Take one set of votes and count it four different ways and you get four different parliaments. That is the whole subject.
An electoral system is a rule for turning votes into seats, and the choice of rule does real work. The same ballots counted under a plurality rule and under a proportional one can hand a governing majority to one party or oblige four of them to negotiate. Neither outcome is more democratic in the abstract; they express different priorities, one favouring a clear single winner and stable majorities, the other favouring a chamber that mirrors the spread of opinion. Most real systems are compromises between those poles, with thresholds, district magnitudes and mixed arrangements tuning the result. The questions here cover the mechanisms and their known trade-offs — which system produces what shape of legislature — and stay out of the argument about which shape any country ought to want.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: D. The candidate with the most votes, whether or not that is a majority
Why: It tends to convert vote shares well under half into governing majorities. The United Kingdom, Canada and India all use it for their lower houses.
Answer: C. Allocate seats to parties roughly in proportion to the votes they receive
Why: No system achieves it exactly in practice. District size and any minimum threshold both introduce distortion between votes and seats.
Answer: B. Sets a minimum share of the vote a party must reach before it wins any seats
Why: Thresholds around five per cent are common. They trade away some proportionality in exchange for fewer very small parties holding seats.
Answer: A. Rank candidates in order of preference in a district that elects several members
Why: Surplus votes above the quota needed to win are passed on to later preferences, so relatively few ballots end up electing nobody. Ireland and Malta both use it for national elections.
Answer: D. The lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed until someone holds a majority
Why: Australia has used it for its House of Representatives for over a century, where it is called preferential voting. It guarantees the winner has majority support once preferences are counted.
Answer: C. The defined area whose voters elect a particular representative
Why: Districts are redrawn periodically as populations move. Who controls that redrawing is a recurring constitutional question in its own right.
Answer: B. Drawing district boundaries so as to favour a particular outcome
Why: The word dates from an 1812 Massachusetts district said to resemble a salamander, approved by Governor Elbridge Gerry. Independent boundary commissions are the usual structural remedy.
Answer: A. The share of eligible voters who cast a ballot
Why: Countries use different denominators, some counting registered voters and others the whole voting-age population. Comparisons between countries need to check which is being used.
Answer: D. A direct vote by the electorate on a specific question
Why: Some are legally binding and others advisory, which is decided before the vote. Switzerland holds them several times a year on ordinary legislation.
Answer: C. Two or more parties agree to govern together, usually because none holds a majority alone
Why: Negotiations can run for weeks or months after polling day. The outcome is often a published agreement setting out what the partners will and will not do together.
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