ABSTRACT
Geography is at the core of most systems used to elect legislators to represent territorially-defined constituencies. The United Kingdom offers a fascinating case study for appreciating these geographical components of electoral operation, because of the wide variety of systems deployed: indeed, examples of most of the main types of system can be found there. This chapter has not been structured to present an evaluation of the merits and disadvantages of various electoral systems, let alone suggest that any one is superior to the others. Finally, versions of the hybrid system often known as Multi-Member Proportional or Additional Member Proportional, in which electors have two votes, one for legislators to represent single-member constituencies (elected by FPTP) and another to elect members of a party list in multi-member constituencies, are used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly of Wales, and the London Assembly.
