Thoughts on Electoral Systems

This week I have been focusing on Electoral Systems in my political studies at Deakin University. These typically refer to the processes used to translate 'votes' into 'seats of a legislature'.  In Australia. that is a local, state or Federal elections that leads to a party or coalition of parties forming government.

"I’ve learnt there are many considerations to the electoral process that have a huge impact on the style of government and electorate participation in a given country".

Such areas include;  

1. The structure of the Ballot paper;
2. District Magnitude i.e. number of candidates in a given electorate, both by party, and in total; and
3. The  mathematical formula used i.e. things like quotas, ratios, thresholds etc.  In Australia we use various forms of ‘preferential voting’ for elections, where a candidate runs for a single-member seat in the lower house (also known as the House of Representatives) and a representative seat in the upper house (or senate).

An electoral system may include a ‘Bonus’ for parties who receive a high number of elected candidates.  This would be referred to as a Highly Proportional (or Majoritarian) electoral system. However, systems with No Bonus would be considered simply Proportional. Other 'Mixed' or 'Semi-proportional' systems exist, and include factors of both.

In conclusion though, my observation is that you will often hear politicians or political engineers calling for ‘electoral change’, ‘greater participation by 'rank-and-file’ members, the need for ‘campaign finance reform’ etc. This is all due to the fact that the Electoral process has historically been the most manipulative part of the major Constitutional structures. Some countries have experienced this more than Australia. The Legislative and Jurisdictional systems are subject to far less change.

The paradox of change to the electoral process suggests that those in Power are unlikely to be motivated to dramatically change the process that keeps them in power. This type of change often requires a strong push from the ground up, either members or the community-at-large. Consider the recent revolving door of Prime Ministers in Australia in both major parties due to the absurdity of how easy it was to change their leader, even in between elections. The public out cry was considerable here, which leads to sufficient changes occurring.

So, as we head towards a Federal election in 2021 (or 22)  and various state and local government elections later this year, these are matters of voting worth reflecting on including the power of your vote, and perhaps why in Australia it is ‘mandatory’ as opposed to the alternative. Just some food for thought.