|
| |
Process of voting
Most forms of
democracy
discern the will of the
people by a
common voting
procedure:
- Individual
voter registration and qualification,
- Opening the
Election
for a set time period,
- Registration of voters at established
voting locations,
- Distribution of
ballots with preset
candidates,
issues, and
choices (including the write-in option in some cases),
-
Selection of preferred choices (often
in secret, called a secret ballot),
- Secure collection of ballots for
unbiased counting, and
- Proclamation of the will of the voters
as the will of the people for their government.
Reasons for voting
In a
democracy,
voting commonly implies
election,
i.e. a way for an
electorate
to select among candidates for office. In
politics
voting is the method by which the electorate of a democracy appoints
representatives in its
government.
A vote, is an individual's act of voting, by
which he or she express support or preference for a certain
motion (e.g. a proposed resolution), a certain candidate, or a certain
selection of candidates. A
secret ballot, the standard way to protect voters'
political privacy, generally takes place at a
polling station. The act of voting in most countries is voluntary, however
some countries, such as
Australia,
Belgium and
Brazil, have
compulsory voting systems.
Types of votes
Different
voting systems use different types of vote. Suppose that the options in some
election are Alice, Bob, Charlie, Daniel, and
Emily and they are all vying for the same position.
In a voting system that uses a single vote,
the voter can select one of the five that they most approve of. "First
past the post" uses single votes. So, a voter might vote for Charlie. This
precludes him voting for anyone else.
An improvement on the single vote system is
to have
run-off elections, or repeat first past the post, however, the winner must
win by 50% plus one, called a simple majority. If subsequent votes must be used,
often a candidate, the one with the fewest votes or anyone who wants to move
their support to another candidate, is removed from the ballot.
In a voting system that uses a multiple vote,
the voter can vote for any subset of the alternatives. So, a voter might vote
for Alice, Bob, and Charlie, rejecting Daniel and Emily.
Approval voting uses such multiple votes.
In a voting system that uses a ranked vote,
the voter has to rank the alternatives in order of preference. For example, they
might vote for Bob in first place, then Emily, then Alice, then Daniel, and
finally Charlie. Many voting systems use ranked votes.
In a voting system that uses a scored vote
(or range vote), the voter gives each alternative a number between one
and ten (the upper and lower bounds may vary). See
range
voting.
Some "multiple-winner" systems may have a single
vote or one vote per elector per available position. In such a case the elector
could might vote for Bob and Charlie on a ballot with two votes. However, if Bob
and Daniel each receive the most votes (1st and 2nd place plurality), then Bob
and Daniel would obtain the seats. These types of systems can use ranked or
unranked voting, and are often used for
at-large
positions such as on some city councils.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting
|
