Democratic models Background: Democracies can be designed in different ways, acc

Question

Democratic models

Background: Democracies can be designed in different ways, according to different models. There are different models, such as direct democracy, where citizens in the country directly make decisions, or representative democracy where decisions are made by elected representatives. A representative democracy can use different voting systems, such as proportional elections, or majority voting to appoint the representatives to make the decision of society.

First describe what of the democratic models (variants) we use in USA.

Then discuss what pros and cons the democratic models we have chosen in USA have a democratic perspective. What consequences do we have for these democratic models?

Finally, analyze what the consequences would be if we replaced the proportional voting system we use today with a majority voting system.

To address: Direct and representative democracy, majority elections / proportional elections, etc. as well as the consequences of the different models when used.

Also evaluate the consequences of using the two democratic models (proportional elections / majority elections). Considering the benefits of any model? Motivate the conclusion.

Explanation / Answer

In US, direct democracy is used.  A popular democracy is a type of direct democracy based on referendums and other devices of empowerment and concretization of popular will. A direct democracy or pure democracy is a type of democracy where the people govern directly. It requires wide participation of citizens in politics.

Direct democracy can sometimes be used to subvert the normal checks and balances of a government. For instance, a governor of a state may threaten to use an initiative to "go over the heads" of an uncooperative legislature. Similarly, a state legislator can collect signatures and place on the ballot a measure that overrules a governor's veto. Because it usually takes a two-thirds majority to overrule a governor's veto, but only a simple majority to pass an initiative, this tactic can sometimes be successful.

Winner-take-all is the norm in American jurisdictions, and is currently used for all national and state elections. However, proportional representation voting has been used to elect public officials in the United States since the nineteenth century. Numerous cities, including Cincinnati OH, Boulder CO, and New York City, used proportional representation--the polar opposite to winner-take-all--in the 20th century. At the state level, Illinois used multi-member districts and cumulative voting to elect their House of Representatives for over one hundred years.

In contrast to proportional representation systems, the United States' winner-take-all election system returns only the candidate who receives a plurality of votes. Everyone else loses; all ballots cast in their favor are for naught. Winner-take-all rules trigger a cycle that leads to and strengthens a system of few (two in the US) political parties.

Since elections are won by the single candidate who garners the most votes, third party candidates have a serious disadvantage. Because almost all seats are held by either a Republican or a Democrat, majorities within the legislature are formed easily, without the need to form cross-party coalitions in order to govern. This pattern makes the process of drafting and voting on legislation less complicated than in other systems, since the majority party will ultimately decide what issues are brought up for a vote and, in a large number of cases, which items are passed by the Congress.

proportional representation system several members of parliament are to be elected per constituency. Basically every political party presents a list of candidates and voters can select a list, that is they vote for a political party. Parties are assigned parliamentary seats proportionally to the number of votes they get.

Currently, voters use at-large ranked choice voting, cumulative voting, and the single vote or other forms of "limited voting" to elect city councils, school boards, and other local offices in over two hundred United States jurisdictions to achieve proportional representation in their communities.

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