So last week, I began a series of columns comparing different types of electoral systems. I began by looking at single-member plurality and majority systems. This week I will begin to look at proportional representation systems.
I have discussed proportionality before. In its purest form proportionality would equate seat distribution with the popular vote by treating the country like one big constituency. In other words, if a political party receives 40 per cent of the votes then they should receive 40 per cent of the seats.
This system may seem the most representative of voter preference but there are reasons that pure PR it is not the first choice of electors. In a large country, a single constituency is not desirable because voters like to have some relationship with their local representative. PR systems try to resolve this issue by having multiple representatives in larger constituencies.
There are two main types of electoral systems under the proportional representation banner: the "list system" and the "single transferable vote." Believe it or not, I'm only going to get to explain the list systems this week because they require some detailed explanation. I am once again in debt to the textbook, An Introduction to Government and Politics by Mark O. Dickerson, Thomas Flanagan and Brenda O'Neill to help me explain the different systems.
There are two types of list systems: closed and open.
The closed list system focuses on parties rather than individual candidates. Electors choose which party they want to vote for. Parties make a list of candidates who will be elected depending on the percentage outcome that each party receives in the election.
So let's say that there are five seats in the large constituency. A ballot would be laid out in columns. I am drawing my examples from Mount Holyoke College website (see https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/BeginnningReading/PRsystems.htm. There are lots of great examples on the web of different ballots etc. but this site is good and has lots of detail).
At the top of each column would be the name of a political party and a box in which an "x" can be place. Listed underneath the party name and a list of candidates commensurate with the number of seats available in the riding - the order of names would have been determined by the party. The voter would choose the party that they wish to vote for by placing an x in the box beside the name of the party.
In the "open list" system the voters choose both the party and the candidate. So in a similar way as the closed system, the ballot would be laid out in columns (again see the Mount Holyoke website). At the top of each column would be the name of a political party and listed underneath the party name would be a list candidates with a box beside each candidate's name. Voters would still only have one choice but they could choose the candidate they want from the party list.
There are a number of ways to determine the winners of seats. I will explain one kind of "quota system" using an example drawn from the Mount Holyoke site. A quota would be determined by dividing the total number of possible votes by the total number of seats. So let's say that there are 100,000 votes and 10 seats in the large constituency. By simply dividing the number of seats into the number of votes we determine the quota which in this case would be 10,000 votes.
If a party receives 38,000 votes they would have reached the quota three times giving them three seats with a "remainder" of 8,000. Every party that reached the quota would get a seat and then, if there were seats still left unfilled, the seats would be distributed based on a ranked order of the remainder of the votes.
If you are wondering why you may want a closed party list over an open party, it is because a closed list can allow parties to prioritize individuals from underrepresented groups like women and/or minorities. The PR system, as described here, more closely represents the actual preferences of voters but it makes constituencies even larger than they are now with more diverse representation.
Next time I will look at single transferable vote system but first I need to eat some turkey and spend some time with my loving family.
Happy holidays.
