GEOG 329 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Representative Democracy, Electoral Fraud, Proportional Representation
Document Summary
Representative democracy: representation indirect participation by the polity/community, legitimacy acceptation by the polity/community, accountability responsibility towards the polity/community. Respponsiblity towards the community during the decision-making process. If things go wrong, they can be replaced. Biased selection of voting population: voting criteria(age, gender, ethnicity(esp. indigenous), residence, wealth, literacy, criminal record, timings of elections(working day, limited hours, university breaks) Spatiality of elections: moving voters around (temporarily or through housing policies, logistics of elections (voting booths location, boundaries of electorial districts. First past the post : single party rule, with sizable minority, relatively stable government, clear sign of who is the leader, two parties: alternation, proportional representation: seats proportionate to votes, multiple parties: alliances. Scales of election and governmance: elections and mandates at municipal/provincial/national/federal levels. Territorial representation: fixed electorial districts reflecting historical(eg. feudal/administrative) spatial divisions(e. g two senators per state in the us) Example of purpose: prevent election of a black" congressman after afro-americans were registered for voting(racial gerrymandering)
