Functions of Elections: MADE RI

Elections serve multiple crucial functions in democratic societies, known by the acronym MADE RI:

1. Mandate: Elections provide a mandate for the government and representatives.
2. Accountability: They hold elected officials accountable to the people.
3. Democratic choice: Elections offer citizens a choice in who represents them.
4. Educative function: The process educates citizens about politics and issues.
5. Representatives: Elections are used to choose representatives.

Highlight: Elections are often the primary way citizens are involved in politics.

The UK employs various types of electoral systems:

1. Plurality systems (e.g., First Past the Post)
2. Proportional systems (e.g., Single Transferable Vote)
3. Hybrid systems (e.g., Additional Member System)

Definition: First Past the Post (FPTP) is a majoritarian system where the winner needs more votes than any other candidate.

Example: FPTP is used in UK general elections.

Other voting systems used in the UK include:

• Supplementary Vote (SV) for London Mayor elections
• Additional Member System (AMS) for Scottish Parliament and London Assembly
• Single Transferable Vote (STV) for Northern Ireland Assembly elections

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

The Single Transferable Vote system is used for electing representatives to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Here's how STV works:

1. Voters rank candidates according to preference (they can vote for as many candidates as they want).
2. A quota is calculated to determine how many votes a candidate needs to be elected.
3. If no candidate reaches the quota, the bottom candidate is eliminated, and their preference votes are redistributed.
4. This process is repeated until the correct number of candidates is elected.
5. If a candidate receives more votes than necessary, surplus votes are transferred to second-choice candidates.

Vocabulary: Droop quota - The formula used to calculate the number of votes needed to secure a seat in STV elections.

Advantages of STV:

• Highly proportional system
• Maintains constituency link
• Offers higher voter choice
• Encourages power-sharing
• Represents polarized communities
• Reduces tactical voting

Disadvantages of STV:

• Can lead to unstable governments
• Potentially confusing for voters
• Requires large constituencies
• May result in party fragmentation

Example: In Northern Ireland, STV is used to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from 18 constituencies, each electing 5 MLAs.

Highlight: STV is considered one of the most proportional voting systems, aiming to minimize wasted votes and maximize voter choice.

How First Past the Post Works

The First Past the Post system operates as follows:

1. The UK is divided into constituencies.
2. Voters in each constituency place a single vote for their preferred candidate.
3. The candidate with the most votes wins the seat.
4. One winner is elected for each constituency, making it a plurality system.

Definition: Plurality system - A voting method where the candidate with the most votes wins, even without an absolute majority.

Key issues with FPTP:

1. Concentrated support: Some parties may have strong support in specific areas, leading to safe seats.
2. Safe seats: Constituencies where the same political party consistently retains the seat. In 2019, an estimated 316 out of 650 seats were considered safe.
3. Marginal seats: Constituencies held by a small majority or plurality of votes. There were 141 marginal seats in 2019.

Highlight: Parties that benefit from FPTP, like Conservatives and Labour, are less likely to call for reform.

Consequences of FPTP:

• Parties pay less attention to safe seats
• Votes can be wasted or have unequal value (70% of votes were wasted in 2014)
• Parties concentrate efforts on marginal seats
• Can result in tactical voting

Example: In marginal seats, votes are considered more valuable, which can lead to increased campaign focus and tactical voting.

Additional Member System (AMS)

The Additional Member System is a hybrid voting system used in some UK elections. Here's how AMS works:

1. Each voter gets two votes.
2. One vote is for a constituency candidate, using FPTP.
3. The second vote is for a party list, using proportional representation.
4. The final parliament typically consists of a mix of FPTP and PR seats.

Example: The Scottish Parliament has 129 MSPs in total: 73 representing individual constituencies and 56 from regional party lists (8 regions, each returning 7 MSPs).

Advantages of AMS:

• More proportional than FPTP
• Maintains constituency link
• Fewer wasted votes
• Better representation for smaller parties
• Relatively simple to understand
• Can produce strong governments

Disadvantages of AMS:

• Overlapping responsibilities between constituency and list MSPs
• Increased party power
• Potential for unstable governments
• May allow extremist parties to gain seats
• Retains safe seats from FPTP component
• More complicated vote counting
• Lack of choice in party lists

Highlight: AMS attempts to balance the benefits of FPTP (local representation) with the proportionality of PR systems.