Electoral Voting System Research

Parliament of Australia Department of Parliamentary Services

Parliamentary Library

Information analysis and advice for the Parliament

21 February 2006, no. 10, 2005–06, ISSN 1832-2883

RESEARCH BRIEF

Electoral systems

This is a revision of the well-received paper written in 1989 by Gerard Newman, formerly Director of the Statistics Section of the Parliamentary Library.

Gerard Newman, with revisions by Scott Bennett Politics and Public Administration Section

Contents

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Part one: what is required of an electoral system? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Easily understood? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A choice of candidates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A quick result? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Reflecting the electorate’s wishes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Representing all voices? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A government supported by the majority? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Stable government? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Effective constituent representation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Is there a ‘best’ electoral system? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Part two: categories of electoral system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....