional as the district magnitude increases and allow smaller parties to win seats; as the magnitude increases, this also decreases the linkage between the voter and candidate/party

Electoral Threshold

The minimum level of voter support a party needs to obtain legislative representation

Natural Threshold

The mimimum level of voter support a party needs to obtain legislative representation that arise as a mathematical by-product of the electoral system (Ex. The Netherlands has one national electoral district of 150 seats, therefore each candidate must earn 1/150 or 0.67% of the vote to win a seat)

Formal Threshold

The minimum level of voter support a party needs to obtain a legislative representation explicitly written into the electoral system (Ex. Legally parties must achieve 5% of vote in Germany to gain representation)

Closed Party List

A party list in which voters can only indicate their preferred party and can't express a preference for a particular candidate

Open Party List

A party list in which voters can indicate not only their preferred party but also their favored candidate within that party

Free Party List

A party list in which voters have multiple votes that they can allocate either within a single party list or across different party lists

Single Transferable Vote

(1) Candidate-centered preference voting system based on multimember districts where voters rank order the candidates (2) Candidates must obtain a specific number of votes to gain office, and if this does occur, then the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice votes is eliminated; votes from the eliminated candidate are then reallocated according to the designated second preferences

Electoral Tier

A level at which votes are translated into seats; the lowest tier is the district or constituency level and higher tiers are constitued by grouping together different lower-tier constituencies, typically at the regional or national level