Canadian & World Politicswww.CraigMarlatt.com/school

Voting Process

Voting Process

1. Electoral Systems

2. Electoral Reform

Electoral Systems

• While numerous variations exist, including complex combinations of multiple systems, there are five main electoral systems:

1. First Past the Post (FPTP)

2. Runoff

3. Proportional Representation (PR)

4. Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)

5. Electoral College (only in the US, only for Pres.)

Electoral Systems

1. First Past the Post (FPTP)

• In FPTP systems, the winning candidate is simply the person who wins most votes.

• In theory, a candidate could be elected with two votes, if every other candidate only secured a single vote.

• FPTP systems are mainly used in former British Empire countries.

Electoral Systems

Electoral Systems

2. Runoff

• Runoff voting is where successive rounds of voting are held until a candidate wins a majority of the positive votes.

• After each inconclusive round, those candidates at the bottom whose votes together do not add up to the votes of the next candidate are eliminated.

• Presidential elections in France and Finland as well as selecting Olympic host cities use this process of voting

Electoral Systems

3. Proportional Representation (PR)

• PR systems give political parties in parliament or legislative assemblies a number of seats approximately proportional to the percentage of vote they received.

• PR systems are used in Israel, The Netherlands, and Cambridge MA (most jurisdictions do not appear to use the “pure” PR method)

Electoral Systems

4. Mixed Member Proportionality (MMP)

• A hybrid system of both FPTP and PR

• Each voter casts a vote for a local candidate (who wins by obtaining the most votes) AND a vote for the political party of their choosing (which wins seats based on the total popular vote)

• MMP is used in Germany, Mexico, Italy, New Zealand, and other parts of the world

Electoral Systems

Vote for a local candidate

…AND vote for a party

Electoral Systems

5. Electoral College

• How to elect the President of the United States?

• Each state is represented by a number of individuals proportionate to its seats in Congress, that is, two Senators and a number of Representatives based on the state's population.

• There are 538 electors, so 270 votes are required to win the presidency.

• The process for selecting electors varies throughout the United States (each state decides the process for choosing its “electors”)

Electoral Systems

• 48 out of the 50 states award electoral votes on a winner-takes-all basis (exceptions: Maine and Nebraska).

• For example, all 55 of California's electoral votes go to the winner of that state election, even if the margin of victory is only 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent.

• It is therefore quite possible that a presidential candidate can win the majority of the popular vote nationally, but not become president.

Electoral Systems

Electoral Systems

• Given the previous slide’s distribution of numbers, it is possible to win the presidential election by winning in just 12 states!

– The big 5: NY, PA, FL, TX, CA = 167

PLUS IL, NJ, NC, GA, MI, IN, MA = 273

– Other interesting divisions: There are only 219 electoral votes available west of the Mississippi River

Electoral Reform

• Voter Apathy– Why Don’t People Vote? (Maclean’s)– Why Are People Not Voting? (Maple Leaf Web)– Explaining the Turnout Decline… (StatsCan Study)– The Importance of One Vote

• Solutions?– Education– Compulsory Voting– Others?

Electoral Reform

• Voting System Reform in Canada

www.fairvote.ca

Electoral Reform

• Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform (Ontario)

www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca

Electoral Reform

• Students' Assembly on Electoral Reform (Ontario)

Electoral Reform

• I am a grade 12 student at Anderson CVI. I am planning on majoring in Political Science at the University of Toronto. I love politics, one day I would like to work for the Canadian Government or the United Nations. I am an active participant in my community; I volunteer at many places including the YMCA. I am also part of the Culture of Peace Committee at my school and am part of many groups including the HIV/AIDS campaign, and plan on starting my own committee on stopping the use of child soldiers in Sudan.

Electoral Reform

• Minister for Democratic Reform (Canada)– First, we've introduced legislation

to modernize the Senate to make it more democratic, more accountable, and more representative of Canadians.

– Second, we are enhancing our electoral system to make it more responsive, fair and effective.

– Third, we are eliminating the per-vote subsidy for political parties.