electoral systems
How votes count
Electoral systems are the rules and procedures by which votes translate into political representation.
Different systems produce different outcomes: winner-take-all systems like first past the post tend toward two dominant parties, while proportional representation allows smaller parties to win seats.
The choice of electoral system shapes everything from ballot design to coalition-building to whether voters feel their votes matter.
- votingFormally registering a choice
- ballot boxContainer for cast votes
- voting boothPrivate space for ballots
- ballotVoting document
- democracyRule by the people
referendum · suffrage · mail-in voting · constituency · polling · exit poll · gerrymandering · swing state · safe seat · spoiler effect · proportional representation · winner take all · franchise · plebiscite · hung parliament · majoritarian · first-past-the-post · hybrid systems
- democracyvote, voting, ballot, ballots, voters
- politicsdemocracy, campaigning, campaigns, democrats, bill
- political sciencepolitical science, political theory, political behavior, political economy, political institutions
- Indigenous Governanceself-rule, self-government, community councils, tribal councils, elder council
- electionsballot, ballots, voter registration, candidates, polls
- governancegovernance, government, democracy, vote, parliament
electoral systemsautocracy
Rule by one
dictatorship · absolute monarchy · hereditary monarchy · hereditary succession · tyranny
electoral systemsdisenfranchisement
Removal of voting rights
voter suppression · political repression · censorship · one-party state · authoritarianism
system, elect, electric, election, electricity, elected, electoral, electing, elections