Elections. Chapter 15
No description yet. This curated deck is ready for daily study.
Card preview (13)
First-order elections
elections in which the stakes are highest, usually involving the possibilities of a change of government
Second-order elections
elections in which the stakes are lower, such as local or mid-term elections
Electoral system
a general term for the rules governing an election, including the structure of the ballot (e.g. how many candidates are listed per party)
Electoral formula
how votes are converted to seats
Districting
the division of the territory into separate constituencies
The single-member plurality
an electoral system based on districts that each have one representative, and in which the winner is the candidate with most votes
Proportional representation
an electoral system in which the number of seats won by each of the competing parties is proportional to the number of votes they each win
Distribution requirements
rules specifying how a winning candidate’s votes must be arranged across different regions or social groups
Referendum
a vote of the electorate on a limited issue of public policy such as a constitutional amendment
Gerrymandering
a phenomenon (USA) involving the deliberate redrawing of electoral districts to favor one political party over another
Initiative
a procedure which allows citizens to initiate a popular vote on a given proposal or to place it on the legislature’s agenda
Recall
a popular vote on whether an elected official should be removed from office during normal tenure
Ballot stuffing
a form of electoral fraud in which a person limited by a law to a single vote is able to cast multiple votes in a single booth or to vote in multiple locations