scholarly journals Consensus Gained, Consensus Maintained? Changing New Zealand's Electoral Law 1927-2007

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Christmas
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Active Search ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Electoral Change ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
The Way

<p>In the eighty years between the passage of New Zealand's first unified Electoral Act in 1927, and the passage of the Electoral Finance Act 2007, the New Zealand Parliament passed 66 acts that altered or amended New Zealand's electoral law. One central assumption of theories of electoral change is that those in power only change electoral rules strategically, in order to protect their self-interest.1 This thesis is an investigation into the way New Zealand governments effect and have effected their desired changes to the electoral law through the legislative process, and the roles self-interest and the active search for consensus between political parties have played in that process. It argues that, while self-interest serves as a compelling explanation for a great deal of electoral law change in New Zealand, altruistic motivations and the development of parliamentary processes influenced behaviour to an equal, and perhaps even greater, extent.</p>

Consensus Gained, Consensus Maintained? Changing New Zealand's Electoral Law 1927-2007

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Christmas
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Active Search ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Electoral Change ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
The Way

<p>In the eighty years between the passage of New Zealand's first unified Electoral Act in 1927, and the passage of the Electoral Finance Act 2007, the New Zealand Parliament passed 66 acts that altered or amended New Zealand's electoral law. One central assumption of theories of electoral change is that those in power only change electoral rules strategically, in order to protect their self-interest.1 This thesis is an investigation into the way New Zealand governments effect and have effected their desired changes to the electoral law through the legislative process, and the roles self-interest and the active search for consensus between political parties have played in that process. It argues that, while self-interest serves as a compelling explanation for a great deal of electoral law change in New Zealand, altruistic motivations and the development of parliamentary processes influenced behaviour to an equal, and perhaps even greater, extent.</p>

scholarly journals LEGAL FORUM: MMP: Aligning the Judicial and Parliamentary Functions

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kiely
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Public Power ◽  
Employment Contracts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

The advent of MMP may make a considerable difference to the way law is practised in New Zealand. It will change both the policy making environment and will ultimately change aspects of the legal environment. In essence, MMP is going to alter the distribution of public power in New Zealand. The changes in the way our system of government operates will have significant implications for the legislative process, decision making within the executive government and it is suggested, the role of judiciary and the legal profession. The focus of this paper is the possible impact of MMP on the alignment of our parliamentary and judicial functions. On the issue of policy making I will discuss the extent to which these roles may overlap and the desirability of such an occurrence. As a case study I will discuss the impact of judicial activism in the context of New Zealand's employment contracts legislation. Finally, I will examine the role of lawyers as advisors in the new regime.

Electoral Change and Policy Representation in Congress: Domestic Welfare Issues from 1956–1972

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter J. Stone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
United States Congress ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Policy Representation ◽  
Electoral Change ◽  
Institutional Features

Many students of the United States Congress have contended that the institution is too closely tied to the interests of members' local constituencies. While the responsiveness this charge implies may seem laudable, the localism said to exist, especially in the House, weakens national agents of representation such as the political parties. Institutional features like seniority and the norm of reciprocity are often criticized for the premium they place upon members' success in their local constituencies, and the narrow, particularistic policy which results. Those who prefer a legislature responsive to national interests lament the disproportionate influence of constituencies with well-placed representatives on the committees and subcommittees in the House, and the fragmented, ‘distributive’ character of the legislative process.

scholarly journals Rethinking Electoral Reform Processes after the Report of the Electoral Commission on the Review of the MMP Voting System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ashleigh Bennett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Electoral Reform ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Rule Changes ◽  
Electoral Rule ◽  
Voting System ◽  
Reform Processes ◽  
The Way

<p>The 2012 Report of the Electoral Commission on the Review of the MMP system recommended that several changes be made to the way in which future parliaments are elected in New Zealand. The lack of legislative response to the recommendations highlighted an issue inherent in New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements - that changes to electoral rules are designed and enacted by politicians, and there is no mechanism through which citizens can initiate or meaningfully engage with electoral reform processes. This paper looks at whether there is a better way that such proposals for electoral rule changes could be managed, proposing the use of ‘citizen initiated’ Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform.</p>

scholarly journals Rethinking Electoral Reform Processes after the Report of the Electoral Commission on the Review of the MMP Voting System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ashleigh Bennett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Electoral Reform ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Rule Changes ◽  
Electoral Rule ◽  
Voting System ◽  
Reform Processes ◽  
The Way

<p>The 2012 Report of the Electoral Commission on the Review of the MMP system recommended that several changes be made to the way in which future parliaments are elected in New Zealand. The lack of legislative response to the recommendations highlighted an issue inherent in New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements - that changes to electoral rules are designed and enacted by politicians, and there is no mechanism through which citizens can initiate or meaningfully engage with electoral reform processes. This paper looks at whether there is a better way that such proposals for electoral rule changes could be managed, proposing the use of ‘citizen initiated’ Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform.</p>

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia McClintock
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Political Exclusion ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Freedom House

During Latin America’s third democratic wave, a majority of countries adopted a runoff rule for the election of the president. This book is the first rigorous assessment of the implications of runoff versus plurality for democracy in the region. Despite previous scholarly skepticism about runoff, it has been positive for Latin America, and could be for the United States also. Primarily through qualitative analysis for each Latin American country, I explore why runoff is superior to plurality. Runoff opens the political arena to new parties but at the same time ensures that the president does not suffer a legitimacy deficit and is not at an ideological extreme. By contrast, in a region in which undemocratic political parties are common, the continuation of these parties is abetted by plurality; political exclusion provoked disillusionment and facilitated the emergence of presidents at ideological extremes. In regression analysis, runoff was statistically significant to superior levels of democracy. Between 1990 and 2016, Freedom House and Varieties of Democracy scores plummeted in countries with plurality but improved in countries with runoff. Plurality advocates’ primary concern is the larger number of political parties under runoff. Although a larger number of parties was not significant to inferior levels of democracy, a plethora of parties is problematic, leading to a paucity of legislative majorities and inchoate parties. To ameliorate the problem, I recommend not reductions in the 50% threshold but the scheduling of the legislative election after the first round or thresholds for entry into the legislature.

Legislation and the Constitutional Framework

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Civil Law ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
French Law ◽  
Major Overhaul ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Way

This chapter introduces the main constitutional institutions and mechanism governing France, taking into account the major overhaul of the 1958 Constitution in 2008. It also shows that legislation is the primary source of law in France, that there are different types of legislation, and that legislative sources are organised hierarchically. Moreover, the chapter also considers, within the constitutional framework, the legislative process and examines the way in which bills are drafted. It also seeks to familiarise readers with the layout of a French statute. In addition, this chapter shows that much of French law though not all of it is codified. Codification is a particular legislative technique common to most civil law systems.

scholarly journals Using Intrade.com to Teach Campaign Strategies in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (01) ◽  
pp. 139-144
Author(s):  
Paul R. Abramson
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Campaign Strategies ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Campaigns And Elections ◽  
Political Outcomes ◽  
Bid Prices ◽  
The Way

AbstractDuring the six weeks before the 2008 elections, I conducted a contest for the 72 students enrolled in my upper-division course Campaigns and Elections. Using contract prices posted by Intrade.com, an electronic gaming market based in Dublin, I asked students to choose among 10 political outcomes. The “contracts” earned by each choice were determined by the Intrade “bid” prices as of September 24, 2008, the day the contest began. The contest helped teach students about campaign strategies, the way electoral rules affect electoral outcomes, provided a reference point to discuss the campaign, and was designed to stimulate interest in the election.

Minimalinvasiv oder wirksam? Debattenbeitrag zur Novellierung des Bundeswahlrechts vom Oktober 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 675-684
Author(s):  
Johannes Krause
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Vote System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Standard Size ◽  
National Parliament ◽  
System P ◽  
Voting System ◽  
The Way

Despite the 2020 reform of Germany’s national parliament voting law, the debate about a robust voting system has not ended . Träger and Jacobs have convincingly shown that Naun­dorf’s suggestion to introduce a parallel voting system creates more problems than it solves, and thus more far-reaching approaches have to be considered . One way to stop the Bunde­stag from growing is to reject the two vote-system . Comparable to the system of Thuringia’s local elections, with open lists and three votes per voter, both the standard size of the Bun­destag can be safely adhered to and at the same time a personalized proportional represen­tation can be maintained . Among other advantages, the voters would have greater influence on the personalized composition of the Bundestag . In particular, reservations on the part of the political parties could stand in the way of such a sustainable solution to the ongoing problems with the German electoral system .

Regional features of local elections in 2020: Poltava region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Petro Vorona ◽  
S. A. Solovey
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Party Building ◽  
Regional Features ◽  
Electoral Law

The article considers the issue of holding local elections on the example of one of the regions of Ukraine - Poltava region. The research hypothesis is based on the study of the dynamics of party representation in local governments of Poltava region as a central, iconic region to study the evolution of electoral sympathies and features of party building from the standpoint of public administration science. The author conducted a comparative analysis of the electoral preferences of Poltava residents in the local elections in terms of political parties and their dynamics in accordance with the 2015 elections. The development of democratic processes is directly dependent on the mechanisms and procedures for both local and parliamentary elections - the extent to which electoral law allows the majority of voters to understand the wide variety of political parties and candidates, allows opinion leaders to participate in elections. It is pointed out that there is a certain regrouping («political mimicry») of some political parties in the country, as a reestablishment of the «old political elite» and a campaign for local elections in a new composition and with a new name. The article focuses on strengthening the role of regionally influenced political parties in local elections. They allowed the local political elite to be more independent of all-Ukrainian parliamentary parties. Attention is drawn to local political party projects led by charismatic or financially influential politicians. It is noted that the local elections in 2020 continued the positive dynamics of change - from the previous convocation, only a quarter of people entered the Poltava Regional Council, and its membership was renewed by almost 70%. The dominance of the post-Soviet communist and Komsomol elites in the region, which were characterized by exceptional unity, is disappearing, although they retain some of their political electoral influence in the region. It is pointed out the need to further improve the provisions of the Electoral Code where it is necessary to lay down the principle of fairness in the distribution of seats on the main electoral list in accordance with the electoral rating of candidates.

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