ABSTRACT
We now turn from committee voting systems to a discussion of systems applied in large scale (nationwide, municipal) elections. The problems encountered in electoral systems design do not differ essentially from those discussed above in the context of committee voting, but often there is a new assignment to be dealt with, namely that of building a multi-member representative body. In other words, there is an additional consideration involved that pertains to how the elected representatives and their views are related to those of their electors. In his book Principles of Electoral Reform, Michael Dummett (1997) splits the question of the choice of electoral system into two parts. Firstly, which parties and/or individuals should represent the people at large? Secondly, which electoral system would best guarantee the desired distribution of elected candidates and parties? He then goes on to argue that the answer to the first question is, in fact, much more difficult than one would perhaps anticipate. Furthermore, once this question is answered, the answer to the second one is often relatively simple, although it may require devising new electoral systems.
