Politics of Electoral Systems

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course will provide an overview of the goals institutional actors are pursuing when they design and reform an electoral system. Conceptual dimensions and criteria for categorizing and comparing electoral systems will be discussed. Specific national cases will be studied to assess the impact of electoral laws on party systems, legislator behavior, and interbranch relations. Both aspects of intraparty and interparty politics we be explored. After completing a long series of case studies, a comparative perspective will be adopted to discuss recent scholarly research in this field. Electoral systems are made up of rules that govern a variety of issues related to how elections work, including rules about how candidates get access to the ballot; the extent to which voters can disturb the ballot presented to them; to what level votes will be pooled before seats are awarded; whether voters can select individual candidates or just party banners; how seats are allocated within a district; whether certain thresholds must be met etc. Therefore, electoral rules incentivize certain behaviors and are strategy oriented.