If we analyze in detail the types of modern electoral systems, it turns out that there are so many countries in the world, so many types. This, of course, is about democratic states. But there are only three main types of electoral systems. With its advantages and disadvantages.
What types of electoral systems are the best today? No serious political scientist will answer this question. Because it’s like in clinical medicine: “you need to treat not a disease in general, but a specific patient” - take into account everything, starting from the person’s age and weight, ending with complex genetic analyzes. So with the types of electoral systems - numerous factors play a role: the country's history, time, political situation, international, economic and national nuances - there is nothing to list in the article. But in reality, when the most basic principles of the country's political system related to suffrage are discussed and approved, absolutely everything should be taken into account. Only in this case it will be possible to talk about an adequate electoral system "here and now."
Wording and definitions
The concept and types of electoral systems are presented in the sources in several versions:
- The electoral system in the broad sense is
“The totality of the legal norms forming the suffrage. The right to vote is the totality of legal rules governing the participation of citizens in elections. ”
- The electoral system in the narrow sense is
"The totality of legal rules determining the voting results."
If we argue from the point of view of the organization and conduct of the elections, the following wording seems most adequate.
The electoral system is a technology for transforming the votes of voters into the mandates of delegates. This technology must be transparent and neutral so that all parties and candidates are on an equal footing.
The concept and definition of suffrage and the electoral system changes from one historical stage to another and from one country to another. Nevertheless, the main types of elective systems have already developed into a clear unified classification, which is accepted throughout the world.
Types of Electoral Systems
The classification of species is based on the mechanism for the distribution of mandates based on voting results and the rules for the formation of power structures and authorities.
In the majority system, the candidate or party with the most votes wins. Types of majority election system:
- In an absolute majority system, 50% + 1 vote is needed to win.
- In the relative majority system, a simple majority of votes is needed, even if it is less than 50%. The simplest and most clear variant for voters, which is very popular in local elections.
- In a qualified majority system, more than 50% of the vote is needed at a pre-agreed rate of 2/3 or ¾ of the vote.
Proportional system: authorities are elected from parties or political movements that provide lists of their candidates. Voting is for one or another list. Party representatives receive power mandates based on the votes cast - in proportion.
Mixed system: majority and proportional systems are applied simultaneously. Part of the mandates is obtained through the majority of votes, another part - through party lists.
Hybrid system: the combination of the majority and proportional systems is not parallel, but sequential: first, the parties nominate their candidates on the lists (proportional system), then the voters vote for each candidate personally (majority system).
Majority electoral system
The majority system is the most common election scheme. There is no alternative way if one person is elected to one position - the president, governor, mayor, etc. In the parliamentary elections, it can also be successfully applied. In such cases, single-member constituencies are formed, from which one deputy is elected.
Types of majority electoral system with different definitions of the majority (absolute, relative, qualified) are described above. A detailed description requires two additional subspecies of the majority system.
Elections held according to the scheme of the absolute majority sometimes do not bring results. This happens with a large number of candidates: the more there are, the less likely any of them to get 50% + 1 vote. This situation can be avoided by alternative or majority-preferential voting. This method has been tested in the Australian parliamentary elections. Instead of one candidate, the voter votes for several on the basis of “desirability”. The number “1” is put against the name of the most preferred candidate, the number “2” is opposite the second by desirability, and then on the list. The counting of votes is unusual here: the winner is the one who scored more than half of the ballots of the “first preferences” —those they are considered. If no one scored such an amount, the candidate who has the least number of ballots in which he is marked under the first number and whose votes are cast to other candidates with "second preferences", etc. is turned off from the count. Serious advantages of the method are the opportunity to avoid repeated voting and maximum consideration of the will of the electorate. Disadvantages - the difficulty of counting ballots and the need to do this only centrally.
In the world history of electoral law, one of the oldest is the concept of a majoritarian electoral system, while the types of preferential electoral process are new formats that imply a wide explanatory work and high political culture of both voters and members of election commissions.
Majority re-voting systems
The second way to deal with a large number of candidates is more familiar and widespread. This is a repeat vote. It is common practice to re-ballot the first two candidates (adopted in the Russian Federation), but there are other options, for example, in France, in the elections to the National Assembly, everyone who receives at least 12.5% of the vote in their constituencies is re-balloting.
In the system of two rounds in the last, second round, to win it is enough to gain a relative majority of votes. In the system of three rounds in the repeat voting, an absolute majority of votes is required, therefore sometimes it is necessary to conduct a third round in which a relative majority is allowed to win.
The majority system is perfect for electoral processes in bipartisan systems, when the two dominant parties, depending on the results of the vote, change positions with each other - who is in power, who is in opposition. Two classic examples are British Labor and Conservatives or American Republicans and Democrats.
Advantages of the majority system:
- The possibility of forming effective and stable authorities.
- Easy to control election process.
- Simple vote count, intelligibility for voters.
- Transparency of the process.
- Opportunity for independent candidates to participate.
- “The role of the individual in history” is the ability to vote for the individual, not for the party.
Disadvantages of the majority system:
- If there are many candidates, a person with a small number of votes (10% or less) can win.
- If the parties participating in the elections are immature and do not have serious authority in society, there is a risk of creating an ineffective legislative body.
- The votes cast for the losers are lost.
- The principle of universality is violated.
- You can defeat with the help of a skill called "oratory", not related to, for example, legislative work.
Proportional electoral system
A proportional system arose at the beginning of the 20th century in Belgium, Finland and Sweden. The technology of elections by party lists is highly variable. Varieties of proportional methods exist and are implemented depending on what is more important at the moment: clear proportionality or high certainty of the voting results.
Types of proportional election system:
- With open or closed party lists.
- With or without a percentage barrier.
- In a single multi-member district or in many multi-member districts.
- With permitted electoral blocs or with prohibited ones.
Separate mention is the option of elections by party lists with additional single-mandate constituencies, which combines two types of systems - proportional and majority. This method is described below as hybrid, a variation of a mixed electoral system.
Advantages of the proportional system:
- Opportunity for minorities to have their own deputies in parliament.
- The development of multi-party system and political pluralism.
- An accurate picture of the political forces in the country.
- The possibility of entering small parties in power structures.
Disadvantages of the proportional system:
- Deputies lose contact with their constituents.
- Cross-party feuds.
- The dictatorship of the party elites.
- "Unstable" government.
- The “locomotive” method, when famous people at the head of party lists after voting refuse mandates.
Panning
An extremely interesting method that deserves special mention. It can be used in both majority and proportional elections. This is a system in which the voter has the right to choose and cast his vote for candidates from different parties. It is even possible to add new names of candidates to party lists. Pan-panning is used in a number of European countries, including France, Denmark, and others. The advantage of the method is the independence of voters from candidates belonging to one or another party - they can vote according to personal preferences. At the same time, this same advantage can result in a serious flaw: voters can choose candidates who are “dear to their hearts” who cannot find a common language because of completely opposite political views.
Suffrage and the types of electoral systems are dynamic concepts, they are developing together with a changing world.
Mixed election system
Mixed variants of elective companies are optimal types for “complex” countries with a heterogeneous population based on signs of a very different kind: national, cultural, religious, geographical, social, etc. States with a large population belong to this group. It is extremely important for such countries to create and maintain a balance between regional, local and national interests. Therefore, the concept and types of electoral systems in such countries have always been and are in the focus of increased attention.
European “patchwork” countries, historically assembled from principalities, separate lands and free cities centuries ago, still form their elected authorities in a mixed type: for example, Germany and Italy.
The oldest classic example is Great Britain with the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Legislative Assembly in its composition.
The Russian Federation is one of the most “suitable” countries for applying mixed types of electoral systems. Arguments - a huge country, a large and heterogeneous population by almost all criteria. Types of electoral systems in the Russian Federation will be described in detail below.
There are two kinds in a mixed election system:
- A mixed, unrelated election system where mandates are distributed according to the majority system and are not dependent on a “proportional” vote.
- A mixed, connected election system in which parties receive their mandates in majoritarian districts, but distribute them according to the votes within the proportional system.
Hybrid election system
Variant of a mixed system: an integrated option of elections with consistent principles of nomination (proportional system for lists) and voting (majority system with personal voting). In the hybrid type, there are two stages:
- Promotion first. Lists of candidates are formed in party local cells in each constituency. Self-promotion within the party is also possible. Then all lists are approved at a party congress or conference (this should be the highest party body according to the charter).
- Then a vote. Elections are held in single-mandate constituencies. Candidates can be selected both for personal merits and for belonging to any party.
It should be noted that hybrid types of elections and electoral systems are not conducted in the Russian Federation.
Advantages of the mixed system:
- Balance federal and regional interests.
- The composition of power is adequate to the balance of political forces.
- Continuity and stability of the legislature.
- Strengthening political parties, stimulating a multi-party system.
Despite the fact that a mixed system is inherently the sum of the advantages of a majority and proportional system, it has its drawbacks.
Disadvantages of a mixed system:
- The risk of fragmentation of the party system (especially in countries with young democracy).
- Small factions in parliament, patchwork parliaments.
- Possible minority victories over the majority.
- Difficulties with recalling deputies.
Elections in foreign countries
Arena for political battles - such a metaphor can describe the implementation of suffrage in most democratic countries. At the same time, the main types of electoral systems in foreign countries are the same three basic methods: majority, proportional and mixed.
Often, electoral systems differ in numerous qualifications that are part of the concept of suffrage in each country. Examples of some selective qualifications:
- Age qualification (in most countries you can vote from the age of 18).
- Censorship of residency and citizenship (you can elect and be elected only after a certain period of residence in the country).
- Property qualification (evidence of the payment of high taxes in Turkey, Iran).
- Moral qualification (in Iceland you need to have a "good temper").
- Religious qualification (in Iran you need to be a Muslim).
- Gender qualification (prohibition of voting for women).
If most qualifications are easy to prove or define (for example, taxes or age), then some qualifications such as “good morals” or “leading a decent lifestyle” are rather vague concepts. Fortunately, such exotic moral standards are very rare in modern electoral processes.
The concept and types of electoral systems in Russia
All types of electoral systems are represented in the Russian Federation: majority, proportional, mixed, which are described by five federal laws. The history of Russian parliamentarism is one of the most tragic in the world: the All-Russian Constituent Assembly was one of the first victims of the Bolsheviks back in 1917.
We can say that the main form of the electoral system in Russia is majority. The President of Russia and senior officials are elected by a majority absolute majority.
The proportional system with a percentage barrier was used from 2007 to 2011. during the formation of the State Duma: those who received from 5 to 6% of the vote had one mandate, the parties that had votes in the range of 6 - 7% had two mandates.
A mixed proportional - majority system has been used in elections to the State Duma since 2016: half of the deputies were elected in single-mandate constituencies by a majority relative majority. The second half was elected on a proportional basis in a single district, the barrier in this case was lower - only 5%.
A few words about a single voting day, which was established as part of the Russian electoral system in 2006. The first and second Sunday of March are the days of regional and local elections. As for the single day in the fall, from 2013 he was appointed on the second Sunday of September. But, given the relatively low turnout in early autumn, when many voters are still resting, the timing of the fall election day can be discussed and adjusted.