Interpreting the Perfect Electoral System
'There is no such thing as a perfect electoral system'
The idea of perfection is interpreted differently amongst everybody in the UK. The word 'Perfect' is defined as having all the necessary or typical characteristics required for a given situation. So everybody will have different thoughts on what really is a perfect electoral system. Generally, a perfect electoral system is one which has the qualities of being simple, gives a varied choice to the electorate, is fair and proportional, gives a clear outcome and is microcosmic, it represents the people more.
Firstly, it could be argued that the more proportional electoral systems are the closest to a 'perfect' electoral system because they show what/who the people of the UK really voted for. One proportional system is the Single Transferrable Vote. This system operates by representatives being elected in large multi-member constituencies, the voting is preferential and also known as 'Voting Ordinal' where the voters can vote as many times as they want. The candidates much receive a quota known as a droop quota to actually become elected and if they reach this quota any excess votes are redistributed on the basis of 2nd preferences. The calculation used to work out the quota is (total valid poll/(seats+1))+1, which some people argue is too complicated for any elections in the UK, if no candidate reaches the quota then the lowest places candidate is eliminated and the second preferences of the people that voted for them are redistributed. This system is used successfully in many UK elections, it's used in Northern Ireland for elections such as in the Assembly, for local government elections and EU parliament elections. The Republic of Ireland and Scotland both use it for Local Elections.
However there are both many advantages and disadvantages of using this electoral system. Firstly it delivers proportional outcomes and it also ensures that votes are largely of equal values. In addition, the threshold is
The idea of perfection is interpreted differently amongst everybody in the UK. The word 'Perfect' is defined as having all the necessary or typical characteristics required for a given situation. So everybody will have different thoughts on what really is a perfect electoral system. Generally, a perfect electoral system is one which has the qualities of being simple, gives a varied choice to the electorate, is fair and proportional, gives a clear outcome and is microcosmic, it represents the people more.
Firstly, it could be argued that the more proportional electoral systems are the closest to a 'perfect' electoral system because they show what/who the people of the UK really voted for. One proportional system is the Single Transferrable Vote. This system operates by representatives being elected in large multi-member constituencies, the voting is preferential and also known as 'Voting Ordinal' where the voters can vote as many times as they want. The candidates much receive a quota known as a droop quota to actually become elected and if they reach this quota any excess votes are redistributed on the basis of 2nd preferences. The calculation used to work out the quota is (total valid poll/(seats+1))+1, which some people argue is too complicated for any elections in the UK, if no candidate reaches the quota then the lowest places candidate is eliminated and the second preferences of the people that voted for them are redistributed. This system is used successfully in many UK elections, it's used in Northern Ireland for elections such as in the Assembly, for local government elections and EU parliament elections. The Republic of Ireland and Scotland both use it for Local Elections.
However there are both many advantages and disadvantages of using this electoral system. Firstly it delivers proportional outcomes and it also ensures that votes are largely of equal values. In addition, the threshold is