Election Systems in a Representative Democracy

In a representative democracy, a critical issue is how voters elect their representatives to participate in the governing process.

The underlying concept in a democracy is that the selection of "good" representatives will lead to governments that reflect the concerns of voters, and that because these governments reflect their concerns, their policies and programs will be not only "better", but also more accepted by the electorate.

Election systems address questions who can be a candidate for election, how can aspiring candidates participate in an election, how many elections are needed to select a representative, what do voters vote for i.e. one candidate in a most-votes-win scenario or all candidates ranked by voter preference, and if the latter, how to the voter rankings of candidates get translated in an election result.

Election systems in many countries were created in the late eighteenth century, with relatively few changes since the. Where election systems have been in place for a long time, there are several reasons why a re-examination may be warranted.

1. The issues of the day (particularly those that affect voters) are increasing in number and in complexity.
2. Voters are becoming better educated, and have a variety of tools (notably the internet) to become informed about the issues of the day.
3. Candidates have a growing capacity to communicate with their voters through television, radio, telephone, and internet-based advertizing.
4. The rise of the ultra-rich, and the willingness of the ultra-rich to manipulate election systems in their interest, combined with modern communication systems, creates a significant threat to the principles of democracy, representative government and majority rule.
5. Corporate interests are also interested in manipulating electoral systems in their interest, through lobbying, political advertizing, and campaign donations.
6. There are indications that existing election systems are not working well, evidenced by instances where:
   1. governments appear to be getting out of touch with electors,
   2. voters distrust the governments they elect,
   3. voter apathy and low turnout at elections,
   4. the rise of the extremism by minority interests, and
   5. the election of incompetent governments.
7. The rise of technologies is changing the way societies work, and creating opportunities for superior and cheaper solutions in all facets of modern living including in the election systems.
8. Electoral processes are becoming increasing organized through political parties. In Canada's 2019 election, there were
   22 partiesLiberal, Conservative, Bloc Québécois, New Democratic, Green, People's,Christian Heritage, Rhinoceros, Libertarian, Veterans Coalition, Marxist–Leninist, Animal Alliance, Communist, Pour l'Indépendance du Québec, Progressive Canadian, Marijuana, Canada's Fourth Front, The United Party, National Citizens Alliance, Stop Climate Change, Canadian Nationalist Party, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation[s]
   .
9. Voter apathy and low voter turnout at elections is a concern. The success of a representative democracy depends on voters exercising their right to vote.

The purpose of this article is to consider desirable properties of election systems, to examine options for election systems, and to assess the options in terms of the desirable properties.

Desirable Properties

The ultimate goal is to elect candidates that represent their voters. This goal should be achieved through the following properties.

1. Inclusive Candidate Eligibility: Candidate eligibility is an issue. If there is only one candidate, there is a problem because the voter has no choice. Too many candidates create confusion. It also increases the cost, since putting candidates on a ballot costs money. Candidate eligibility also needs to take into account political parties. A truly independent candidate can be assumed to provide the best representation of community views, but typically may lack influence within the governing processes because of the lack of party affiliation. Political parties on the other hand a typically coalitions of interests; it is possible that no party adequately represents the voter's views. Voters need the opportunity to choose among candidates with and without party affiliations. Inclusive candidate eligibility critera need to address these issues.
   Tools at the disposal of election systems include personal criteria related to the candidate such as:
   1. requirements related to citizenship, residence, education, age, criminal record;
   2. requirements related to pre-election support for the candidate, such as getting names on a petition or support of a political party operating in the voting district;
   3. deposit requirements, to eliminate frivolous candidacies;
   4. penalties for having inadequate basic support in the election, such as lost deposits;
   5. limits on election campaigns, such as financing, compliance with rules, etc.
2. Maximizing Expression of Voter Views: Voter views are expressed in elections, but there are different ways to solicit voter views. One way is to hold multiple elections. Another is the maximize the views expressed within one election. This is done through preference voting, where the voter gets an opportunity to express preferences on as many candidates as he or she wishes.
   In some jurisdictions, voters get to express their views through referenda. Two observations are relevant here. First, the need for referenda arise when representative democracy does not work and there is a need to bypass representative democracy. As such, they are outside the bounds of this article. Second, referenda often do not work well, typically because questions are narrowly defined, options limited, and implementation details have not been worked through.
3. Voter Convenience: It is taken as given that modern election systems need to incorporate the basics such as mail-in ballots, flexible polling hours, easy registration. The more fundamental questions are:
   1. the convenience or inconvenience of multiple elections, since for each election, the voter must take the time to participateinconvenient, and
   2. the ranking candidates in a preference voting system, since the voter must know who the candidates are and what they stand for.
4. Turnout and Meaningful Votes: Election systems need to be gear to maximize voter turnout at elections. In Canada's federal election in 2019, voter turnout was 18,350,359 from 27,373,058 registered voters, for a turnout rate 67.03 per cent. With almost a third of the population not voting, the legitimacy of the resulting Parliament is undermined.
   Turnout depends on several issues:
   1. whether voting is a privilege, and therefore voluntary, or a duty, and therefore mandatory.
   2. where the voter gets to cast a meaningful ballot i.e. the vote can make a difference in the election. In some voting districts, the voters may have overwhelmingly similar views in terms of candidates, and whether an individual votes or not does not matter much. However, in many cases, voter views are not overwhelming similar, but voters may feel the result is a foregone conclusion so there is no need to vote. This can arise when:
      1. generally similar views get fragmented among multiple candidates, and opposing views get concentrated in one candidate, so that one candidate becomes the winner, although not necessarily with views representative of the majority of voters.
      2. the effect of money and advertizing behind one candidate give that candidate the appearance of overwhelming support. The fewer the candidates, the more likely that negative advertizing will be effective in discouraging voting.
      3. negative advertizing may undermine voter interest in candidates. Negative advertizing will be more effective with fewer candidates, as the advertizing can focus on fewer candidates.
      4. in the absence of preference voting systems, the voter gets to express only one opinion, and thus can be considered limiting, and sufficiently so to undermine the desire to vote in some people.
      5. historically consistent patterns of voting can lead to the impression that these patterns will persist, and lead to a continuation of these patterns, regardless of the circumstances. Historic paterns of voting may be more likely when there are limited candidates, and when moneyed interests line up behind the historic patterns and influece voter perceptions.
5. Ballot Validation: One expression per ballot limits validation issues to where the one expression is clearly indicated. Multiple expressions create possibilities of errors, blanks. Canada election 2019 blank or invalid ballots 179,479 out of 18,350,359 ballots cast. The extent to which this is an issue only becomes apparent after preference voting systems have been tried.
6. Legitimacy of an Electoral "Win": This does beyond ballot validation issues and issues related to low turnout and meaningful votes. Whoever wins the election, that winner should be the undisputed victor. In a democracy, the undisputed victor is one who can claim a "majority" in some sense. The most votes among candidates does not define a majority; it simply reflects the fact that one candidate got the more votes that any other.

7. Cost of Elections: Beyond candidate costs, election system should be at a minimum affordable, and preferably cost-effective (i.e. maximum benefit and minimal cost).

Any change in election system will inevitably lead to transition issues. As transition issues arise only if a change occurs, and they arise for any change from one system to another. Where transition issues arise, there are always mitigation measures that can be implemented to reduce the effects of the issue. When the goal is to choose the best election system, they should not be included as a factor in the comparison. Transition issues are inherently a consideration for preserving the status quo.

Security is also an issue. Clearly, there is a need to prevent foreign meddling. In the broader system, election security can be effected through audit systems such as paper trails, due attention to cybersecurity, and the like. The need for security applies to all election systems, so are not considered here.

Understanding Election Systems

Essential elements in a voting system include:

1. Number of elections: There are three election models based on number of election. There are one-event elections; one election determines the outcome. There can be two-event elections. For example, the first election can elect candidates for the main election, as in the American primary and final election system. In an additional model, there can be a multi-candidate first election, followed by a run-off election in no candidate gets a majority, as in the French system. There can also be multi-event elections, as often occur in conventions. Here, each election serves to eliminate the candidate with the least votes. This election system works well as a convention, where multiple elections can occur in a practical way because the voters are already at the convention. It is worth noting that convention organizers choose this elimination system because it is perceived as generating the best candidate.
2. Candidate eligibility: Clearly, a candidate cannot be elected unless his or her name is on the ballot. Candidate selection options include:
   1. Almost anyone can be a candidate with minimal restrictions (e.g. citizenship, residency in the geographic area, able to get a certain number of signatures on a petition, requirements to eliminate frivolous candidacies, etc.
   2. Similar to above, with additional formal restrictions such as age and income. Also, there can also be informal limitations such as financing restrictions for campaigns in the absence of campaign expense limits.
   3. Candidates need to selected by other processes outside the main election (e.g. primary elections as in the United States, where Democrat or Republic primaries are used, or the totalitarian regime such as the Communist Party of Cnina or religious regimes, which must approve candidates for election).
3. Ballot processes for selecting the representative: If there is only one candidate, then the process is simple: select the candidate, while counting the ballots as a formality or to give some legitimacy to the selection. If the voter has the opportunity to express only one opinion with his or her only selection on the ballot, then the process for selecting the representative involves counting the ballots. If the voter has the opportunity to rank candidates, then there are a number of processing algorithms that could be followed. All the algorithms would involve recording all preferences in a database, counting the ballots for each candidate, eliminating the candidate with the fewest votes, readjusting the preferences of those that gave highest preference to the eliminated candidate so that second preferences become first, etc. and then doing a recount. The process would continue until all candidates but the winner are eliminated.
4. Voter opportunities to express an opinion: If there is only one candidate and one election, then the voter has in essence no opportunities to express an opinion. Voter opportunities to express an opinion in three ways: multiple candidates, multiple elections, and within an election ranking candidates by preference rather than just voting for the most preferred candidate.needs to rank the candidates; the ranking gives the voter the opportunity to express a much broader range of opinions. Also, multiple issues on the ballot.

In terms of actual voting systems, we are dealing with "systems" in which elements are combined. In systems, the presence of one element may determine how other elements are addressed.

Options

Here are examples of voting systems:

• Primary and General Elections: The American System: In the American system, there are two elections: primaries and general. The primary elections choose candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties to compete in the general election. In primary elections, voters usually place only one mark on the ballot, presumaby for the candidate they most want to win.Two elections mean private and public costs for both elections. There is a relatively open process for candidates to register for the primary election. The general election has candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as independent candidates. Independent candidates typically to not do well. In the general election, voters put only one mark on the ballot (for the general national election), presumably for their preferred candidate. Voters do not get a great opportunity to express views, because of limited candidates in the general election, the high costs for candidates to compete in two elections, the opportunity to put only one mark on the ballot. The winner is the candidate with the most votes. Where there are no independent candidates, the candidate usually will have a majority, otherwise not necessarily so.
• First Past the Post: Canadian and British Systems In this system, there is only one formal election. There is a relatively open candidate registration system. Voters get to put only one mark on the ballot, presumably for their preferred candidate. Results determined by adding up selections over all ballots. Winners often do not get majority of votes because votes get split among a number of candidates.
• Run-off Elections: The French System: The French sysems is similar to the above. However, if the election does not produce a winner with the majority of votes, there is a run-off election between the top two candidates. The only compelling logic for holding this election to choose among the top two candidates is that the election should produce a winner with a majority of the votes. The run-off election is an added expense for both the candidates and the public.
• Preference Voting: the Australian System - In the Australian system, there is a relatively open candidate registration process. THere is only one election. In that election, voters are asked to rank the candidates in order of priority. Voters will ultimately get to express views up to whatever number of candidates are up for election. If there are, for example, seven candidates, voters can express up to seven views in the one election. Voter input is maximized. If no candidate gets a majority of votes as the prefered candidate on the initial ballot count, the candidate with least votes drops out of the election process, and that candidates ballots are reassigned to other candidates according to preferences indicated in the ballots. The process continues until so long as no candidate gets a majority of votes. Computers make a quick and simple process of counting votes and reallocating ballots as per. To fully participate in the process, voters need to know candidates and need to express preferences. There is the potential for voter errors in expressing preferences on ballots; for example, two or more candidates could be given the same preference, or some candidates may not get a ranking. The more candidates in an election, the more complicated the voter rankings and the ballot counts. Despite this, the voter gets to express a lot of views in one election, which in turn is cheaper for the candidate and the public than two elections. The election tabulation process which sees candidates with the fewest votes drop from consideration after each ballot count is similar to the convention ballot process, which is generally considered fair. In the Australian system, this result is achieved through only one election. The winner always gets a majority, and achieves a degree of legitimacy thereby. To understand the process more fully, see the case study below.

Options and Issues

Bottom Line

Perhaps we need to rethink our elections systems and their role representative democracies.