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CHAPTER TEN: ELECTIONS AND VOTERS

10.1 Scope and franchise: how many elected offices? Second-order elections and coat-tails. Who can vote? Should criminals, the insane and non-citizens resident be excluded? Flexibility for non-citizens within the EU (pp. 185-6).

 

10.2 Electing legislatures: nonproportional systems for representing territory - plurality and majority methods. The seats bonus for the largest party under the plurality method. The possibility of the party with most votes not gaining most seats. Tactical voting. Gerrymandering. The alternative vote; two-round systems (pp. 186-90).

 

10.3 Proportional representation for representing parties and assemblies. Party lists. Open and closed lists, district magnitude and thresholds. Mixed member proportional systems (e.g. Germany): the best of both worlds? Parallel systems (non-proportional): mixed member majoritarian (e.g. Russia) (pp. 190-2).

 

10.4 The impact of electoral systems on party systems: Duverger. Electoral reform, as in Japan, New Zealand, making a difference but no cure-all (pp. 150-4). Design of electoral systems: the case for party list PR (pp. 192-4).

 

10.5 Electing presidents: predominance of majority system. Indirect election. Distribution requirements and failed elections. Term limits. Whether concurrent with assembly elections or not (pp. 194-8).

 

10.6 Turnout and its decline, despite no fall in political interest. Possible explanations: declining importance of elections and diminished satisfaction with politicians. Cross-national variations in turnout. For and against compulsory voting (pp. 200-3).

 

10.7 Voting behaviour: traditional party identification model. Dealignment: a process not a state. Newer approaches: retrospective voting, economic voting, party image (pp. 203-5).

 

10.8 Referendums, initiative and recall. Employed for constitutional and moral issues. Safety-valve function. Easily manipulated. Reluctance of voters to embrace change. How desirable is push-button democracy? Schwarzenegger’s success through the initiative in California in 2003 (pp. 198-200).

 

10.9 Elections in authoritarian states: communist contests as an opportunity for lectures by party agitators. Constrained competition in authoritarian states; techniques for disadvantaging the opposition. Role of elections in allowing the centre to monitor popularity of local politicians. (pp. 205-6).

 

10.10 Elections in illiberal democracies: elections are made rather than stolen. Manipulation of the media. Role of patronage in buying and maintaining support. Some intimidation of opponents (pp. 206-7).