Why Are There So Many (or So Few) Electoral Reforms?

2005 ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Katz
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Reforms

Informal Institutions and Women’s Political Representation in Chile (1990–2015)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Franceschet
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Women's Ministry ◽  
Gender Parity ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Gender Quota ◽  
Female President ◽  
Elected Office

Despite electing a female president, Michelle Bachelet, and at one point achieving gender parity in cabinet appointments, women’s presence in Chile’s national congress remains small, is only slightly higher at local levels, and is extremely limited among party and coalition leaders. In her gendered analysis of representation, Susan Franceschet argues this is because of the strong formal and informal institutions that limit the size of electoral districts, require large thresholds to win seats, and require coalition negotiation over candidates for elected office. Even though women have a mixed record of representation, their presence has had important policy consequences. A gender-focused presidency has been critical for passage of gender-attentive policies. Women in Chile’s legislative arenas have been more likely to bring gender issues to the agenda. Franceschet points out that Sernam, the women’s ministry, has played a critically important role in this. The electoral reforms approved by congress in 2015 include a gender quota, creating expectations that improvements will continue.

scholarly journals Political Scientists and Electoral Reforms in Europe and Canada: What They Know, What They Do

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-340
Author(s):  
Camille Bedock ◽  
Damien Bol ◽  
Thomas Ehrhard
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Reforms

Brytyjska Izba Lordów na przełomie XIX i XX wieku... Ewolucja pozycji w systemie politycznym

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (324) ◽  
pp. 125-141
Author(s):  
Andrzej Jaeschke
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Political Position ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Political Rivalry ◽  
Electoral Reforms

The paper concerns the evolution of the political position of the House of Lords until the end of the 19thcentury. The author presents the time of stabilisation of the relations of the two parliamentary chambers andidentifies its causes. He also discusses the increasing disruption of relations between the two chambers ofthe British Parliament following from electoral reforms and, consequently, the decomposition of the hithertounified conservative political environment and the emergence of liberal forces. This resulted in increasinglystrong ideological and political rivalry between the conservative House of Lords and the largely liberal Houseof Commons.

Money and the real impact of the Fourth Reform Act

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Labour Party ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
National Party ◽  
Liberal Party ◽  
The Real ◽  
The People ◽  
New Strategy ◽  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
Progressive Party

AbstractThe real significance ofthe Representation of the People Act, 1918, for the Liberal and Labour parties lay in its mundane and little discussed financial provisions, not in its extension of the franchise. Despite the electoral reforms of 1883–5, election contests before 1914 were still expensive enough effectively to exclude the Labour party from politics outside the industrial centres. In 1918 the politicians of the older parties took the opportunity to relieve their pockets of a substantial part of the expense of elections. However, Labour was the main beneficiary: its new strategy of contesting seats nationwide was only made possible by the changes in and underlying the Fourth Reform Act. These changes, in turn, enabled Labour to benefit from being a ‘national’ party and ‘alternative government’, during a period when the established leading ‘progressive’ party was divided and weakened. The Fourth Reform Act also assisted Labour's strategy of eliminating the Liberal party as a parliamentary force: Liberals could be denied election victories in the countryside and the suburbs by hopeless but inexpensive Labour interventions.

Conclusion

Gaining Voice ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 148-156
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Black Politics ◽  
State Legislators ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Elected Officials ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Electoral Reforms

This book has focused on African American state legislators through the lens of descriptive representation. Throughout the book, descriptive representation has been referred to as gaining voice, a multilayered metaphor that refers to the act of blacks voting, which is critical for whether black elected officials reach office. Once enough blacks gain voice, they choose to create caucuses to best advocate for shared interests. Gaining voice also refers to blacks making their political preferences known and, in some instances, actually having their interests represented in public policy. Once African Americans gain voice, they become more involved politically; and this informs how they think about electoral reforms governing access to voting. In this concluding chapter of the book, key themes and important findings are revisited. The implications of the book are considered, as well as how the book contributes to studies of state politics and black politics. Future studies informed by the book are also discussed.

Descriptive Representation and Black Public Opinion Toward Electoral Reforms

Gaining Voice ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 123-147
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Congressional Election ◽  
Black Representation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
Us Constitution ◽  
Black Public Opinion

Given the difficulties blacks experience exercising their right to vote, it seems that African Americans would uniformly support laws that make it easier for people to vote (progressive electoral reforms), while uniformly opposing laws that make it more difficult for people to vote (prohibitive electoral reforms). Arguing against this logic and building on studies of winning and losing in politics, the chapter posits that descriptive representation in the state legislature should liberalize black public opinion toward electoral reforms governing access to the franchise, using 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study data to find partial support. An increased black seat share in the legislature is associated with blacks being less supportive of requiring that voters read from the US Constitution and requiring voters to show photo ID. Further, an increased black seat share is related to blacks being more supportive of automatic voter registration and election-day registration. The black representation ratio was unimportant for understanding whether blacks supported electoral reforms.

The impact of electoral reforms on voting preferences: the Israeli 1996 and 1999 cases

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hani Zubida ◽  
David Nachmias
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
The Impact
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