The United States Of America

The Constitution And Democracy

The Electoral Process 
The procedures and rules for the conduct of elections in a political jurisdiction constitute an electoral system. An electoral system has numerous components, each of which may have an important impact on the outcome of elections.
Apportionment is the manner in which representation (most commonly legislative seats) is distributed among preexisting territorial or other units entitled to representation in a country, state, or other political jurisdiction. Districting is the process by which precise geographical boundaries of territorial constituencies are established.

In the United States, the national government apportions 435 seats in the House of Representatives among the 50 states, according to the size of the state populations. The state governments then perform the task of districting by dividing their states into specific districts for the purpose of electing U.S. representatives. Because of the Constitutional provision that representatives be apportioned among the states according to "their respective Numbers," the number of representatives each state sends to the House has long corresponded closely to the relative size of the state's population. Until the 1960s, however, the districting process within states did not have to reflect population equally. Some large House districts had close to four times the population of certain small districts. Greater inequalities were reflected in the districting arrangements for many state legislatures.

In a series of landmark cases beginning with Baker v. Carr in 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that federal, state, and local legislative districts should be substantially equal in population. As a consequence, the great majority of American legislative assemblies were substantially redistricted before 1970. However, the process of gerrymandering, the conscious drawing of constituency boundary lines for partisan advantage, was still legally possible. Efforts to district areas so that minority groups gain majority status have also met with challenges in the court system. 

Two additional factors that affect the nature of a country's electoral system are the type of districts--single-member or multiple-member--in which representatives are elected and whether the system calls for proportional representation or the plurality method of designating the winning candidates. Britain and several countries in the Commonwealth use single-member constituencies, with the provision that the candidate who polls the most votes will be declared the winner. In elections for state legislative seats in the United States, both single-member and multiple-member districts are used. And in a number of countries in Europe, multiple-member constituencies are the rule.

In the United States, whether legislative districts are single-member or multiple-member, the winners are the candidates who poll the most votes. By contrast, most of the world's democracies, including Italy, Sweden, Israel, and Japan, have multiple-member districts with proportional representation. Under a common version of proportional representation, known as the list system, voters cast their ballots for a party rather than for specific candidates, and seats are assigned to the parties according to their proportion of the total vote.

It is often argued that a single-member constituency-plurality election system, in which a minor party may get many popular votes but not enough to elect a candidate, tends to perpetuate a two-party system. But a variety of other factors also contributes to the dominance of two major parties in some countries using the single-member, plurality election system.

On the other hand, proportional representation does seem to aid certain minor parties by ensuring that they will be represented in the legislature. In some countries, a party must poll a certain percentage of the total popular vote, perhaps 5%, in order to qualify for proportional representation. And the list system of proportional representation probably strengthens the power of the party leaders who make up the lists. Some countries, such as Germany, elect part of their legislators in single-member districts and part by proportional representation.

Qualifying for Office 
The general trend during the 19th and 20th centuries has been to reduce the qualifications required to run for public office. Requirements of age, residence, and citizenship often are similar to those determining eligibility to vote. Eligibility may be subject to term limits as well. 

Frequently, a prospective candidate must be sponsored by a specified number of voters on a nominating petition. In some cases, candidates also must deposit a sum of money that is forfeited if they fail to receive a certain proportion of the vote.
In many countries candidates may file to run in a general election as the nominee of an established political party or as an independent. In some U.S. states legal barriers have made it difficult for candidates of new parties or would-be independents to remain on the ballot. Most states require candidates to collect a set number of signatures to gain ballot access and oblige parties to win as much as 10% of the vote to remain on the ballot. States such as New York, Oregon, and Virginia, however, have moved recently to lower these election hurdles. 

Nominations 
A vital element in the total electoral process is the procedure by which candidates are nominated by political parties. In Britain and continental Europe this nominating function is frequently performed by a relatively small group of activists in individual constituencies, party conventions, or conferences, or by national political leaders.

In the United States, nominating procedures have evolved through several stages. In the early 19th century, nominations for major offices were often made by legislative caucuses composed of the members of the legislature from a given political party. In the 1830s the nominating caucus began to be replaced by the party convention, which in turn gave way to the direct primary in many states by the early 20th century. The convention system is still used to nominate presidential candidates, but states increasingly are selecting delegates to the presidential nominating convention by primary elections. The net effect of the introduction of the direct primary has probably been to weaken the control of the nominating process by party organization leaders.
 
Election Campaigns 
The way in which political campaigns are conducted varies widely from country to country. In some totalitarian nations the campaign is mainly an effort to publicize the election in order to ensure a heavy voter turnout. Some countries with competitive elections sharply limit both campaign expenditures and media exposure. Other countries, such as the United States, have been less effective in limiting the cost of campaigning.

How to pay for campaigns spurs debate on issues of fairness, competition, corruption, and opportunity. Everywhere costs of seeking elected office have risen, often dramatically. Traditional income sources of political parties, such as party dues and profits from party newspapers, have been inadequate to meet the rising costs of campaigning. As of the mid-1980s a majority of liberal democracies had some form of public financing, although varying in both the degree and kind of support provided. For example, generous public subsidies are available in Germany, while public financing in the United States is limited by comparison. Political parties in the United States support candidates, particularly with in-kind services, such as polls, consultants, and campaign advertisements. However, contributions from the private sector, wealthy individuals, and interest groups account for most of the money raised. 

The Federal Elections Campaign Act, passed in 1971 and amended in 1974, subjects campaign contributions to numerous regulations that, in net effects, reinforce the candidate-centered nature of American elections. Political systems such as Canada and Great Britain limit the amounts of money candidates can spend on their own behalf, but in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that legal limits on personal expenditures of candidates and "independent expenditures" by groups are incompatible with constitutional protections of free speech.
 
Most statewide and national campaigns in the United States are geared to the use of television, the most expensive medium. In 1988, for example, candidates for the U.S. House and Senate raised more than $426 million in campaign money, with incumbents much better financed than challengers. In state legislative races and local elections, television may not be economically feasible. Instead, candidates rely on the more traditional techniques of newspaper coverage, rallies and social gatherings, lectures before civic groups, and door-to-door canvassing.

Campaign strategy is affected by the nature of the political situation confronting the candidate. A candidate of the party usually in the majority in his or her district may concentrate on trying to get a large turnout at the polls rather than attempt to woo independent voters or voters normally committed to another party. By contrast, the candidate of a minority party may work hard to play down appeals to party loyalty and to accentuate special issue appeals and personal candidate appeals.
Since the 1950s increasing use has been made of public opinion polls in political campaigning. Candidates often use privately commissioned polls to see how they are doing, to determine which categories of voters are for and against them, and to ascertain what issues, attitudes toward the parties, and attitudes toward the candidates are working to their advantage or disadvantage. 

Publicized opinion polls indicate the amount of public support for the candidates and often the likely winner. There is no conclusive evidence that such polls, by themselves, have a bandwagon influence on the mass of the voters, though the standings in the polls may affect financial support for and other campaign activities by potential political activists.

Election Administration 
The way in which elections are administered also affects the working of an electoral system. The time of the year and day of the week when elections are held, whether state law requires that employers give their employees time off to vote, the hours polling places are open, the extent to which public officials take the initiative in registering voters, the requirements for registering and voting, the ease of absentee voting--these and other factors can influence the size of the vote and perhaps the outcome.

In many countries elections are administered by a local government official, such as the town clerk in Britain or a county clerk in the United States. In other countries local election administration is handled by an official of the central government, such as the préfet in France.

Registration 
A person is identified as being qualified to vote by a process of registration. This places the name on a list of eligible voters in advance of an election. Under periodic registration new voting lists are prepared at stated intervals--sometimes before every general election. Under the more common system of permanent registration voters normally remain registered unless they fail to vote during a stated period, change residence, or die.

In Britain election officials take the initiative in maintaining comprehensive lists of all persons eligible to vote. In France, registration is compulsory, though voting is not. In most states in the United States, the initiative usually must be taken by the individual citizen to become a registered voter. Partly for this reason registration figures have often been proportionately lower in the United States than in western Europe. Another factor in the relatively low registration figures in the United States is that, historically, many blacks have been systematically excluded from registering in parts of the South. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (extended in 1970) took the registration process out of the hands of local election officials in many southern counties, providing instead for federal registrars.

Balloting 
Voting may be by paper ballot, by voting machine, by computer punch card, or by dropping a marker into a designated container. In Britain the ballot in a general election is usually short and simple, often listing only two or three candidates for the local seat in Commons. In the United States, where in a general election voters are asked to fill offices at several levels of government and to vote on specific policy proposals, the ballot is often long and complicated. This long ballot has led to pressures to reduce the number of offices filled by direct election.

In the United States the form of the ballot or arrangement of the candidates' names in voting machines may affect the extent to which voters split their ticket between candidates of different parties running for different offices. The party-column ballot (Indiana ballot) groups candidates for all offices under party labels. There is frequently also a provision for voting a straight party ticket for all offices by a single mark of the ballot or by pulling a single lever on the voting machine. By contrast, the office-block ballot (Massachusetts ballot) groups candidates under the office they seek and is less conducive to straight-ticket voting. 
Absentee Voting In the 20th century, provisions for Absentee Voting by mail have spread, although in the United States it is still easier in some states than in others. In the conflict over where college students should be eligible to register and vote following passage of the 26th Amendment, there was interest in some quarters in widespread use of the absentee ballot.

Tabulating, Reporting, and Certifying Results 
In many countries votes are counted by election officials at the precinct polling places, often in the presence of authorized party workers. In Britain ballot boxes are taken to a central place in each constituency for counting.
Local election officials report their official election figures to other designated officials. Sometimes this process takes days or weeks. During major election contests television and newspaper coverage is extensive, and the news media report unofficial vote totals rapidly on election night. By analyzing the results in sample constituencies, the news media also project the probable winners.
Election results and winners are certified by designated public officials, often the clerk of elections in a county or the secretary of state in a state. Usually a recount will be held on demand if the initial vote count is very close. Where an absolute majority is required and not obtained, another election must be held within a stipulated period.

Voter Participation 
Usually the act of voting is voluntary, but Australia fines nonvoters a small sum. The percentage of persons of voting age who participate in elections varies considerably from country to country. Because countries calculate voter turnout differently, it is not possible to make precise comparisons.

Among western nations having contested general elections, Denmark and Germany rank particularly high in voter turnout. Generally, the percentage of voter participation is lower in the United States than in Britain, the Commonwealth, and much of Europe. But the difference is sometimes exaggerated because no consideration is made for the substantial number of mobile Americans temporarily disqualified by residence or other legal requirements.

Milton C. Cummings, Jr.
Johns Hopkins University
For Further Reading 
Bernstein, Robert A., Elections and Representation (Prentice-Hall 1989). 
Butler, David, and Kavanagh, Dennis, The British General Election of 1983 (St. Martin's 1984). 
Butler, David, and others, eds., Democracy at the Polls: A Comparative Study of Competitive National Elections (Am. Enterprise Inst. 1981). 
Katz, Richard S., A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press 1981). 
Mueller, Dennis C., Public Choice II, rev. ed. (Cambridge 1989). 
Taagepera, Rein, and Shugart, Matthew, Seats and Votes (Yale Univ. Press 1989). 

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