what are the main function of elections
used to choose a representative in a democracy legislators/ decision makers = elected
helps citizens get involved in politics - some only way of political participation
allows those elected to be held to account
gives people a choice - which democracy demands
elections provide an educative function
election provide a mandate
what are the positive aspects of uk election ?
virtually all adults are permitted to vote
freedom of info and of the media
secrecy in the ballot =key principle in uk elections although not guaranteed
little corruption and malpractice = punished by law
the conduct of elections=protected by electoral commission -independent from gov
constituency = clear representation of citizens
counting of votes is carefully and thoroughly regulated
any citizen can register to be an mp £500 deposit many can afford
what are the four main types of electoral systems ?
fptp - first past the post
ams - additional members system
stv - single transferable vote
sv- supplementary vote
what is pluarity
to win a seat requires only one or more vote than any other candidate meaning they do not need to secure an abolute majortiy
what is fptp and what type of system does it use
where the person with highest number of votes is elected.
victory is achieved by having more one more vote than any other contenders - plurality
where is fptp used in the UK
general elections
local council elections in england and wales
what is a majoritarian system ?
used to elect a single candidate theses systems are designed to attempt to secure an absolute majority for the winning candidate
what type of electoral system use majoritarian
sv
this is because voters can make two choices - supplementary vote
how does sv work
if one candidate obtain over 50 % on the first vote then the contest is complete
however if no candidate receives this level all but the top two candidate are removed
then the supplementary vote are distributed and whoever firm the remaining two gets the most votes win
where is the majoritarian system used
sv was used in