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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 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
