Voting systems

A voting system or electoral system is a method by which voters make a choice between options, often in an election or on a policy referendum.

A voting system contains rules for valid voting, and how votes are aggregated to yield a final result. The study of formally defined voting systems is called voting theory, a subfield of political science, economics or mathematics. Voting theory began formally in the 18th century and many proposals for voting systems have been made.

Common voting systems are majority rule, proportional representation or plurality voting with a number of variations and methods such as first-past-the-post or preferential voting.

Majority rule is a decision rule that selects one of two alternatives, based on which has more than half the votes. It is the binary decision rule used most often in influential decision-making bodies, including the legislatures of democratic nations. Being a binary decision rule, majority rule has little use in public elections, with many referendums being an exception. However, it is frequently used in legislatures and other bodies in which alternatives can be considered and amended in a process of deliberation until the final version of a proposal is adopted or rejected by majority rule.

Proportional representation, sometimes referred to as full representation, is a type of voting system aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections, and the percentage of seats they receive. There are different methods of proportional representation which achieve either a greater degree of proportionality or a greater degree of determinate outcome.

The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies. This voting method is also used in multi-member constituencies in what is referred to as an exhaustive counting system where one member is elected at a time and the process repeated until the number of vacancies is filled.

The most common system, used in Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, is simple plurality, first-past-the post or winner-takes-all. In this voting system the single winner is the person with the most votes; there is no requirement that the winner gains an absolute majority of votes.

In some countries such as France (as well as in some jurisdictions of the United States, such as Louisiana and Georgia) a similar system is used, but there are two rounds: the "two-ballot" or "runoff election" plurality system. If any candidate in the first round gains a majority of votes, then there is no second round; otherwise, the two highest-voted candidates of the first round compete in a two-candidate second round or all candidates above a certain threshold in the first round compete in a two-, three- or four-candidate second round.

First-past- the post voting is a generic term referring to an election determined by the highest polling candidate(s). First-past-the-post voting method although similar in design does not relate solely to Plurality voting. The term first past the post (abbreviated FPTP or FPP) was coined as an analogy to horse racing, where the winner of the race is the first to pass a particular point on the track[citation needed.

DEVELOPING VOCABULARY

1. Translate the following into Russian:

About 47 %; 69 % or 50 % of eligible voters; the turnout in 1960 was 63 %; about the age of 70; from 24 to 70; below the age of 24; 56 % of Asians, 12 % of Hispanics, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.; 4,303 seats; on March the 26th.

2. Explain the meaning of the words in bold. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1) He was nominated as a candidate but he decided not to run.

2) People were upset because the candidate was speaking against ideas expressed in the party platform.

3) He chose to drop out of the race, because he found it too time-consuming to continue running for office.

4) People went to the polls in order to cast a ballot.

5) Education, regardless of race or ethnicity seems to be the most important influence on voter turnout.

6) Thousands of would-be electors found their names missing from the register or wrongly listed.

3. Study the following definitions.

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is also used in many other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

To elect means "to choose or make a decision”, and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as the referendum are referred to as elections, especially in the United States.

4. In most democratic political systems, there are a range of different types of election, corresponding to different layers of public governance or geographical jurisdiction. Match types of election with their definitions:

1) Presidential election 2) General election 3) Primary election 4) By-election 5) Local election 6) Co-option

a) an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body b) the election of any head of state whose official title is president c) an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections Usually this occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction. By-elections have also been called as a result of a constituency election being invalidated due to voting irregularities d) an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the following general election e) an election where members of a committee (or similar group) vote in order to fill a vacancy on that committee or group f) an election of candidates for local offices

5. Read the passage describing the process of indirect elections. Based on it, try to define the process of direct elections.

Indirect election is a process in which voters in an election don't actually choose between candidates for an office but rather elect persons who will then make the choice. It is one of the oldest form of elections and is still used today for many upper houses and presidents. This process is also used in many union elections and sometimes in professional, civic, and fraternal organizations. Many countries with parliamentary systems elect their president indirectly (Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary). In a Westminster system, the leader of the majority party in the parliament almost always becomes the prime minister. Therefore, it could be said that the prime minister is elected indirectly.

In Spain, the Congress of Deputies votes on a motion of confidence of the king's nominee (customarily the party leader whose party controls the Congress) and the nominee's political manifesto, an example of an indirect election of the President of the Government of Spain.

Indirect political elections have been used for lesser national offices, as well. In the United States, the Senate was elected by the legislatures of the states until 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment instituted direct elections for those office-holders. In France, election to the upper house of Parliament, the Sénat, is indirect, with the electors (called "grands électeurs") being local elected representatives.

The Electoral College of the United States, whose task is to elect a president, is a form of indirect election. However, electors rarely change their actual vote from their pledged vote. Although historically some electors have changed their pledge vote (referred to as faithless electors), this has never made a difference in any presidential election to date.

6. Deduce the meaning of the following words from the context; in case of difficulty consult a dictionary.

1) time consuming: I only expected to spend 5 minutes at the voting booth. However, I did not realize how many papers I would have to fill out. It turned out to be quite a time consuming task. It took at least 20 minutes.

2) obstacles: She had to overcome a number of obstacles in order to reach her goal of being an engineer. For one thing, she was poor and did not have money for books or school. For another, she was a woman in a field traditionally dominated by men.

3) explicit; He gave me explicit directions regarding how to fill out the ballot because he wanted to make sure I did it correctly.

4) respondents: I sent out 100 questionnaires but only received 25 replies. However, those 25 respondents gave me the information that I needed.

5) ethnicity: In order to see how different groups voted, the newspapers did a survey trying to get a good representative sample of the population. They divided their sample according to sex, ethnicity – in particular, Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian – and age.

6) status: The position of mayor in small towns is often a job that was high status but low pay. People take the job because it commands respect.

7) the trend that emerges: After examining statistics regarding voting habits, one clear trend emerges – voter participation is decreasing rather than increasing.

8) bleak picture: The President of the country painted a bleak picture of the future saying that costs were going to rise, taxes were going to increase, and unemployment was unavoidable.

7. Paraphrase the following using the contextual synonyms given in brackets. Translate the sentences into Russian. Think of the synonyms in Russian.

1) In a poll by the Central Election Management Committee, 50% of those questioned expected vote-buying to be part of the campaign. (taking bribes)

2) During the 1987 presidential elections and the 1988 parliamentary election, newly democratic South Korea had passionate debates and a high turnout of voters. (high level of voter participation)

3) Those, who suffer from political alienation, who believe that voting is a useless exercise and that individual citizens have no influence on decision making, are not going to be active. (apathy)

4) Alienation has increased substantially among voters since the mid 1960s, and it has contributed to the overall decline in voter participation. (drop in voter turnout)

5) The Korean love affair with the voting booth is beginning to cool.(polls)

8. Give the Russian equivalents.

to call

to call the congress, to call for smth, to call off, to call together, to call on smb., to call to account, to call in question, to call to mind, to call smb’s attention to smth.

9. Translate the sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the translation of the phrasal verb “to call”.

1) The situation called for drastic measures.

2) The chairman called on the next speaker.

3) The strike was called off.

4) We called on all of you to write and speak the truth, to promote mutual understanding between nations.

5) The opposition is calling for a general election.

6) The chairman’s honesty was never called into question.

7) The chairman called the committee to order and the meeting began.

8) Call all the members together and we’ll take a vote.

9) His behaviour called forth numerous protests.

10) I now call upon Mr. Grey to address the meeting.

10. Give the Russian equivalents.

to vote

to vote for smth., to vote against smth. to take a vote, to put to a vote, to vote in, to vote down, to count the votes; voting by a show of hands, ballot, the ayes and the noes, by a majority of votes; voices are heard in defence of smth.

11. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the expressions with the word “vote”.

1) The resolution was approved by a majority of votes.

2) This question has been put to a vote.

3) In spite of the chairman’s support the suggestion was voted down by the rest of the Committee.

4) The president has been voted in for the third time running.

5) You don’t just send your suggestion to the board. It has to be voted through every stage of its passage.

6) During discussion of this problem the votes were equally divided.

7) The decision was approved with 106 votes for, 20 against, and 10 abstaining.

8) How many members voted on the housing question?

9) Your suggestion has been voted down, try again next year.

10) Do you always vote with your husband or do you have different political opinions?

11) The government received a vote of confidence.

DISCOVERING LANGUAGE

1. Translate the sentences with the infinitive, comment on its function.

1) In 1906 Wisconsin became the first state to enact legislation requiring that the delegates to the national conventions be chosen by popular vote in a special kind of election called a “primary”.

2) Thus all Americans have an opportunity to watch their democracy choose its own leaders.

3) They will have some money to spend, but it is not known how much.

4) Television allows the electorate to see the candidate close up over many months, making it impossible to sustain a false image.

5) Far-reaching domestic problems highlighted by the Los Angeles races riots in May have allowed the Democratic candidate Bill Clinton to climb into the race for the White house.

6) The information helps strategists fine-tune their campaigns to strengthen weak areas.

7) Only incessant gavel-pounding by the chairperson quiets the delegates enough to hear the acceptance speech.

2. Translate into English. Mind the use of “Moods and Modals” forms.

1) Было бы лучше, если бы на избирательных бюллетенях не было партийных эмблем.

2) Если бы партии традиционно не уделяли основное внимание победе на выборах и установлению своего контроля над правительственным аппаратом, то они бы опирались на более широкую социальную поддержку.

3) Если бы ряд организационных причин не препятствовал процессу голосования, то в выборах, возможно, участвовало бы большее количество американцев (то процент участия американцев в выборах был бы выше).

4) Демократы считают, что хорошо было бы сократить государственную машину и сделать ее более эффективной.

5) Если бы республиканцам удалось выиграть президентские выборы и укрепить свое большинство в законодательной ветви власти, то вполне возможно, что мы стали бы свидетелями целого ряда серьезных конституционных перемен.

6) Если бы республиканцы пришли к власти, они внесли бы ряд поправок к конституции, от ограничения числа сроков, на которые можно избирать членов Конгресса, до требований сбалансированного бюджета и наделения президента правом “вето”.

7) Такие возможности существуют, но если бы вам предстояло сделать ставку, вы бы скорее всего поставили на сохранение двухпартийной системы в ее нынешнем виде в американской политике.

8) С точки зрения первого из указанных принципов было рекомендовано, чтобы половину делегатов на национальную конвенцию составляли женщины, и чтобы была предпринята “добросовестная” попытка обеспечить равное представительство делегатов от национальных меньшинств.

9) Голосуя за всех кандидатов в ходе первичных выборов, избиратели голосуют за список делегатов, представляющих кандидата, которого они хотели бы видеть во главе партийного списка.

10) Особенно важно, чтобы агитация была адресной.

3. Find infinitives, participles II, gerunds in the following article and explain their usage.