Content Categorized with "Research & Analysis"
91 - 100 of 105 results
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International Snapshot: Israel 2006
- Posted: April 5, 2006
- Author(s): Ryan Griffin, Research Fellow
- Categories: Middle East and Africa, Research & Analysis, International Elections, FairVote, All Reports
Israel held elections to its parliament, the Knesset, on March 28, 2006. Frequently held up as an example of why not to adopt proportional voting, Israel's election system, critics argue, tends to produce unstable, unworkable governing coalitions. But this tendency has less to do with proportional voting than the form Israel has chosen to use, in tandem with its wider political environment. This report focuses on the effects of Israel's low electoral threshold and closed party list system.
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International Snapshot: Ukraine
- Posted: April 4, 2006
- Author(s): Jack Santucci, Research Associate
- Categories: Europe, Research & Analysis, International Elections, FairVote, All Reports
Ukraine held elections to its parliament in March 2006. It was that country's first use of a fully proportional electoral system. The 1998 and 2002 elections used a parallel system in which half of seats were elected in single-member plurality districts. This paper analyzes the proportionality of results in historical perspective as well as turnout and number of effective votes. Institutional challenges and potential remedies are described. Choices about electoral institutions have important consequences for political outcomes in a representative democracy.
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The Missing Half
- Posted: April 1, 2006
- Author(s): Jack Santucci, Research Associate
- Categories: Research & Analysis, FairVote, All Reports
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Justices Weigh Partisan Gerrymandering, Legislators Seek Solutions
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Hurricane Katrina's Political Effects
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A Solution to Louisiana's Post-Katrina Electoral Problems
- Posted: February 21, 2006
- Author(s): Jack Santucci
- Categories: Research & Analysis, FairVote, All Reports
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International Snapshot: Palestine 2006
- Posted: February 1, 2006
- Author(s): Ryan Griffin and Jack Santucci
- Categories: Middle East and Africa, Research & Analysis, International Elections, FairVote, Elections Worldwide, All Reports
Palestine held elections to its Legislative Council on January 25, 2006. In that vote, Change and Reform (Hamas) took power away from the governing Fatah movement, winning 75 of 132 seats. Some commentators declared this a sweeping mandate for Hamas, speculating especially on what the power shift means for Israeli-Palestinian relations, but the election results are not an accurate reflection of popular opinion. Instead, the election system itself is at least as important as popular opinion in determining the makeup of the Council.
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International Snapshot: Iraq 2005
- Posted: December 20, 2005
- Author(s): David Moon
- Categories: Middle East and Africa, Research & Analysis, International Elections, FairVote, All Reports
Iraq's December 2005 parliamentary elections were contested by 230 parties and 21 coalitions, all vying for seats in the first full-term, four-year parliament since the beginning of the 2003 war in Iraq. Authorities conducted the election using a new proportional voting system in which parties fielded candidates for parliament in each of Iraq’s 18 provinces under 18 different ballots using regional party lists. Additionally, the parliament consists of 275 seats, with 45 elected as "compensatory seats" to parties that did not win seats under the regional list elections but won enough votes nationally to cross the threshold for a seat at the national level.
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With the Failure of Redistricting Initiatives, Where Do We Go From Here?
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TIME FOR JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS REFORM IS NOW
- Posted: November 3, 2005
- Categories: Research & Analysis, FairVote
With President George W. Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, expectations are high of a filibuster by Democratic Senators who believe Alito to be too conservative and polarizing. FairVote believes that now is the time to propose cooperative reforms to our judicial nominations processes. Its new report, Filibuster 2005: Who Represents America?, highlights the perils and pitfalls of the Senate filibuster for both Democrats and Republicans, while highlighting proposals to reduce the increasing bitterness and acrimony over Presidential nominees.