Electoral Rules & Their Consequences

1 Course Unit

For representative democracy to work, it requires a set of rules to determine who wins elections and gets to govern. However, these rules can vary greatly in terms of how votes are cast, counted, and translated into seats, and differences in the rules can produce significantly different political outcomes, both directly (due to the way in which votes are counted) and indirectly (due to incentives that affect the behavior of political actors, such as voters and candidates). The set of rules that structure the process of voting and election is what we call the electoral system. This seminar will survey and analyze electoral systems around the world to explore how electoral rules can affect voters, politicians, parties, policymaking, and representation 1 Course Unit