9. ELECTIONS

Today’s Agenda

  • Functions of elections

  • Electoral systems

  • Electoral behaviour

Functions of Elections

  • Instruments of Representative Democracy:

    • Elections serve as essential mechanisms in democratic systems.

    • They allow the populace to express preferences on:

    • Officials and personnel to govern

    • Policies that affect society

  • Selection and Accountability:

    • Elections play a crucial role in selecting government officials

    • They hold elected officials accountable to the voters

  • Legitimacy and System Support:

    • By conducting elections, governments can derive their power from the consent of the governed, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the political system.

Elections in Autocracies

  • Continuity of Functions:

    • Some democratic functions of elections are also relevant in autocratic systems.

  • Specific Functions in Autocracies:

    • Signaling Invincibility: Autocrats may use elections to project power and stability.

    • Allocating Spoils: Elections can be a way to distribute resources to loyal supporters.

    • Co-opting or Dividing the Opposition: Elections can be used to marginalize or split dissenting groups.

    • Obtaining Information: Elections can serve as a source of information about public opinion.

    • Staying in Power: Primarily, elections are utilized by autocratic leaders to maintain power.

Electoral Systems Overview

  • Definition:

    • Electoral systems are the set of rules that determine how voters can express their preferences and how seats in a legislature are allocated to parties or candidates. (Blais 1988: 100)

  • Types of Electoral Systems:

    • Majoritarian Systems:

    • Typically involve single-seat constituencies.

    • Seats are awarded to candidates who achieve a plurality or majority of the votes.

    • Proportional Representation (PR) Systems:

    • Functions in one or several multi-seat constituencies.

    • Seats are allocated in proportion to the votes received by parties.

Comparison of Majoritarian and Proportional Representation Systems

  • Majoritarian Systems:

    • Generally lead to legislative majorities and facilitate majority rule.

    • Typically represent parties as coalitions, resulting in less choice for voters.

    • Often involve smaller constituencies.

  • Proportional Representation (PR) Systems:

    • Allow seats to be allocated in proportion to votes received, facilitating proportional influence in the legislature.

    • Tend to result in coalitions of parties, providing voters with more choices.

    • Allocate larger constituencies.

The Single Transferable Vote (STV)

  • Description:

    • Voters rank candidates rather than voting for a party.

    • Used in multi-member constituencies.

    • Seats are allocated to individual candidates based on ordinal votes without a standard PR formula.

    • Allows for multiple candidates per party competing against each other while sharing the same party label.

Electoral Behaviour

  • Voting Trends:

    • The reasons for the turnout of eligible voters during elections can generally be categorized into three factors:

    • Inability to Vote: Some voters may face barriers preventing them from voting.

    • Lack of Desire to Vote: Certain individuals may not find sufficient motivation to participate.

    • No Invitation to Vote: Many eligible voters might not be actively solicited to vote. (Brady et al. 1995: 271)

Explaining Vote Choice

  • Explanatory Factors:

    • Different explanations for voter choice can be categorized into various types:

    • Short-term vs. Long-term Factors

    • Group Level vs. Individual Level

  • Instability of Voting Behaviour:

    • Individuals’ choices and overall election results exhibit less stability over time.

Standard Approaches to Vote Choice

  • Factors Influencing Vote Choice:

    • Membership in social groups affects voting behaviour.

    • Party identification plays a significant role.

    • Spatial voting refers to choosing candidates based on their ideological proximity.

    • Economic and performance-based voting consider voters’ evaluations of economic conditions or governmental performance.

  • Campaign Implications:

    • Understanding these factors allows campaigns to focus on mobilization, persuasion, issue emphasis, and framing to attract voters.

Concluding Remarks

  • Elections serve critical functions in both democracies and autocracies, although the nature of these functions may vary.

  • Different electoral systems (majoritarian and PR) imply fundamentally different approaches to casting votes and allocating seats, influencing political dynamics.

  • A broad array of approaches exists to explain why individuals participate in elections and how they make voting decisions.