The majority district. Constituency. The majority electoral system

Participation in elections is the duty of every citizen. Only many of them understand what, in fact, at this moment is happening? So you can really explain to your friends what is the majority district? How is it different from others and why is it so tricky to call it? Let's try to figure it out. For many it will come in handy when it's time to go to the polling station again. Still, it is necessary to understand what process is involved in order not to replenish the ranks of those who are used "in the dark".

Electoral system

Without this concept can not figure it out. After all, the majority district is a part of it. The electoral system is a legislatively fixed mechanism for the process of the expression of the will of citizens. Everything is clearly marked and painted in it. Participants, processes, mechanisms are fixed by a special law (and sometimes several). Including in the documents, selective technology is also defined. It includes a system of means, a mechanism, methods of organizing, holding a will. There are three such technologies: proportional, mixed and majority. In our case, the latter is used. At the same time, the constituency is a kind of territorial unit of the electoral system. They share the territory on which, in accordance with the law, elections are held. For example, if the country's parliament is being formed, then the districts are created on all its territory and so on.

The majority system

This type of election process is considered the oldest. The term, incomprehensible to many, comes from the French word "majorite". It translates as "majority". From here one can easily conclude that it means a majority district. This is the territory in which the candidates who succeeded in obtaining the majority of votes turn out to be elected. But that's not all. This "majority" is determined by law, in each case separately. For example, there are systems where the winner is the one who turned out to be the "first" after the count. It is called the absolute majority system. In this case, the voter included in the majority district receives a bulletin where only one tick must be provided. That candidate, which aroused the confidence of the majority of voters, is declared the winner.

Other majority systems

In many countries, voting is conducted on this principle. You can call the US and Britain, Canada and France, Russia and Ukraine. In the last chapter of village councils, for example, are elected on the principle of a relative majority. It differs significantly from the above. The legislator of this state has decided that it is more just. That is why, when a majority district is formed, it includes a certain number of voters.

Everyone, of course, has his own opinion. If the calculation is carried out on an absolute system, then the one who has the arithmetic majority of votes wins. But even this is considered unfair, in fact, it can be chosen by a small part of the voters. When the calculation is carried out in accordance with the relative system, the winner is the one who will have more than half of the votes cast. This is significant, since in fact a significant number of voters voted for this candidacy. In addition, the majority system of the qualified majority is singled out.

Advantages and disadvantages

It should be noted that when the constituency is formed, many factors are taken into account. Such, as a rule, are the geographical position of settlements, the size of the population, the number of mandates and some others. It is believed that the electoral majority district is exactly the element that corresponds to democratic principles. Every citizen has the opportunity not only to participate in the expression of will, but also to "be heard". His voice will necessarily affect the outcome of the process. In addition, the legislator prescribes special conditions by a special act. These can be: turnout threshold or a counting system. These nuances seem insignificant to the uninitiated. However, they significantly affect the results of the will of citizens united in the electoral majority district. The shortcomings are indicated by a decrease in the level of people's participation in a second ballot. Let's consider more in detail

Repeated voting

The result with the majority system is not always final after the first round. The law on which the expression of will is conducted determines the criteria for announcing the winners. If it turns out after calculating votes that none of the candidates does not satisfy them, then repeated elections are held. At the same time, the majority districts remain the same. Changes can be made to the list of candidates. Let's take the same example of elections for rural heads in Ukraine. If none of the candidates has collected half of the votes, those who came out in the "deuce" of the leaders compete among themselves. In this case, another vote is taken.

The Australian system

Majoritarian elections can be conducted in a unique way. In Australia, for example, the legislator has found a way to get away from holding a repeat vote. There, counting is carried out on the principle of an absolute majority. But the voter is given the right to indicate additional benefits for other candidates. It's comfortable. In the event that the absolute majority is not received from the first time, then the most recent is thrown out of the list, then a second count is carried out. So they act until they determine a candidate who fully meets the requirements prescribed by law. It turns out that even in a difficult situation there is no need to involve the voter for its permission again. Everyone, so to speak, in advance expresses all his wishes about the winner (distributes priorities). Agree, this system is more democratic than the one where a simple absolute majority is counted.

List of candidates by majority districts

The voter, of course, is not interested in the system of counting, but about who to vote for. But in this case it is still necessary to have an understanding of the legislation that determines the essence of the will expression. In a simple system, you need to give your vote for one candidate (tick). In more complex - even more priorities to specify. In addition, there are multi-member districts.

In them the list is made not from personified candidates, but from collegiate ones. They are represented by party lists. All these nuances need to be known in advance, before going to the site. And in the most general variant of candidates the corresponding commission registers. She also creates ballots in which all those who passed the selection, provided documents and so on. The process is not simple. But the voter gets his hands on the list-bulletin, having confidence in his full compliance with the current legislation.

Some nuances of counting

It should be noted that the legislation is constantly being improved in order to improve the level of democracy. The voice of every citizen must be taken into account. Therefore, all sorts of nuances are determined. For example, counting can take into account both the number of voters and the total number of voters. Turnout thresholds are also set. This rule is present in many countries in the legislative acts governing the election of the president of the country. So, the plebiscite is recognized as having taken place when more than fifty percent of registered voters took part in it (50% plus one vote).