The main difference between proportional and majoritarian electoral systems is that they are based not on the principle of the majority, but on the principle of proportionality between the votes received and the mandates won. The use of the proportional system makes it possible to achieve a relative correspondence between the number of votes and the number of mandates.

Under the proportional system, multi-member constituencies are created, each of which elects several deputies. Elections are strictly partisan. Each party nominates its list of candidates for elective office, and the voter votes for the list of his party as a whole. After the voters have expressed their will and the votes have been counted, the voting meter or voting quota, i.e. the smallest number of votes required to elect one deputy. The distribution of mandates between parties is made by dividing the votes received by the quota. How many times the quota falls within the number of votes received by the party, the number of mandates the party will receive.

The electoral quota is determined by various methods:

1) Thomas Hare Method. This is the easiest method. The votes of voters within a particular constituency, submitted for the lists of all parties, are summed up and divided by the number of deputy mandates to be elected in this constituency. Such a quota is also called a natural quota.

Example:

Given: 5-member constituency, 4 parties (A, B, C, D). Distribution of votes:

A) 50; B) 24; B) 16; D) 10.

Divide by the number of mandates (deputies to be elected): 100/5=20. This is the quota. That is, in order for a party to get one seat in parliament, it is necessary to get 20 votes.

Now let's determine how many seats each of the parties will get.

C) and D) 0 mandates.

As a result, 3 mandates were distributed, and 2 are still left.

How are the remaining mandates distributed? Most commonly used largest remainder method, i.e. The mandate is given to the party with the most unused votes. In our case, this is party B. The last mandate remains party G.

Can also be used majority vote method: mandates not distributed according to the quota are transferred to the parties that received the largest number of votes.

2) Hogenbach-Bischoff method, called artificial quota. The meaning is that one is added to the number of mandates, and this artificially reduces the electoral meter as a result, which makes it possible to distribute a larger number of mandates.

In our example, the electoral quota is equal to: 100/(5+1)=16.6.

C) and D) 0 mandates.

Thus, 1 mandate remains undistributed.

3) Henry Drup method. Two units are added to the number of mandates, which further reduces the meter.

In our example, the electoral quota is equal to: 100/(5+1+1)=14.28.

In this case, the mandates will be distributed more fully:

A) 50 / 14.28 = 3 mandates (remainder 7);

B) 24/14.28=1 mandate (residue 9);

C) 16 / 14.28 = 1 mandate (remainder 1);

D) 0 mandates.

Thus, all 5 mandates are distributed.

4) Victor D'Hondt's divisor method or the rule of greatest mean.

In our example, it looks like this:

A - 50			16,6	12,5
B - 24					4,8
B - 16			5,33		3,2
G - 10			3,33	2,5

Then the resulting quotients are placed in descending order: 50; 25; 24; 16.6; 16 ; 12.5; 12 etc.

The number whose serial number corresponds to the number of mandates (in our example, the fifth number, i.e. 16, since the number of seats is 5), is a common divisor, i.e. electoral quota.

Each party receives as many seats as the number of times the common divisor fits into the number of votes collected by this party.

Final result will be as follows:

A) 50/16=3 mandates (remainder 2);

B) 24/16=1 mandate (residue 8);

C) 16/16=1 mandate (residue 0);

D) 0 mandates.

There are other methods as well.

The second question concerns how to distribute the received mandates among the candidates nominated by the party for the list. There are three approaches to address this issue:

1) The method of linked lists - candidates receive mandates in the order of their position in the list, starting from the first.

2) Free list method - involves preferential voting. During the voting, the voter puts the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. opposite the names of the candidates, thereby indicating the desired order in which the candidates receive mandates.

3) The method of semi-linked lists - one mandate is given to the candidate, the first on the list, and the rest of the mandates are distributed according to preferences.

The legislation of some foreign states introduces the so-called "barrier", which is a requirement according to which only parties that have received a set number of votes take part in the distribution of mandates. So, according to the electoral law of Germany in 1956, only those parties that received at least 5% of the votes of the entire country can be represented in the Bundestag.

! See for yourself what it is panashing, blocking.

Allocate also single transferable vote system . It is used in Ireland, Australia, India. Under this system, the voter chooses one of the candidates indicated in the list, and at the same time indicates to whom he still prefers from the list. If candidate number one wins the required number of votes to obtain a mandate, then the remaining ("extra") votes are transferred to candidate number two.

mixed electoral system combines the features of the majority and proportional systems.

Thus, in the FRG, half of the deputies are elected according to the majoritarian system of relative majority, and the other half - according to the proportional system. In Australia, the House of Representatives is elected by a majority system, and the Senate is elected by a proportional system.

If the number of elected deputies in the two systems is the same, then the mixed system is symmetrical, and if different, then it is asymmetric.

Above, only the main types of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems are considered, but in reality the picture looks much more complicated.

proportional system, if it is not distorted by various additions and amendments, it gives a relatively true reflection in the representative body of the actual correlation of political forces in the state.

? See for yourself what varieties of the electoral system still exist.

Referendum.

Concept and types of referendum.

The referendum, like elections, is an institution of direct democracy. The procedure for holding both elections and referendums is very similar. Voters participate both in the elections and in the referendum: either the entire electoral corps - if national elections or a national referendum are held, or part of the electoral corps - if regional elections or a regional referendum are held.

The main difference between the election procedure and the referendum procedure is object the will of the voters. In elections, such an object is a candidate for deputy or for some position outside a representative institution (president, vice president, state governor), that is, always a specific individual or faces.

In a referendum, the object of expression of will is not a person (candidate), but a certain issue on which a referendum is held: a law, a bill, a constitution, an internal political problem.

Finally, it should be said that the results of elections can be determined both by majoritarian and proportional systems, and the results of a referendum can be determined only on the basis of the principles of majority rule.

As regards the purely organizational side of holding elections and a referendum, they are practically exactly the same, except that constituencies are not needed in a referendum. They are only the whole country or region.

A referendum is an appeal to the electoral corps for the final decision of any (mostly legislative or constitutional) issue. This appeal can come from both the parliament and the head of state in the case of solving national issues, or from local authorities to the local electoral corps for solving local issues.

Kinds:

Nationwide and regional;

Constitutional and legislative;

Advisory and imperative (the decision is obligatory);

Compulsory (a referendum is mandatory) and optional;

Confirming and protecting.

It can also be classified according to other grounds (for example, according to the initiators of the event).

Along with the referendum, there is also such a thing as plebiscite. In some countries these terms are identified, in others both are used (Brazil). There is a point of view that the plebiscite is mandatory, and the referendum is consultative, or the plebiscite is held on the most important, fateful issues.

Switzerland is usually considered the birthplace of the referendum, although there is reason to believe that the plebiscites of Louis-Napoleon in 1851 and 1852. were essentially referendums.

The history of the referendum in the 20th century went through several stages. In general, we can talk about expanding the scope of its application, about the growing role of popular vote in solving important issues of both national and local importance. The referendum procedure is used to adopt constitutions and amendments to them, to approve bills, to change the form of government (Italy, Iran), to obtain the prior consent of the electoral corps when making important international or domestic decisions. In a number of countries (Switzerland, the USA), the referendum is widely used to resolve local issues.

Importance has a question about the formula of the referendum (that is, about the question submitted to the referendum), since the result of the vote largely depends on the formulation of the question. The question must be clearly and unambiguously formulated and must provide an unambiguous answer.

The legislation of foreign countries may define issues that are not allowed to be submitted to a referendum.

proportional electoral system- one of the varieties of electoral systems used in elections to representative bodies. When elections are held under the proportional system, deputy mandates are distributed among the lists of candidates in proportion to the votes cast for the lists of candidates, if these candidates have overcome the percentage barrier.

The advantages of a proportional electoral system are considered to be approximately equal representation of political forces in a representative body, depending on popularity with voters and the ability of the minority to have their representatives in parliament, the disadvantages are the partial loss of communication between deputies and voters and with specific regions.

A proportional electoral system combined with a majoritarian electoral system forms a mixed electoral system.

The proportional electoral system was formed in the 19th century with the advent of the system of political parties. Probably the system received its first scientific rationale in a book by a follower of the utopian socialist Charles Fourier, a member of the First International Victor Considerant (fr. Victor Considérant), published in 1892. Practical implementation has become the business of mathematicians and therefore different versions of the system bear their names. Belgium became the first state to adopt a proportional electoral system in 1899.

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Subtitles

Various systems of proportional representation

There are various methods of implementing proportional representation that either achieve greater proportionality or give a greater degree of certainty to the election result.

Party lists in multi-member constituencies

Each of the parties participating in the elections places its candidates on the party list in order of preference.

With a "closed list" voters vote for a party list rather than an individual candidate. Each party receives a number of seats proportional to the votes received. These places are taken by party representatives in the order they appear on the party list. This system is used in elections to the European Parliament in all countries of the European Union. This system is also used in Israel, where the entire country is one constituency with one "closed list". An electoral system with proportional representation and "closed" party lists is used in South Africa.

Party-list election system with additional single-member constituencies

This electoral system combines two systems - proportional representation and single-member constituencies. Such a "hybrid" system has certain advantages in countries with large populations, as it allows for a balance between local or national interests. This "mixed system" is also used in countries where the population is heterogeneous and lives in a variety of geographical, social, cultural and economic conditions. This system is used in Bolivia, Germany, Lesotho, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK [ ] and in elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Legislative Assembly. Until 2007, this system was also used in Russian Federation.

One "transferable" vote for multiple candidates in multi-member constituencies

This method of proportional representation uses a voter "preference" system. Each voter votes for two or more candidates. As a result, more candidates are elected than there are vacancies. To win under such a system, a successful candidate must reach a minimum quota of votes. This quota is determined by dividing the total number of votes cast by the number of vacant seats plus one seat. For example, if there are nine vacant seats, then all the votes cast are divided by ten (9+1), and the candidates with this minimum of votes fill the vacancies. In practice, only in a few cases the distribution of vacancies takes place after the first count of votes.

In the second vote count, votes cast for candidates in excess of the minimum quota are automatically "rolled over" to other elected candidates, and they thus receive the necessary quota of votes to fill the vacancy. In another way of counting, the votes cast for the least voted candidates are "transferred" to the candidate who comes first in terms of the number of votes cast among the candidates who did not receive the quota, and thus he receives the necessary quota.

This counting process continues until all available vacancies have been filled. While this process of counting votes and determining election winners is relatively complex, most voters find at least one of their candidates actually elected. This system is used in Australia for elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives of Tasmania and the Australian Capital District and elections to the Legislative Councils of the states of New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. It is also used in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Malta for local government elections, as well as in selected constituencies in New Zealand.

Advantages and disadvantages of the proportional system

Advantages

• The proportional representation system allows each political party to win a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes. That is why this system may seem fairer than the majority system.
• If the quota is low enough, then small parties also get seats.
• The most diverse groups of voters can provide seats for their representatives, and therefore the result of the elections is considered fair by the population.
• Under this system, voters are more likely to vote for candidates closer to their own position than for candidates who are more likely to be elected.
• The open-list proportional representation system allows voters to choose both a candidate and a political party, and thus reduces the influence of parties on the personal composition of their representatives in parliament.
• In this system, representatives of criminal structures or shadow businesses are less likely to get into parliament, which are able to ensure victory in elections in the regions by not quite legal methods.

Flaws

• With closed lists, it is possible to use “locomotive technology”, when popular personalities are placed at the head of the electoral list, who then renounce their mandates, as a result of which unknown persons from the end of the list (“cars”) get into parliament.
• Under a parliamentary republic (and also, as a rule, under a constitutional monarchy), the government is formed by the party that prevails in parliament. With a proportional electoral system larger than a majoritarian one, it is likely that neither party will have an absolute majority and a coalition government will need to be formed. A coalition government, if it is made up of ideological opponents, will be unstable and will be unable to carry out any major reforms.
• In regions where there are many heterogeneous constituencies, a large number of small parties may emerge and thus make it difficult to build a workable coalition. However, the use of electoral quotas can reduce this problem.

The proportional electoral system is characterized by the following features. Its application is limited to elections of deputies of legislative (representative) bodies; it does not apply to the election of officials. Only political parties (electoral associations) have the right to nominate candidates. Under such a system, voters do not vote personally for candidates, but for lists of candidates (party lists) put forward by electoral associations, and lists of candidates who have overcome the barrier, i.e., who have received the minimum required number of votes established by law, which is not may exceed 1% of the number of voters who took part in the voting. The resulting vacancies will be filled by the following candidates from the lists of candidates (party lists) admitted to the distribution of mandates, as a result of which no by-elections are foreseen.

Russian legislation knows two types of proportional electoral system, due to the use of closed (hard) or open (soft) lists of candidates. When voting by closed lists, a voter has the right to vote only for one or another list of candidates as a whole. Open lists allow a voter to vote not only for a specific list of candidates, but also for one or more candidates within that list. In our country, a clear preference is given to closed lists. Voting by open lists is provided only in a few subjects of the Federation (Republic of Kalmykia, Tver region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug).

The proportional electoral system is used in the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. It is rare in the subjects of the Federation in its pure form (Dagestan, Ingushetia, Amur Region, Sverdlovsk Region, St. Petersburg). As for municipal elections, the proportional electoral system is generally uncharacteristic for them. A rare exception in this regard is the city of Spass k-Dalniy of Primorsky Krai, whose charter provides for the election of all deputies of the city district on party lists.

Mixed electoral system

A mixed (majority-proportional) electoral system is a combination of majoritarian and proportional systems with a statutory number of deputy mandates distributed over each of them. Its application allows you to combine the advantages and smooth out the shortcomings of the majority and proportional systems. At the same time, political parties (electoral associations) are given the opportunity to nominate the same persons as candidates both on a party list and in single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituencies. The law only requires that in the event of simultaneous nomination in a single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency and in the list of candidates, information about this must be indicated in the ballot prepared for voting in the corresponding single-mandate (multi-mandate) constituency

The mixed system is currently used in the elections of legislative (representative) bodies of state power in almost all subjects of the Federation. This is due to the fact that the Federal Law “On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” (Article 35) requires that at least half of the deputy mandates in the legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Federation or in one of its chambers were to be distributed among the lists of candidates put forward by electoral associations in proportion to the number of votes received by each of the lists of candidates.

When holding elections of deputies of representative bodies of municipalities, the mixed majority-proportional system is used much less frequently. In all likelihood, this is due to the fact that federal legislation does not require the mandatory use of elements of the proportional system in relation to the municipal level of formation of representative bodies of power.

Election commissions are collegiate bodies that prepare and conduct elections. All election commissions are divided into two large groups:

1) permanent election commissions, which are state bodies - the CEC of the Russian Federation (CEC of the Russian Federation), the election commission of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, as well as municipal bodies - the election commission of a municipality;

2) election commissions that are created in a specific electoral process - district, territorial, precinct election commissions. The formation of such election commissions is a separate stage of the election process.

Electoral commissions in various elections may be:

1. The district election commission is the top link in the system of election commissions in any electoral process. It extends its activities to the entire territory from which the elected person (s) is elected. Thus, during the elections of the President of the Russian Federation, deputies of the State Duma under the proportional electoral system, the entire territory of the Russian Federation constitutes one constituency. As a district electoral commission in this case the Central Executive Committee of the Russian Federation. During elections of State Duma deputies in single-member constituencies within the majoritarian electoral system, district election commissions are created in accordance with the scheme of single-member constituencies and act as the highest level of election commissions for the election of a State Duma deputy in the respective constituency.

2. The territorial election commission always extends its activities to a certain territory in accordance with the federal structure of the Russian Federation, as well as the administrative-territorial division of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Territorial commissions are the CEC of the Russian Federation (the territory of activity is the whole of the Russian Federation), election commissions of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and election commissions of municipalities. Also, permanent municipal (city, district) election commissions perform the role of territorial commissions in elections to federal and regional bodies of state power.

3. Precinct election commission - is formed by a higher territorial commission.

Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" of 06/12/2002 (as amended by the Federal Law of 12/24/2004)

Article 20 of the Federal Law on Basic Guarantees:

In the Russian Federation there are election commissions, referendum commissions:

Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC of the Russian Federation);

election commissions of subjects of the Russian Federation;

election commissions of municipalities;

district election commissions;

territorial (district, city and other) commissions;

district commissions.

CEC of the Russian Federation - is a federal state body that organizes the preparation and conduct of elections, referendums in the Russian Federation in accordance with the competence established by this Federal Law, other Federal Laws; operates on a permanent basis and is a legal entity; consists of 15 members and is formed by three subjects - the State Duma, the Federation Council and the President of the Russian Federation. Five members of the CEC of the Russian Federation are appointed by the State Duma from among the candidates proposed by deputies and deputy associations. Five members are appointed by the Federation Council from among the candidates proposed by the legislative (representative) bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Five members are appointed by the President of the Russian Federation.

For other commissions, a single formation procedure has been established that ensures the democracy of this procedure, parity participation in it of state legislative and executive authorities, active participation of public associations, local self-government bodies, and meetings of voters.

Thus, election commissions of the subjects of the Russian Federation and district election commissions for elections to federal bodies of state power are created by the legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state power of the subjects of the Federation on a parity basis: half of the composition of the commission is appointed by the legislature, and half by the executive. The appointment is made on the basis of proposals from electoral associations, electoral blocs, public associations, elected bodies of local self-government, election commissions of the previous composition. A guaranteed quota - at least one third of the composition of the commission - is provided to representatives of electoral associations (blocs) that have factions in the State Duma, as well as in the legislative (representative) authorities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. At the same time, no more than one representative from each electoral association (bloc) may be appointed to the election commission.

The formation of territorial election commissions, as well as district election commissions for elections to state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and LSG bodies, precinct election commissions is carried out by representative bodies of LSG in the same manner on the basis of proposals from the same subjects as in the previous case, as well as proposals from meetings voters at the place of residence, work, study, service.

As an additional guarantee of the independence of election commissions, the Federal Law establishes that in their composition state (municipal) employees cannot make up more than one third of the composition. The Federal Law on Basic Guarantees for the first time establishes the possibility of disbanding election commissions of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, district, territorial, precinct commissions in the event of such a violation of the electoral rights of citizens, which entailed the invalidation of the voting results in the relevant territory or the results of the elections as a whole. The decision to disband an election commission can only be made by a court upon the application of the deputies of the legislative (representative) body of the corresponding level, as well as the CEC (in relation to the commission of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation).

Electoral process

The term "electoral process" is not synonymous with the formation or formation of a new independent branch of law or a sub-branch of procedural legislation. Procedural (through the system of courts of general jurisdiction) and procedural (through the system of election commissions) forms of realization and protection of citizens' electoral rights express various (law enforcement and law enforcement) aspects of the electoral process as a whole. Through the procedural form, the activities of election commissions are carried out and the bulk of the electoral actions that make up the content of the election campaign are carried out, while through the procedural form in the proper meaning of this concept, the activities of the courts are carried out to protect the electoral rights of citizens and, more broadly, the foundations of the constitutional order.

The electoral process in the Russian Federation includes a set of stages established by law, consisting of specific electoral procedures and electoral actions.

Stages of the electoral process - these are the stages of organizing and holding elections, within the framework of which the electoral actions provided for by laws are carried out, as well as electoral procedures that ensure the exercise of the electoral rights of citizens of the Russian Federation and other participants in the elections, the integrity, completeness and legitimacy of the electoral process when forming a representative body, electing an elected official.

The main stages of the electoral process are:

1) appointment of elections (acceptance by the authorized government agency, a local self-government body, an official of the decision on setting the date of elections, including in the order of rotation of a part of the deputy corps);

2) formation of electoral districts, polling stations, compilation of voter lists;

3) nomination of candidates (lists of candidates) and their registration;

4) pre-election campaign;

5) voting and determination of voting results, election results and their publication. At the same time, the optional stages are: holding, in the cases provided for by law, repeat voting, repeat elections, elections of deputies instead of those who have left, new elections.

The electoral process and electoral legal relations are interdependent categories that act as two sides of a mechanism for the reproduction of power through the political will of citizens, expressed by voting in free and democratic elections, which is one in content and meaning.

The real implementation of democracy in the course of the preparation and conduct of elections is ensured by the purposeful and lawful activities of participants, or subjects, of the electoral process, the circle of which is determined by the current legislation. The electoral legislation in force in the Russian Federation and its constituent entities, which regulates electoral legal relations, provides for the following main typical composition of participants (subjects) of the electoral process: other regulations and determining the procedure for preparing and holding elections: for example, the Federal Assembly of Russia, which adopts laws on elections to federal government bodies, or the Legislative Assembly of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, which adopts the Electoral Code. 2. Initiators of the electoral process - bodies and officials of state and local authorities, authorized to adopt legal acts on the appointment of elections, which often determine the dates and territory for voting. The issuance of a legal act initiating the electoral process is mandatory, since in the absence of such an act, the norms of substantive and procedural electoral law cannot be put into effect, although the latest electoral legislation provides for procedures to overcome the situation when the authorized body is unable to adopt the initiating act. The fact is that the specific subjects of initiating the electoral process for each type of election are usually determined by the authorities of the appropriate level (although in some cases the right to call elections and determine the date of voting is assigned to higher authorities, which manifests the features of regional lawmaking), but the latter are sometimes simply are absent or do not make the right decision in a timely manner. Therefore, the latest legislation provides for special rules for this case. Thus, in some settlements where there are no representative bodies obliged to call elections, elections must be called by the respective territorial election commissions. If the authorized body of state or local power does not call elections within the period established by law, then they can be held by decision of the relevant governing territorial election commission, which must be stipulated in the law. 3. Organizers of the electoral process - electoral commissions, public associations and groups of citizens, bodies and officials of state and local authorities, creating the proper conditions and providing the necessary funds for the implementation of the electoral legislation. A special place among the organizers of the electoral process is occupied by electoral commissions (election management bodies), which bear the brunt of preparing and conducting electoral events, since it is they who perform the largest amount of organizational, managerial and organizational and technical work to implement the requirements of the electoral legislation and are responsible for documenting legal actions taken by the participants of the elections. Serious duties are imposed by the law on other organizers of the electoral process. Thus, the head of the local executive power decides on the formation of polling stations, and federal and regional government bodies allocate funds to finance the election campaign. 4. Citizens of the Russian Federation voting in elections are active voters exercising the right of a rule-making vote in making legally binding decisions at meetings (gatherings) of citizens and in referendums or the right of a constituent vote in elections of state and local authorities, as well as in the recall of elected representatives. 5. Citizens of the Russian Federation running for elections - candidates for deputies of representative bodies of state and local authorities or candidates for people's representatives of other elected bodies (passive holders of the electoral right). 6. Observers, including foreign and international ones, are persons who, in accordance with the current legislation, exercise control over compliance with the requirements of the electoral legislation at all stages of the electoral process. The Russian Federation is one of the few countries in the world where foreign (international) observers are legally allowed to attend elections and referendums, including at the regional level. 7. Courts considering complaints and disputes in connection with violations of electoral legislation during elections and voting, including the Judicial Chamber for Information Disputes under the President of the Russian Federation. 8. Bodies of the prosecutor's office, supervising the observance of the legislation on elections in accordance with the rules that determine the competence and procedure for the work of these bodies. 9. Other participants in the electoral process (for example, political parties, public associations, groups of voters) who have the right to nominate and support candidates; organizations and institutions, individuals participating in the formation of election funds; early recalled deputies and other elected officials. The composition of the participants (subjects) of the electoral process is not constant, it may change due to changes in the electoral legislation, and largely depend on a particular type of electoral system, the level of its democratic content. The legal status of participants in the electoral process is determined by an extensive array of legislative acts. The totality of normative legal acts that determine the status of subjects of the electoral process forms an integral part of an independent institution of electoral rights - electoral law. Among them, the following legislative acts are of paramount importance: 1) the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Art. 3, 32, 81); 2) the constitutions of the republics that are part of the Russian Federation, the charters of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation (chapters on the electoral system); 3) federal laws on elections; 4) regional laws on elections; 5) decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, presidents of the constituent republics of the Federation, and heads of other subjects of the Federation; 6) decisions of election commissions; 7) decisions of local self-government bodies on the organization of elections. The study of the main problems of the preparation and conduct of elections, an in-depth analysis of the electoral process allow us to re-evaluate the possibilities of constructing the structure of legislative acts on elections. Already now it is expedient to recognize as useful the allocation in the structure of electoral laws, and above all electoral codes, a number of independent institutions, such as regular elections, repeat elections, by-elections, with fixing their specific legal content. Regular elections are general or main elections held to elect public authorities and local self-government bodies within the time limits established by the current legislation for the legislature of this type of government. The period of time between the previous and upcoming regular elections constitutes the legislature of this elected representative body of power. Repeat elections are new elections held in the territory where the previous elections were declared invalid or invalid, or where during the elections official no more than two candidates ran, and none of them was elected. By-elections are extraordinary elections held in the event of early termination of the powers of a deputy elected in a single-seat (multi-seat) constituency to a collegiate representative body of power, or early termination of the powers of an elected official in the system of state or local power. System development topical issues on the concept and structure of the electoral process leads to new conclusions about the content of the institution of electoral rights. The earlier legislation on elections was characterized by the allocation and consolidation in separate acts, sections or articles of the electoral rights of citizens in the status of voters, candidates for deputies and election commissions, meanwhile in the latest laws about the elections, other participants in the electoral process appeared, endowed with the legislative scope of electoral rights. These are, in particular, public associations, including political parties, observers, authorities, a wider layer of proxies, private and legal persons sponsoring elections within the framework of the law. Among the electoral rights of these new subjects of the electoral process are the following: 1) the right to exercise legal powers to participate in elections; 2) the right to information about the course of electoral events throughout the entire election campaign; 3) the right to be present during the counting of votes; 4) the right to get acquainted with documents containing information about the results of elections; 5) the right to represent their own interests or the interests of “parent” organizations in election management bodies; 6) the right to apply to the court in case of violation of the status of election participants. In our opinion, it would be useful in the development of the Electoral Code of the Russian Federation and the electoral laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation to fix the electoral rights of each subject of the electoral process in an independent chapter or article. Obviously, in the context of the formation of a legal democratic state in the Russian Federation, a comprehensive study of the problems of the electoral process opens up new prospects for improving the election mechanism, democratizing the electoral system, and more active participation of citizens in the socio-political life of the country.

Registration or compilation of voter lists is carried out local election commissions. The legislator of a number of countries provides that voters themselves must take care of their inclusion in the voting lists (USA, Great Britain, Latin American countries). In many European countries, the inclusion of voters in the lists is the responsibility of local governments. In both cases, the electoral list may be temporary (compiled anew before each election) or permanent (only partially updated before the next election).

Voter registration and listing generally ends in accordance with certain period before the election date (in some countries - several months). This means that persons who are not officially registered on the electoral lists cannot participate in voting, since the provisions of the electoral laws prohibit adding new voters to the lists after the end of official registration. In practice, this means another limitation of the principle of universal suffrage of citizens.

Main tasks precinct election commission - compiling a complete list of voters, conducting voting, counting votes.

Lists of voters. As a general rule, only persons included in the list of voters can vote. Persons who have temporary certificates for the right to vote (for example, in connection with a business trip) are entered in an additional list of voters and only after that receive a ballot. Only in some countries, for example in Syria, there is no list of voters, it is enough to present an identity card, which indicates that the voter has voted.

In most countries, the maintenance of voter lists is the responsibility of municipal authorities (the Netherlands, Poland), in Latin American countries there is a special service for this - the national or civil register, in Israel the lists are in charge of the Ministry of the Interior, in Sweden - the tax department. Only persons who meet electoral qualifications (qualifications) may be included in the list of voters. In the UK, voter lists are compiled by registrar officials, in some Latin American countries - by specially appointed commissions (where there is no civil register service). These lists are then passed on to the voting bodies, in most countries to the precinct commission. She checks the lists, for which it is necessary to present the relevant documents (in many Anglo-Saxon countries, where there are no passports for domestic use, but only international passports, a variety of documents are used).

When compiling lists, verifying and updating them, precinct election commissions, registrar officials and other bodies use two methods: compulsory registration and optional. Duty or the absence of the obligation to register does not apply to the voter, but to the commission or registrar official. With the system optional registration The official does not automatically include the voter in the list, he does this only at the initiative of the latter. The voter himself must apply with the appropriate application if he wants to be included in the list of voters (Spain, Mexico, USA). With the system compulsory registration(Great Britain, India, Italy) the voter is automatically included in the list, the registrar (commission) is obliged to find all persons with voting rights and include them in this list. Individuals included in the list are issued a special voter card (often with fingerprints and a photograph, sometimes with the possibility of electronic voting). Voter lists are either permanent, and then from are reviewed every 10-12 years, or periodically, re-compiled for each election.

GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL IN REGISTRATION OF A CANDIDATE (LIST OF CANDIDATES)- circumstances exhaustively listed in the federal law, the presence of which excludes the possibility of registration of a candidate (list of candidates). The electoral legislation refers to the grounds for refusal: a) a significant violation of the procedure for collecting signatures established by law; b) an insufficient number of submitted authentic signatures of voters in support of a candidate (list of candidates), as well as an excess of the legally established limit on the proportion of invalid signatures among signatures subjected to verification, provided that the candidate, electoral association did not pay an electoral deposit; c) unreliability of information (biographical nature, position held, criminal record, citizenship of a foreign state, etc.), if the unreliability of this information is of a significant nature; d) significant violation of the procedure for creating an electoral fund and spending its funds; e) other grounds provided for by federal law.

In the event that the unreliability of biographical information, data on a criminal record, citizenship, etc., listed in paragraph 2 of Art. 28 federal law dated September 19, 1997 "On the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" (as amended and supplemented), established after the registration of a candidate (list of candidates) and is of a significant nature, the election commission no later than 16 days prior to voting day have the right to decide on the cancellation of registration; if less than 16 days are left before voting day, she has the right to apply to the court with a motion to cancel the registration of this candidate (exclusion from the list of candidates). Along with the denial of registration, the current electoral legislation introduces the concept of "cancellation of registration", which means the annulment of the decision on the registration of a candidate previously taken by the election commission. The law provides that in case of refusal to register a candidate (list of candidates), the relevant election commission is obliged, within 24 hours from the date of the decision to refuse, to issue to the candidate or an authorized representative of an electoral association, electoral bloc, group of voters, the voter who nominated the candidate, a copy of the decision of the election commission with a statement of the grounds for refusal.

Topic Electoral Systems

1.general characteristics electoral systems.

2.Majority electoral system.

3. Proportional electoral system.

4. Mixed electoral system.

General characteristics of electoral systems

True democracies are political systems in which access to power and the right to make decisions are based on the results of free general elections. In the modern state, the main form of elections is voting, which can be considered as the selection of the most deserving. The main function of elections is the translation of decisions made by voters, i.e. their votes into constitutional government powers and deputy mandates. The methods of counting votes and the procedure for distributing deputy mandates are the electoral systems.

The electoral system is the methods and methods by which the deputy mandates are distributed among the candidates for the relevant government posts according to the voting results. The ways of translating the decisions of voters into powers of power and parliamentary seats are the characteristics of the electoral system:

v The quantitative criterion by which the results of the elections are determined - one winner or several;

v Type of constituencies - single-member or multi-member;

v Type of voter list and how to complete it.

Based on various combinations of these features, 2 types of electoral systems are distinguished: majoritarian and proportional. The method of voting in the election of candidates and the method of distribution of parliamentary mandates and government powers are the main factors that distinguish one electoral system from another. The choice in favor of one or another system in a particular country is dictated by historical conditions, specific tasks of political development, and cultural and political traditions. If in Great Britain and the USA there has been a majority system for centuries, then in continental Europe - proportional

Majoritarian electoral system

A majoritarian electoral system is a general type of electoral system based on the principle of majority and one winner when determining voting results. The main goal of the majority system is to determine the winner and a cohesive majority capable of pursuing a succession policy. Votes cast for losing candidates simply don't count. The majority system is used in 83 countries of the world: USA, UK, Japan, Canada.

There are 3 types of majority system:

• Majoritarian system of absolute majority;
• Majoritarian system of simple (relative) majority;
• Qualified Majority Majority System.

Majoritarian system of absolute majority- a method of determining the results of voting, in which an absolute majority of votes (50% + 1) is required to obtain a mandate, i.e. a number exceeding by at least one vote half the number of voters in the given constituency (usually the number of those who voted). The advantage of this system lies in the ease of determining the results, and also in the fact that the winner really represents the absolute majority of voters. The disadvantage is that there is a possibility that there is no absolute majority, and therefore no winner, which leads to a second vote until an absolute majority is gathered. In order to reduce costs in some countries, a re-ballot mechanism is introduced, which means determining the winner in a two-round voting: in the 1st round, an absolute majority is required to win, in the 2nd round, a simple majority is required, i.e. you just need to get ahead of your competitors. Majoritarian system of relative majority- a way to determine the results of voting, in which it is required to collect a simple or relative majority of votes, i.e. more than opponents. The advantage of this system is the obligatory presence of the result. The disadvantage is a significant degree of unaccounted for votes. This system originated in the UK and operates in 43 countries. Qualified Majority Majoritarian System- this is a method of determining the results of voting, in which a candidate must collect a clearly defined number of votes to win, always more than half of the voters living in the district (2/3, ¾, etc.). Due to the complexity of the implementation, this system is not used today.

Advantages

2. Certainty of the result, the competitive nature of the elections;

3. Close connection of the deputy with the constituency;

4. Political responsibility of the deputy to the voters;

5. The relationship of national problems with local ones;

6. Creation of a stable one-party government and a monolithic majority in parliament, capable of working together and pursuing a successive policy;

Flaws

1. Weak representation;

3. There is a possibility of abuse, manipulation of constituencies;

4. The winner may not actually have a national majority;

5. Exclusion of third parties from governmental and parliamentary coalitions, despite consistently high voting shares.

proportional electoral system

A proportional electoral system is a method of determining the results of voting, which is based on the principle of distributing seats in elected bodies in proportion to the number of votes received by each party or list of candidates.

The proportional system was first used in Belgium in 1884. It is currently used in 57 countries: Israel, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands.

Distinctive features of the proportional system:

ü Strict correspondence between the number of votes in elections and representation in parliament.

ü Emphasis on representation various groups population in government.

ü Presence of multi-member constituencies.

ü Fair character, because there are no losers or lost votes.

There are 2 main types of proportional system:

• Proportional party list system
• Proportional voting system.

Proportional party list system. Its peculiarity lies in the presence of multi-member constituencies (the entire territory of the state can act as a constituency) and the formation of party lists as a way to nominate candidates. As a result, electoral competitors are not individual candidates, but political parties. Voters, on the other hand, vote for the party, i.e. for her party list and all at once, despite the fact that it was created without their participation. The mandates are distributed among the parties in accordance with the total number of votes received in the entire constituency. Technically, the mechanism for the distribution of mandates is as follows: the sum of votes cast for all parties is divided by the number of seats in parliament. The result obtained is a "selective meter", i.e. the number of votes required to win one seat in Parliament. How many times this meter will meet the number of votes received by the party, so many seats it will receive in parliament. In order to prevent extremist parties from entering parliament, as well as to avoid party fragmentation and inefficient parliamentary activity, a percentage threshold is set. The parties that overcome it are admitted to the distribution of seats, the rest are excluded. In Ukraine, the barrier is 4%, in Russia - 5%, in Turkey - 10%. Proportional voting system(Ireland, Australia). Unlike the party list system, where voting is carried out for parties, this system allows the voter to choose among the candidates from the party he supports. Candidates who receive a sufficient number of votes are declared elected; the extra votes cast for them are transferred to the candidates with the shortest votes. Such a system is fair to voters, taking into account the opinion of all.

Advantages

2. Contributes to the formation of a multi-party system;

3. Stimulates coalition actions and coalition parliamentary majority;

4. Protects the interests of political minorities;

5. More or less clear party identification of voters.

Flaws

1. Difficulty in determining results;

2. Transfer to the parties of the right to appoint deputies;

3. There is no connection between deputies and constituencies;

4. Weak influence of voters on government decisions;

5. Tendency towards the establishment of a party oligarchy;

6. Providing advantages to small parties, which can lead to the destruction of large ones.

Mixed electoral system

One of the options for the electoral system is a mixed electoral system, which is designed to neutralize the shortcomings and enhance the advantages of both systems. This system is characterized by the combination of elements of proportional and majority systems. As a rule, there are 2 types of mixed systems:

• A mixed system of a structural type - involves a bicameral parliament, where one chamber (consisting of representatives of administrative-territorial units) is elected by the majority system, and the second (lower) - by the proportional system.
• A mixed system of a linear type - a unicameral parliament is possible, where some of the deputies are elected by a majority system, and the rest by a proportional one.

PROPORTIONAL ELECTORAL SYSTEM - one of the types of electoral systems, according to which seats in a representative body are divided in proportion to the number of recognized valid votes of voters cast for different party lists of candidates.

It can only be applied in multi-member and nationwide constituencies (it cannot be applied in a single-mandate constituency or during elections of the President of the Republic, one mandate is not divided in proportion). The proportional electoral system is used in many countries (Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, Russia, Finland, Switzerland and other countries) as the only or as an integral part of the mixed electoral system (along with the other part - the majoritarian electoral system).

A proportional electoral system is characterized by two main features: as a rule, the ballot does not contain the names of candidates, but the names of parties, and the voter does not vote for a specific candidate, but for a party, a block of parties (their list of candidates); seats between parties are distributed according to the electoral quota (these calculations are made by the electoral commission of the district or the central electoral commission in the national district).

The electoral quota can be calculated in different ways, depending on the method provided by the electoral law of a given country. The easiest way to calculate the quota is to determine the so-called natural quota, or to calculate the quota according to the T. Hare method (used in the Netherlands, Russia, Romania, Estonia and other countries). When using this method, the total number of votes cast in a multi-member constituency is divided by the number of deputy seats in this constituency (divide the number of votes received by parties that have passed the barrier). In some countries (Greece, Luxembourg), an artificial quota calculation method is used: one or two are added to the divisor (the number of mandates), as a result of which the quota is less, and the ability to allocate more seats at once increases (E. Hagenbach-Bishoff method).

Along with calculating the quota for the distribution of mandates, other methods are also used, in particular, the divisor method (greatest average method). Among these methods, the most common is the method of V. d'Hondt (Bulgaria, Spain, Poland and others) - when calculating the quota of votes received by each party (list), they are divided into a number of consecutive integers (divisors) starting from one (dividing is usually enough by 1, 2, 3, 4 - for the district).

When using a proportional electoral system, the voter is supposed to vote not for an individual, but for the program of the party (electoral bloc, association). At the same time, legally, he equally votes for the entire list of the party, for all its candidates, and how many people and who will be elected from this party depends on how many deputy seats the party has enough votes collected. Therefore, when voting for a party, all candidates on its list receive an equal number of votes, but there are not enough mandates for all. The issue of the distribution of mandates among candidates from one party is resolved in the electoral legislation in different ways. In some countries, there is a principle of precedence - candidates who are ahead of the party list receive mandates, in some countries a preferential vote is allowed.

There are no ideal electoral systems, the use of a proportional electoral system is also imperfect (quota calculation is not accurate enough). In addition, distortions of the system are possible due to the rules established by law. For example, if, when counting votes, it is allowed to combine the votes of different parties that have declared their alliance (combining lists); if panachage is used (French panachage - variegation) - voting for candidates from different lists; if a barrier (point) is established by law, under which parties that have not received a certain number of votes (2% in Denmark, 3 - in Spain, 4 - in Bulgaria, 5 - in Germany and Russia, 10% - in Turkey), do not are admitted to the distribution of mandates, even though they were entitled to them in accordance with the quota, and these seats pass to larger parties.