Flashcards
Key Words - Voting Systems
Cards in this deck (21)
- 1PluralityThe electoral process in which the candidate who polls more votes than any other candidate is elected
- 2MajoritarianThe electoral process in which the candidate who polls more votes than all other candidates put together is elected
- 3Proportional RepresentationAn electoral system designed to represent in a legislative body each political group or party in proportion to its actual voting strength in the electorate
- 4Safe SeatsA seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both
- 5MarginalsA marginal political area or position can be won by only a small number of votes because support for the main parties is equally divided among the people voting
- 6Wasted VotesAny vote which is not for an elected candidate or, more broadly, a vote that does not help to elect a candidate
- 7Tactical VotingIn elections with more than two candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than their sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome
- 8Single-Member ConstituencyAn electoral district or constituency having a single representative in a legislative body rather than two or more
- 9Multi-Member ConstituencyAn electoral district or constituency having two or more representatives in a legislative body
- 10Single-Party GovernmentA government in which only a single political party constitutes the government
- 11Hung ParliamentA parliament in which no party has an overall majority, which means no party has more than half of MPs in the House of Commons
- 12Overall MajorityIf a political party wins an overall majority in an election or vote, they get more votes than the total number of votes or seats won by all their opponents
- 13CoalitionA temporary alliance for combined action,
especially of political parties forming a
government - 14ReferendumA general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision
- 15QuotaA government imposed trade restriction that limits the number, or in certain cases, the value, of goods and services that can be imported or exported during a particular time period
- 16Cube LawAn empirical observation regarding democratic elections under the first-past-the-post system. The rule suggest that the party getting the most votes is over-represented
- 17Swing VoteA vote that is seen as potentially going to any of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties
- 18AccountabilityThe acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies
- 19MandateThe authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative
- 20ThresholdThe minimum share of the vote which a
political party requires to secure a representation - 21Durverger’s LawThe principal that asserts that plurality rule elections structured within single-member constituencies tend to favour a two-party system
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- Flashcards on Key Words - Voting Systems, created by sophie.lee.rober on 21/08/2015.
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