The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens. As the Elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.[not verified in body]
Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results).
To elect means "to choose or make a decision", and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections, especially in the United States.
Elections were used as early in
history as ancient Greece and ancient
Rome, and throughout the Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.[1]
In medieval
India, around 920 AD, in Tamil Nadu, palm leaves were used for village assembly
elections. The leaves, with candidate names written on them, were put inside a
mud pot for counting. This was known as the Kudavolai system.[2][3][4] The Pala
king Gopala in early medieval Bengal was also
elected.[5]
Elections were carried out to select rajas by the gana during the Vedic
Period.Ancient Arabs also used election to choose their caliph, Uthman and Ali, in the early medieval Rashidun Caliphate.[6]
The modern "election", which consists of public elections of government officials, didn't emerge until the beginning of the 17th century when the idea of representative government took hold in North America and Europe.[1]
Further information: Suffrage
Questions of suffrage,
especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated the history of
elections. Males, the dominate cultural group in North America and Europe,
often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries.[1] Early
elections in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed
or ruling
class males.[1]
However, by 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had
universal adult male suffrage (except Switzerland) and many countries began to
consider women's suffrage.[1]
Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for adult males, political barriers
were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections (See Civil Rights movement).[1]Characteristics[edit]
Suffrage[edit]
The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those judged mentally incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting.
Suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country, though further limits may be imposed. However, in the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required.
Campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004
In some countries, voting is required
by law; if an eligible voter does not cast a vote, he or she may be subject
to punitive measures such as a fine.
Nomination[edit]A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organized political parties.[7]
Non-partisan systems tend to differ from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In a direct democracy, one type of non-partisan democracy, any eligible person can be nominated. In some non-partisan representative systems no nominations (or campaigning, electioneering, etc.) take place at all, with voters free to choose any person at the time of voting—with some possible exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e., among the elected delegates).
As far as partisan systems, in some
countries, only members of a particular political
party can be nominated. Or, an eligible person can be nominated through a petition; thus
allowing him or her to be listed.
Electoral
systems[edit]Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert the vote into a political decision. The first step is to tally the votes, for which various vote counting systems and ballot types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian. Among the former are party-list proportional representation and additional member system. Among the latter are First Past the Post (FPP) (relative majority) and absolute majority. Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting or a Condorcet method; these methods are also gaining popularity for lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more traditional counting methods.
While openness and accountability
are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting
a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception.
The secret
ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial
in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of
intimidation.
Scheduling[edit]The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In the United States, elections are held between every three and six years in most states, with exceptions such as the U.S. House of Representatives, which stands for election every two years. There is a variety of schedules, for example presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every seven years, the President of Russia and the President of Finland every six years, the President of France every five years, President of the United States every four years.
Pre-determined or fixed election
dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability. However, they tend to
greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving the legislature (parliamentary
system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when
dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the
United
Kingdom) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly
when within that limit it will actually go to the polls. In practice, this
means the government remains in power for close to its full term, and choose an
election date it calculates to be in its best interests (unless something
special happens, such as a motion of no-confidence). This calculation
depends on a number of variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and
the size of its majority.
Elections are usually held on one
day. There are also advance polls and absentee
voting, which have a more flexible schedule. In Europe, a substantial
proportion of votes are cast in advance voting.
Election
campaigns[edit]
Main article: Political campaign
When elections are called,
politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing
directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters
for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently
utilize campaign advertising. It is common for
political scientists to attempt to predict elections via Political Forecasting methods.
The most expensive election campaign
included US$7 billion spent on the United States presidential
election, 2012 and is followed by the US$5 billion spent on the Indian general election, 2014.[8]
Difficulties
with elections[edit]
Main article: Electoral
fraud
In many countries with weak rule of law,
the most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of
being "free and fair" is interference from the incumbent government. Dictators may
use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical
implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite
popular opinion in favor of removal. Members of a particular faction in a
legislature may use the power of the majority or supermajority (passing
criminal laws, defining the electoral mechanisms including eligibility and
district boundaries) to prevent the balance of power in the body from shifting
to a rival faction due to an election.
Non-governmental entities can also
interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal intimidation, or
fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring
for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with
strong traditions of free and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election
from being "free and fair" take various forms:
Lack of open political debate or an
informed electorate
The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or
candidates due to lack of freedom of the press, lack of objectivity in
the press due to state or corporate control, and/or lack of access to news and
political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state,
favoring certain viewpoints or state propaganda.
Unfair rules
This can include Gerrymandering,
exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, and
manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of the ways the
structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.
Interference with campaigns
Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates,
suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass
or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence.
Tampering with the election mechanism
This can include confusing or misleading voters about how to
vote, violation of the secret ballot, ballot
stuffing, tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast
ballots, voter suppression, voter registration fraud,
failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use
of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places.
Equally this list is only some of
the ways in which it can occur, other examples may include persuading
candidates into not standing against them. Some examples include: blackmailing,
bribery, intimidation or physical violence.
See
also[edit]
- Issue voting
- Elections by country
- Ballot access
- Demarchy—"Democracy without Elections"
- Electoral calendar
- Electoral integrity
- Election law
- Election litter
- Electronic voting
- Fenno's paradox
- Full slate
- Garrat Elections
- Gerontocracy
- Meritocracy
- Multi-party system
- Nomination rules
- Party system
- Pluralism (political philosophy)
- Political science
- Polling station
- Slate
References[edit]
1.
^ Jump up to: a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Election
(political science)," Encyclpoedia Britanica Online. Retrieved 18
August 2009
2.
Jump up ^ "Panchayat
Raj, Policy notes 2011–2012". Rural development & panchayat raj
department, TN Government, India. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
3.
Jump up ^ "Pre-Independence
Method of Election". Tamil Nadu State Election Commission, India.
Retrieved 3 November 2011.
4.
Jump up ^ "Handbook
on Kongu archaeological treasures". The Hindu (Coimbatore,
India). 27 June 2005.
7.
Jump up ^ Reuven Hazan, 'Candidate Selection', in Lawrence LeDuc,
Richard Niemi and Pippa Norris (eds), Comparing Democracies 2, Sage
Publications, London, 2002
8.
Jump up ^ http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/india-s-spend-on-elections-could-challenge-us-record-report-493685
Bibliography[edit
- Arrow, Kenneth J. 1963. Social Choice and
Individual Values. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Benoit, Jean-Pierre and Lewis A. Kornhauser. 1994.
"Social Choice in a Representative Democracy." American
Political Science Review 88.1: 185–192.
- Corrado Maria, Daclon. 2004. US elections and war on
terrorism – Interview with professor Massimo Teodori Analisi Difesa,
n. 50
- Farquharson, Robin. 1969. A Theory of Voting.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Mueller, Dennis C. 1996. Constitutional Democracy.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Owen, Bernard, 2002. "Le système électoral et son
effet sur la représentation parlementaire des partis: le cas
européen.", LGDJ;
- Riker, William. 1980. Liberalism Against
Populism: A Confrontation Between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory
of Social Choice. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
- Thompson, Dennis F. 2004. Just Elections: Creating a
Fair Electoral Process in the U.S. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN
978-0226797649
- Ware, Alan. 1987. Citizens, Parties and the State.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
External
links[edit]
- PARLINE
database on national parliaments. Results for all parliamentary elections
since 1966
- "Psephos,"
archive of recent electoral data from 182 countries
- ElectionGuide.org
— Worldwide Coverage of National-level Elections
- parties-and-elections.de:
Database for all European elections since 1945
- ACE Electoral
Knowledge Network — electoral encyclopedia and related resources from
a consortium of electoral agencies and organizations.
- Angus Reid
Global Monitor: Election Tracker
- IDEA's
Table of Electoral Systems Worldwide
- European Election Law
Association (Eurela)
- List
of Local Elected Offices in the United States
- Caltech/ MIT Voting Technology Project
