GOV 310L Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Plurality Voting System, Divided Government, Presidential System
Document Summary
Vests a great deal of power within one individual. Presidential systems are thought by many to lead to authoritarianism. Executive can be removed when he or she becomes deeply unpopular. Elections can be called to settle political disputes that cannot be resolved in the legislature. No body in the uk that says that congress has transgressed the constitution. (which they do not have. ) Another major di erence in government structure between us and other countries: electoral systems. Recall that in the us we use a single-member-district (smd) a plurality system. Some countries with smd do not use the plurality rule. Smd systems are far more common in commonwealth countries and former british colonies. Former colonies simply used the system bequeathed by great britain. Pr is much more common in countries where the labor movement was popular when democracy was established. The primary impact on electoral system is on the e ective number of parties.
