POS350 Test4 CH13

Compare your answers to the questions that asked you to predict the behavior of the two parties, given the particular game being examined (Questions 46 and 50). What does your analysis of the two games say about the conditions under which politicians who benefit from existing electoral laws are likely to support reforms that will help other parties?

If a large party is losing its size advantage and there is an electoral advantage from being seen as a reformer, then it will support the reform.

What is (are) the key difference(s) between majoritarian and proportional representation (PR) electoral systems?

In majoritarian systems, the winning candidate(s) must win a majority or plurality of the vote, whereas this is not necessary in PR systems.

What is a mixed electoral system?

It is when the electoral system uses both a majoritarian formula and a proportional formula.

[T4 Election Results in another Hypothetical District] Imagine now that the election results in Table 4 are the first preference votes in a majoritarian system that uses an alternative voting rule (like Australia) where a candidate is automatically elected if he wins an absolute majority of first-round preferences. Which party's candidate wins the single available seat in this district?

It will depend on the preference rankings for each candidate, so it is impossible to answer this question based on the information provided.

[T1 UK Legislative Election Results, St.Ives Constituency] If you were to vote sincerely, which party's candidate would you vote for?

Labour

[T1 UK Legislative Election Results, St.Ives Constituency] If you were to vote strategically, which party's candidate would you vote for?

Liberal Democrat

[F1 Game Approach] If this were an accurate model of a particular country at a particular time, what would you predict about the behavior of the parties?

Neither party will support reforms.

[T4 Election Results in another Hypothetical District] Imagine that the election results in Table 4 are for a country using single-member district plurality rule to elect its candidates. Which party or parties will win in this district?

Party A

A common side effect of electoral thresholds is that voters for small parties end up wasting their votes if the party they voted for cannot surpass the threshold. This is more likely to occur when the threshold is high.

T

About half of the legislative and presidential elections that took place between 1946 and 2000 were held in dictatorships.

T

All electoral systems create at least some incentive for actors to behave strategically rather than reveal their sincere preferences.

T

All proportional electoral systems have natural thresholds. Some have formal thresholds written into the electoral law as well.

T

Countries with electoral tiers above the district level are typically more favorable to smaller parties.

T

Electoral systems with upper tiers (electoral tiers above the district level) are typically more favorable to smaller parties than electoral systems with a single tier.

T

The choice of electoral systems in former colonies across the world was strongly influenced by the electoral system used by the former colonial ruler. Thus, many former British colonies use single-member district plurality, whereas many former French colonies use two-round system.

T

The most common method used for electing presidents in the world today is the majority-runoff two-round system.

T

The supplementary vote system is cheaper for election officials to administer than majority runoff two-round systems are.

T

We can characterize all proportional representation systems as those with multimember districts and in which either a quota or a divisor is used to determine which candidates are elected in a district.

T

Is it possible for a candidate to win in a majoritarian electoral system, such as single-member district plurality, without receiving a majority of the votes?

Yes

Single-member district plurality (SMDP) systems are sometimes criticized because they:

can produce very unrepresentative electoral outcomes at the district level.

Which type of party list gives the most power to the party leadership (over the individual candidates)?

closed party list

Is party discipline normally higher when open party lists are used or when closed party lists are used in proportional representation systems?

closed party lists

The electoral system used by the most countries is:

list PR

Most dictatorships (measured by the Freedom House measure) that hold elections use which type of electoral rules?

majoritarian

Most people in the world live under which type of electoral system?

single-member district plurality

The electoral system used for legislative elections (for the House of Representatives) in the United States is:

single-member district plurality.

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of the single nontransferable vote system?

strengthens parties

[F2 Game Approach] What does your response to the previous question say about the credibility of a large party that (a) controls the proposal process; (b) does not propose reform; but (c) claims that it supports reform?

the claim is not credible

What is measured by "district magnitude"?

the number of seats in a district

[T3 Hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District Using Highest Averages] If the election results shown in Table 3, above, were for a district with a magnitude of 1 and the alternative vote rule was used, what would the outcome be?

you can't answer this question unless you know what the second, third, fourth, and so on, preference ranking is on each ballot that was cast.

[T6 Election Results in a Mixed Electoral System] If the mixed system were "dependent," how many TOTAL seats would Party A win?

6

[T6 Election Results in a Mixed Electoral System] If the mixed system were "independent," how many TOTAL seats would Party A win?

8

[T3 Hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District Using Highest Averages] If the election results shown in Table 3 above were for a district with a magnitude of 1 and plurality rule was used (in other words, you have an single-member district plurality system), what would the outcome be?

A candidate from party A would win 1 seat and the other parties would get 0 seats.

Some scholars argue that elections in dictatorships serve a purpose even if they are not the mechanism for selecting leaders. They argue that elections can stabilize the dictatorship by:

A. discouraging opposition groups from challenging the dictator. B. dividing the opposition by allowing some groups to participate but not others. C. presenting a democratic "appearance" to satisfy international organizations. D. all of these are reasons given to explain why dictatorships have elections. Ans: D

[F1 Game Approach] What strategy combination(s) form(s) a Nash equilibrium in the above game? Hint: use the form (Large strategy; Small strategy).

Against; For

[F2 Game Approach] What strategy combinations form a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium to the above game? Hint: use the form (Large's move at first node, Large's move at second node; Small's move at top node, Small's move at bottom node).

Block, Against; For, For

[F3 Game Approach] If this were an accurate model of a particular country at a particular time, what would you predict about the behavior of the large party? The small party?

Both parties will support reforms.

[F3 Game Approach] What strategy combination(s) form(s) a Nash equilibrium in the above game? Hint: use the form (Large strategy; Small strategy).

For; For

[T3 Hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District Using Highest Averages] In the district described in Table 3, how many total seats does Party E win?

0

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District] How many total seats does Party F win?

0

What is the district magnitude in a single-member district?

1

[T2 hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District using a Quota] In the district described in Table 2, how many total seats does Party E win?

1

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District] How many automatic seats does Party D win?

1

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District] How many total seats does Party E win?

1

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District]How many remainder seats does Party A win?

1

[T2 hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District using a Quota] The election results in Table 2 are for a district in which 10 candidates are elected. This country uses the Hare quota with largest remainders to allocate seats. If the Hare quota is calculated as the total number of votes in the district divided by the total number of seats available in the district, what is the Hare quota in this district?

10,000

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District] If the Hare quota is calculated as the Total Number of Votes in the district divided by the total number of seats available, what is the Hare quota in the hypothetical district in Table 5?

10,000

[T2 hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District using a Quota] In the district described in Table 2, how many total seats does Party B win?

2

[T3 Hypothetical Election Results for a Hypothetical District Using Highest Averages] In the district described in Table 3, how many total seats does Party B win?

3

[T5 Hypothetical Election Results in a Ten-Seat District] How many total seats does Party A win?

5

[T6 Election Results in a Mixed Electoral System] If the SMDP = single-member district plurality If mixed system were "independent," how many SMDP seats would Party A win?

5

[T6 Election Results in a Mixed Electoral System] If the mixed system were "dependent," how many single-member district plurality seats would Party A win?

5