Electoral Abuses

The geography of representation is a product of the geography of voting. However it can never exactly replicate all the subtle details of the voting map. Millions of votes have to be condensed into just a few hundred representatives. The manner of the trans­ lation of votes into seats depends on the electoral law of a coun­ try, in particular its system of voting. Where the system involves multi-member constituencies, each area may be represented by members of each of the main parties to reflect a varied voting pattern. Where the system uses single-member constituencies, however, each constituency can be represented by a candidate of only one party. In this way, a varied voting pattern is very greatly simplified when translated in a pattern of representation. Such voting systems have been associated with electoral abuses, which are the subject of this chapter. Hence, we will be largely con­ cerned with representation in countries with plurality voting systems (Britain, U.S.A., Canada, New Zealand and South Africa) and majority-type systems (Australia and France). The geography of representation in countries with other voting sys­ tems, which exhibit far fewer abuses, is left until the next chapter. What do we mean by an electoral abuse? We can begin to

consider this question by defining the concept of electoral bias. This can be measured as the difference between the percentage of the vote a party receives and the percentage of seats it wins in an election. For instance, if a party receives 45 per cent of the vote and wins 55 per cent of the seats then the bias is 10 per cent. This is a positive bias for that party at that particular election. If in the subsequent election the party only receives 40 per cent of

the vote and wins 35 per cent of the seats, it would have suffered negative bias of 5 per cent. Electoral abuses obviously involve such biases but they imply more than a simple bias; they involve some intention to abuse the system. Electoral biases can, and do exist where no particular partisan manipulation of the voting system exists. This is illustrated and discussed in the next chapter. Here we concentrate on specific abuses of the voting system that involve intentional discrimination by some voters at the expense of other voters. Where the voter lives determines who his representative is.