Democracy, Elections and Voting Systems

Power you can remove without a fight

The simplest test of a democracy is this: can the people remove those in power peacefully, by voting them out? Where they can, power is accountable to the people. Where they cannot, it is not a democracy, whatever it calls itself. Democracy is not one thing. It is a set of features that together keep power accountable. The main ones are regular free elections in which the government really can lose; a secret ballot, so nobody can see or control how you vote; an inclusive franchise, meaning nearly all adult citizens may vote; and a real choice of candidates and parties. Underneath sit shared values: the rule of law, personal freedom, tolerance and respect for diversity, and equal opportunity. Because a whole country cannot vote on every decision, the UK uses REPRESENTATIVE democracy: citizens elect MPs to decide on their behalf, and can vote them out at the next election. That raises the question this module is really about. Once people have voted, how are those votes turned into seats in parliament? That job is done by the electoral system, and it turns out the system you choose changes the result. Different systems, from the same votes, build different parliaments. Carry one question through everything that follows: how does this feature or system hold power to account, or shape who wins?

Words for democracy

Five terms, each defined by what it is. They are the language of how a democracy works.

Tap the two features of a democracy

Tap the TWO that are genuine features of a democracy.

• Regular free elections in which the government can be voted out
• A secret ballot, so nobody can see or control how you vote
• Only one political party is allowed to stand
• The current ruler decides who is allowed to win

Representative, not direct

The UK is a representative democracy. What does that mean?

• Citizens elect representatives, the MPs, to make decisions on their behalf, rather than voting on every decision themselves
• Every citizen votes directly on every single law and decision
• Citizens have no say at all once they have voted
• A single ruler represents everyone without any elections

Classical against representative

Two kinds of democracy, differing in who actually makes the decisions.

Match each electoral system to where it is used

Two things an electoral system decides

Select the TWO things that an electoral system decides.

• How the votes that are cast are turned into seats
• Whether one party is likely to win a clear majority, or a coalition is more likely
• Which party each citizen is required to vote for
• How many political parties are allowed to exist

Answering a voting-systems question

A method that works on any question about democracy and voting. Name the system and where it is used. First-Past-the-Post for UK General Elections, the Additional Member System for the Welsh Senedd, the Single Transferable Vote in Northern Ireland, and the referendum for a single question. Say how it turns votes into seats. First-Past-the-Post gives each seat to whoever has the most votes there; the more proportional systems share seats out closer to the share of the votes. Give the trade-off, both ways. First-Past-the-Post tends to produce a clear, decisive single-party government, but can leave many votes unreflected. Proportional systems reflect votes more fairly, but often produce coalitions and slower decisions. Present both sides. Then judge fairly. In an evaluation, weigh the two and reach a view you can defend, saying whose view each side is rather than asserting one as simply correct. Two habits cost marks. The first is naming a particular political party and taking a political side; keep it general and neutral. The second is calling one system simply the best; each is a trade-off, so a strong answer weighs them rather than crowning one.

Order a UK general election

Put the stages of a UK general election, up to the point where MPs are chosen, in order.

• A general election is called
• Candidates stand in each constituency
• Citizens cast a secret ballot for one candidate
• The votes in each constituency are counted
• The candidate with the most votes becomes the MP for that seat

Build the trade-off sentence

This is the sentence that captures the choice of voting system. Assemble it.

The ballot box quick-fire

Five questions on democracy and voting systems. Three lives.

Same votes, two results

Here is why the choice of system matters, shown with three invented parties, A, B and C, and no real ones. Imagine that across the whole country Party A wins about four in every ten votes, Party B about three in ten, and Party C about three in ten. Under First-Past-the-Post, the country is split into many single-seat areas, and in each one the candidate with the most votes wins the seat. Because Party A is ahead in a large number of those areas, it can end up with far more than four in ten of the seats, perhaps a clear majority, even though only four in ten voters chose it. The parties that came a close second almost everywhere win very little. Under a proportional system, the seats are shared out to match the votes, so Party A gets about four in ten of the seats, Party B about three in ten, and Party C about three in ten. No party has a majority on its own. Same votes, two very different parliaments. That is the whole point: the system is a machine, and the machine you choose changes the result. One tends to hand a single party a clear, decisive majority; the other tends to reflect every vote more fairly but often leaves no single party in overall control. Neither result is simply right. Which you prefer depends on whether you value decisive government or fair representation more, and reasonable people disagree.

Complete the democracy facts

A system of government in which power comes from the people, who can vote it out, is a _____. The right to vote, and who holds it, is the _____. An area that elects one MP is a _____. A democracy in which citizens elect others to decide for them is a _____ democracy.

Three claims to weigh

Three student answers about democracy and voting. In each case the reasoning, or the neutrality, needs work.

• A student answers a voting-systems question by writing that one named party always benefits from First-Past-the-Post. Why is that a problem in this subject?
• A student writes that proportional representation is simply the best system and First-Past-the-Post is simply the worst. How would you sharpen it?
• A student says the UK is a direct democracy because people vote. What is wrong?

Explain how UK democracy and voting work

A friend thinks all voting systems are basically the same and that democracy just means having a vote. Explain how UK democracy and voting really work.

• Explain what makes a system of government democratic, giving two features
• Explain the difference between direct and representative democracy, and which the UK is
• Explain what an electoral system does, in terms of turning votes into seats
• Name the system used for UK General Elections and describe how it works
• Explain the trade-off between First-Past-the-Post and a more proportional system
• Finish with a fair judgement, attributing the different views rather than taking a party-political side