Split Ticket Voting

In this essay I will assess the outcomes of Additional Member system, First Past the Post system and the Closed Party List system. The F-P-T-P system is used to elect the members of House of Commons and local government in England and Wales. Voters select candidates, and do so by marking his or her name with an ‘X’ on the ballot paper. This reflects the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. The Additional Members system is used in Scottish parliament, Welsh assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London assembly. It is a mixed system made up of F-P-T-P and party-list elements. The Regional party list (or the closed party list) is used to elect the

In 1789, the U.S. did not have a two-party system. The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the nation itself. The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties. The ratification of the Constitution saw the birth of America's first two parties: the federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists, who followed Thomas Jefferson. The nation had only had George Washington, who was President without a party at that time. During George Washington’s two terms, a conflict developed between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were both Federalists men. Jefferson challenged Adams under the umbrella of the Democratic - Republican Party. In addition, the Democratic - Republican Party was the first real party that contained the formal beginnings of the present day two-party system. The word Democratic infers to “will of the people”, the word Republican infers to “rule of law” which is defense from possible oppression of the majority. In short, the American party system began as a two-party system. In this essay I will be discussing the why America needs a two-party system, why a multi-system may work for the nation and the conflicts, and how does this political system contributes to the nation and why a two-system is worth the struggle.

Watson’s focus on political parties, chapter 6, is an important part of this book. Not only does it support his argument, but it also gives the reader

The final thing to look at in terms of party competition in Texas is straight-ticket voting. Between 1978 and 1996 the main two-party competition between straight-ticket voters was in the Big 6 counties, although some of the suburbs were towards a one-party direction (Thornburn 208). On the other hand, since 1998, the Republican's one-party dominance has led them to gain most of the straight-ticket voters across the state. The biggest fluctuations have happened in the state’s Big 6 counties between 1998 and 2012, going back and forth between Republican and Democrat, but El Paso and Travis county have stayed mostly Democratic while Tarrant county has stayed mostly Republican. However, in 2012, only one of the counties, Caldwell, “gave more

It was found that national party divisions are typically ran by elites that worked together to unite divided parties to participate together in the hopes of the party winning the presidency. Having a diverse set of candidates does not imply that the party is divided although it could worsen existing disunions. Measuring national party division was crucial in the research; in the 1970s delegate votes at the national convection gave an approximate measure of divisiveness. One way that national party division can be measured is by the proportion of convention votes through the Democratic nominee without the corresponding proportion for the Republican nominee. This delegate-based measure is for the most part based on party activist, in which are picked by the presidential campaign by the partisan voters. On the other hand, another manner to measure is by aggregate primary vote that is comparing the proportion of the national primary won by the two nominees. Moreover, to measure the impact national party division has they used convection votes and aggregate primary vote to portray that the substantive conclusion does not rely on how the variable is measured (12). Although there is no precise or best way to put to use state level primary divisiveness it is clear that in presidential campaigns, a divisive state primary the electorate rather have a candidate than the eventual nominee. Thus, this type of divisiveness can be measured by the proportion of the vote for the candidate other than the final nominee. Another approach would rely on the competitiveness of the primary, which is measure by a vote margin of the two leading candidates in the

Although Canadian electoral system has always undergone periodic reforms, new challenges always accompany electoral changes and therefore the system should be consistently reformed to meet new circumstances.The current electoral system in Canada is a product of a series of electoral changes that have always taken place since the foundation of the Canadian confederation in the mid 1880s. During the early years, the rights of individuals to vote were significantly limited as only white males had the right to vote but only after meeting certain requirements. A secret ballot was unheard, and it was only after a number of changes were implemented that all social groups in Canada were given the right to vote. Even after these changes, electoral

Today, there exists the rift in the American political system marked by the ongoing clash between our political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. These parties’ dissenting ideas seem to create non-stop conflict as each party relentlessly competes for the support and votes of the American people. However, over two hundred years ago in the early days of our country’s government, political parties did not even exist. Early leaders, such as the revered George Washington, feared that political parties would split our country into warring factions that would not only subvert our delicate notion of patriotism, but also weaken public support for the new Constitution. Nonetheless, despite opposition by Washington and others, political parties began to form, and over the years have developed into the familiar political system we have today. The chief factors that led to the rise of political parties were the disagreements between influential politicians over the structure of the government, the proper interpretation of the Constitution, and foreign policy regarding European nations.

Parties are an important part of the political process; however, they do not have the same influence that they once enjoyed. One reason for this is the candidate-centered election that has come, in part, from the

The author’s begins by observing that political parties were speculated to be non-existent in America. Its founders were certain that the parties would create rifts

It can vary between models, just as a plurality model may, however most models have voters cast two votes, one vote for the party and one for the riding representative. The focus of this essay will be more on the New Zealand variation of the Mixed Member Proportional System, which works as such:

America’s politics and electives have been split between two major parties: Democrats v. Republicans. Through political parties, citizens were able to have a voice in government by voting for their representatives, advocating their “self-governed” trait. Competition between parties allows the government to be influenced by the individual. A party realignment involves a dissolving party, an election with shifting voters, and a change in policy. After the Civil War, Republicans replaced the Democrats.

The election laws established various criteria that favors the major parties, thus perpetuating the two-party

In the United States of America, our bipartisan form of government is crucial to how we run our federal government. It is very important to some people to personally associate with a party, because it is a large part of their political identity, and how they vote. In the age of straight ticket voting, and the opposite split-ticket voting, there are many people who are uneducated voters who vote simply based off of a small “R” or a “D” next to a candidate’s name. When I turn 18 I will most likely register either as a Democrat or an independent not under any political party.

The electoral system in the early 19th century was neither a representative nor balanced system, elections were open to corruption and with only a small minority of adult males being eligible to vote if they were land owners (Avery, N.D). Parliament were against reform and didn’t want the status quo upset, however with the rising of new industrial cities and towns there was a creation of the middle class who

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).