A simple party-list PR system is used in the UK for the European Parliament. A different Additional Member System (AMS) is used to elect the Scottish parliament and the Welsh Assembly. There are several important differences and the principle of proportionality is applied quite differently between the two. The single transferable vote system is used to elect the district councils (since 1973) and the MEPs in Northern Ireland, and the local government councils in Scotland (since 2007). The extent to which an electoral system is PR-based depends on the number of candidates elected per constituency and the existence of any thresholds for successful election.
The most common method of ratification is the three-fourths vote of the state legislatures. When the people prefer a change, Congress passes the amendment and the state legislatures vote to ratify. "Congressional proposal of the amendment is by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. State ratification is by three-fourths majority" (Mount, 2006). The other ratification method is by convention that involves an entirely different body from the legislature.
a) What is a referendum? A referendum or plebiscite is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been put to them for a direct decision. Referendums usually consist of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, the result of the referendum decided by the majority result. The questions may be multiple however, requiring the electorate to list their preferences, or the referendum may be a ‘qualified referendum’ – in that a certain condition has been placed on it that it has to meet for it be valid, such as a bench-mark turnout requirement. It is one of the few forms of direct democracy in representative democracies like the UK.
Proponents of the UK and US voting methods also often cite the lack of a credible alternative as a reason for the retention of the current systems. In the UK, national elections are held when the incumbent government chooses to call an election. This differs significantly from the USA where political office is held on a fixed term basis. When a general election is called each constituency holds an election to decide their Member of Parliament (MP) using the first past the post system. If a party gains a majority it will be offered the chance to form government by the Queen.
The President is elected by a voting process similar to those in Presidential systems. In order to become President in Russia, a candidate must receive 50% of votes or more. If this does not occur then the top two receivers of votes will have another election and the consequent winner becomes the President elect. In this type of system, the President acts as the head of state and with the approval of the Parliament he/she decides who should become the Prime Minister. The legislative power is instilled in the Federal Assembly,
This was then followed by The Great Reform Act of 1832, where they introduced a system for the election of MP's, by the 20th century Britain had its separate parties.Then in 1945 the first truly modern election manifesto appeared with a clear program of reform and thus made representation farer. For representative democracy, each MP represents a constituency (incluiding N.Ireland and Scotland) they are expected to represent the interests of the constituency and make its constituents feel like they will be listened to and f needed solve their problems. An MP does not have to be part of a party therefore can have its own ideas on what is best for its constituents and can also use Burkean representation (expect to also use own judgement of best interests of its constituents, he should not be expected to follow instructions of those who elected him). If an MP is part of a party, they can retain independence within the party sturcture as for example in the 19th century, this was described as the 'golden age of the British MP' in doing so, they influenced over government policy. In certain
Initiatives are a form of direct democracy which allows referenda to be initiated by the citizens of a state (through a petition of registered voters where in California e.g. the initiative must have the number of valid signatures equal to 5% of the number of votes cast for the governor in the most recent election) Recall elections are a procedure that allows registered voters to petition for a public vote by which an elected official can be removed from office before the end of term. In most cases recalls are only permitted in cases of corruption, negligence or incompetence by the elected official. E-petitions are a simple way to influence government and parliament in the UK. One can create an e-petition about anything that the government is responsible for and if it gets at least 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.
To answer this question one has to first describe and provide reasons for the rules which govern the legislative powers of the House of Lords in comparison to those of the House of Commons. To properly appreciate the rules one should determine the composition of the people who are subject to the rules first. Each member of the House of Commons represents a constituent of the UK and is voted for by that constituent, voting takes place once every term of parliament. Members of the House of Lords are selected not on a voting basis and are chosen from one of the two following methods. Hereditary members are those who inherit their status as from their family, non-hereditary members are chosen by the prime minister in recognition to their expertise to become life peers.
After all, if the people don’t like it, they can always vote them out of office! This dilemma has often been debated about a representative government: are the elected officials expected to vote the way the majority of his or her constituents would desire, as amplified by the famous observer of American democracy Alexis de Tocqueville? Or, are elected officials expected to
Voting will effect change within neighborhoods, cities, states, countries, and even the world. Voting is the principle means of a representative government. How can a government be representative if roughly 45-50 percent of eligible voters don't vote? This makes a government only representative to half of the