POLSCI 1G06 Study Guide - Final Guide: First-Past-The-Post Voting

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLSCI 1G06
• Professor: Todd Alway

Document Summary

Finally, fptp systems are particularly praised for being simple to use and understand. A valid vote requires only one mark beside the name or symbol of one candidate. Even if the number of candidates on the ballot paper is large, the count is easy for electoral officials to conduct. It promotes a link between constituents and their representatives, as it produces a legislature made up of representatives of geographical areas. Elected members represent defined areas of cities, towns, or regions rather than just party labels. It allows voters to choose between people rather than just between parties. Voters can assess the performance of individual candidates rather than just having to accept a list of candidates presented by a party. One of the main disadvantages with the first past the post. System is that a party may have a large proportion of the votes but may have only a small amount of seats or possibly none at all.