TheElectoralSystem英国与美国选举制度.ppt

1、The Electoral System,-Britain and the United States,Buckingham Palace,Electoral system: UK,In England, elections have been used as a parliamentary process since the 13th century. The secret ballot was adopted in 1872 and full equal voting rights won for women in 1928. All registered members of the p

2、ublic aged 18 and over may vote in parliamentary elections. The British House of Commons is elected for a maximum of five years; the prime minister can call a general election at any time.,THE LISTING The calling of an election the election writ By-elections Nomination of candidates Election campaig

3、ns and expenses Corrupt practices The parliamentary franchise The poll Disputed elections Effects of the first-past-the-post system Electoral behaviour in Britain,The calling of an election the election writ,The royal proclamation announcing the dissolution of Parliament and the summoning of a new P

4、arliament is the authorization for the writs for a general election.,The decision to dissolve Parliament is made by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Under the Parliament Act 1911 the maximum duration of a Parliament is five years.,On average, since 1900 elections have been held bet

5、ween every three and four years. On two occasions in the 20th century two elections have been held in one year: in 1910 and 1974.,By-elections,A writ for a by-election is issued by the clerk of the Crown on receipt of the Speakers warrant . A by-election must be held not less than 11 or more than 21

6、 days after the issue of the writ.,Nomination of candidates,The House of Commons consists of 659 members, each representing a single-member constituency. Each candidate must be nominated by a proposer, a seconder, and eight other electors. In practice, the overwhelming majority of candidates are nom

7、inated by political parties. Furthermore, the majority of the party candidates are nominated by the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties .,Elizabeth,Election campaigns and expenses,The election expenses of each candidate are strictly controlled. The purposes of election expenses are al

8、so strictly controlled and all expenses must be declared and published. All election literature must include the name and address of the publisher and of the printer. Each candidate is allowed, however, to send one electoral communication free to every elector in the constituency.,Corrupt practices,

9、In earlier times British elections were notoriously corrupt, but the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872 and the passing of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883 have virtually eliminated corruption. A person found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice is disqualified from voting for fi

10、ve years in a parliamentary election. In contrast to the rest of the UK, however, examples of personation and intimidation have been fairly common in Northern Ireland.,The parliamentary franchise,To qualify as an elector in a parliamentary election in a particular constituency a person must be resid

11、ent in that constituency on the annual qualifying date (10 October), be a British citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, of at least 18 years of age (21 before 1969), and not be subject to any legal disqualification.,The electoral register is compiled annually and comes into force on 15 Fe

12、bruary following the qualifying date of 10 October. Lists of electors are publicly displayed to enable voters to ensure that their names have been included.,Windsdor Castle,The poll,Since the general election of 1918 polling or voting has taken place in all constituencies on the same day. Prior to t

13、his, polling was spread over three to four weeks. Voters are provided with polling cards which direct them to specified polling stations located in different parts of the constituency. The polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.,Disputed elections,If it is alleged that the elected candi

14、date is disqualified from sitting in Parliament, or that a candidate has engaged in bribery, corruption, orintimidation of electors, or that people ineligible to vote have voted in theelection, the case is referred to an election court. This consists of two HighCourt judges who may, according to the

15、 evidence, declare the election void ordeclare the candidate with the next highest number of votes elected. In the past, disputed elections were not uncommon, but they are now comparatively rare and are mostly concerned with alleged disqualification of the successful candidate.,Effects of the first-

16、past-the-post system,The simple first-past-the-post system of voting has an important effect on elections since it is possible in a given constituency for a candidate to be elected with only a relative majority of votes . This can, of course, only occur where there are three or more candidates, but

17、since this is not uncommon, such results are not rare.,Electoral behaviour in Britain,Electoral behaviour in Britain is characterized by a considerable degree of homogeneity and the movement of support (or swing) from one party to another at a general election is usually maintained fairly uniformly

18、over the whole country.,The White House,Elections in the United States,The system is a product not only of American politics but also of the development of technology as problems regarding transportation and communications were solved in the past 200 years. Basically, the system is not that complica

19、ted when traced backwards. In the simplest terms, the members of the College of Electors from 50 states and the District of Columbia get together and cast their votes for the president and vice-president of the United States. The candidates who get the highest number of votes win.,THE LISTING,Voting

20、 Eligibility Voter registration Absentee voting Mail ballots Early voting Voting equipment,Eligibility,The eligibility of an individual for voting is set out in the constitution and also regulated at state level. The constitution states that suffrage cannot be denied on grounds of race or color, sex

21、 or age for citizens eighteen years or older. Beyond these basic qualifications, it is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate voter eligibility.,Voter registration,Every state except North Dakota requires that citizens who wish to vote be registered. Some states allow citizens to regis

22、ter to vote on the same day of the election . Traditionally, voters had to register at state offices to vote, but in the mid-1990s efforts were made by the federal government to make registering easier, in an attempt to increase turnout.,Absentee voting,Voters unable or unwilling to vote at polling

23、stations on Election Day can vote via absentee ballots. Absentee ballots are most commonly sent and received via the United States Postal Service. Despite their name, absentee ballots are often requested and submitted in person . Typically a voter must request an absentee ballot before the election

24、occurs.,Mail ballots,Mail ballots are similar in many respects to an absentee ballot. However they are used for Mailing Precincts where on election day no polling place is opened for a specific precinct. In Oregon, all ballots are delivered through the mail.,Early voting,Early voting is a formal pro

25、cess where voters can cast their ballots prior to the official election day.,Voting equipment,Voters casting their ballots in polling places record their votes most commonly with optical scan voting machines or DRE voting machines. Voting machine selection is typically done through a states local el

26、ection jurisdiction including counties, cities, and townships. Many of these local jurisdictions have changed their voting equipment since 2000 due to the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which allocated funds for the replacement of lever machine and punch card voting equipment.,Levels o

27、f Election,Federal elections Presidential elections Congressional elections Senate elections House of Representatives elections State elections Local elections,Federal elections,The United States has a presidential system of government, which means that the executive and legislature are elected sepa

28、rately. It is the responsibility of state legislatures to regulate the qualifications for a candidate appearing on a ballot paper, although in order to get onto the ballot, a candidate must often collect a legally defined number of signatures.,Presidential elections,The President and the Vice Presid

29、ent are elected together in a Presidential election. The election is indirect, the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the Electoral College. In modern times, voters in each state select a slate of electors from a list of several slates designated by different parties or candidates,

30、 and the electors typically promise in advance to vote for the candidates of their party,Congressional elections,Elections to Congress take place every two years. Congress has two chambers. Senate elections The Senate has 100 members, elected for a six year term in dual-seat constituencies (two from

31、 each state) with one-third being renewed every two years. Until the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, Senators were elected by state legislatures, not the electorate of states.,Congress of US,House of Representatives elections,The House of Representatives has 435 memb

32、ers, elected for a two year term in single-seat constituencies House elections are usually, but not always, correlated with presidential elections. As the redistricting commissions of states are often partisan, districts are often drawn which benefit incumbents.,State elections,State law and state c

33、onstitutions, controlled by state legislatures regulate elections at a state level and local level. Various officials at state level are elected. Since the separation of powers applies to states as well as the federal government, state legislatures and the executive (the governor) are elected separa

34、tely. Proposals to amend the state constitution are also placed on the ballot in some states.,Local elections,At the local level, county and city government positions are usually filled by election, especially within the legislative branch. The extent to which offices in the executive or judicial br

35、anches are elected vary from county to county. Some examples of local elected positions include sheriffs at the county level and mayors and school board members at the city level.,Supreme Court of US,Features of the election system,Party systems Ballot access Campaign finance Primaries and caucuses,Party systems,The United States has a very strong two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties. It is extremely difficult for anyone to achieve electoral success under a third party. As a general rule, the Democratic and Republican parti