POL S101 Lecture Notes - Wasted Vote, Proportional Representation, Party System

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL S101
• Professor: Davina Rousell

Document Summary

Authoritarian and dictatorships still use elections because they legitimize their leadership. The voting paradox: voting is a mechanism for making collective decisions, key component of representation, assumed to ensure that majority preference are reflected in decisions. ** the outcome or the method we use to count a vote or use in assessing the votes is crucial and can alter the outcome. How we are able to confirm who won, the method we use is very important. Elections: a method of assessing preferences through votes, central to democracy, two basic types of electoral systems: plurality (first-past-the-post majority; and proportional representation) Simple plurality system: first-past-the-post , simplest system (the most votes wins, gives winning party a clear majority, encourages strong opposition parties, and discourages extremism. Problems with plurality: can exaggerate margins of victory, the wasted vote problem. Votes for a party that cannot realistically win are considered to be. Can discourage supporters from voting in future elections.