Australian electoral system: Difference between revisions
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(Correct sentence on the Australian electoral division system. We don't have multi-member districts, that's New Zealand.) |
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Both the Centre squeeze effect and the moderating effect of viable more extreme parties cause a polarization in the centre and an underserving of moderates.
Another major reason that Australia has a two-party system is that the House is elected by electoral division (also called seats, electorates, or constituencies). To win an electoral division, a candidate must gather 50% of the preferences of the voters in that electorate, after redistribution of preferences from eliminated candidates. This leads to minority parties not winning seats, as, although there may be a large total number of first-preference voters for the minority party, they are distributed among the divisions, and do not gain a majority of preferences in any particular seat. Since each division only elects one seat in the House of Representatives, a majority of voters must support the winning candidate in that particular district. (Note that only a majority after the [[IRV|elimination of losing candidates
The system of electoral division means that a party can win a majority of seats without enjoying a majority of voter support, if the "majority party by voters" voters are many in number in a few electorates, and few in number in the majority of electorates. Moreover, losing ballots in each electorate have no affect on the composition of the House of Representatives. When done purposely, this phenomenon is known as [[Gerrymandering]]. Thankfully Australia sees little true Gerrymandering, as division boundaries are directed by the independent Australian Electoral Commission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/Practice7/HTML/Chapter3/Electoral_divisions|title=Electoral divisions|website=Parliament of Australia|url-status=live}}</ref> To remedy this issue, an electoral system that guarantees a measure of [[Proportional Representation|proportional representation]] has to be used.
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