Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Mixed-Member Proportional Representation, Single Transferable Vote, Majoritarianism
17 Apr 2018
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We begin this lecture by discussing the functions of elections. Bottom-up functions include recruiting politicians and determining who gets to govern. Elections may also influence policy at least to some extent, as elected politicians operate under constraints such as globalization and economic crisis which may require actions that go against their election promises. Top- down functions include the strengthening of elites, as well as sustaining democracy, by channeling popular frustrations into official institutional processes. The rest of the lecture deals with electoral systems, which are important because they determine election results as well as how people feel about their democracy. Majoritarian systems emphasize single-member districts, with the winning candidate earning the exclusive right to represent the district winner takes all. Proportional representation often involves the selection of parties rather than candidates, and multi-member districts within which seats are dist(cid:396)i(cid:271)uted (cid:271)ased o(cid:374) ea(cid:272)h pa(cid:396)ty(cid:859)s p(cid:396)opo(cid:396)tio(cid:374) of the popula(cid:396) (cid:448)ote winner takes some. Majoritarianism can be organized in three different ways.
