Suchergebnisse

"Elections are the ultimate mode of reducing each of us to a bean and counting us" (Verba 1993, 684).Things are not really that bad. On election day the voter, marking the typical American long ballot, makes a pronouncement more complex and nuanced than a single tally. We can learn much about voting behavior by paying attention to the full message that each voter sends us.This can be done by conducting a "scholarly recount": sorting the ballots into groups representing the possible combinations of choices (Democratic for Congress, Republican for governor, Democratic for state senator, etc.) and counting them. The relative sizes of the groups can not only give us a precise answer to the often-asked question about the magnitude of ticket splitting, but also answer the more general and more important question: How do the voters distribute themselves among all possible combinations of candidate choices—two straight tickets and a great many mixed ones? The analyst may also find, in the composition of the candidate combinations attracting the largest numbers of voters, some clues as to the candidate characteristics and voter attitudes that are exerting the greatest influence on the ballot markings.

In countries with multiparty political systems, we assume--if the system is going to work--that parties have relatively stable positions on policy, that these positions diverge, and that voters make choices based on policy preferences. Yet much of the research on voter behavior and party competition does not support these assumptions. In Party Competition, James Adams applies the insights of behavioral research to an examination of the policy strategies that political parties (and candidates) employ in seeking election. He argues that vote-seeking parties are motivated to present policies that appeal to voters, whose bias toward these policies is based in part on reasons that have nothing to do with policy. He demonstrates that this strategic logic has profound implications for party competition and responsible party government. Adams's innovative fusion of research methodologies presents solutions to issues of policy stability and voter partisanship. His theory's supported by an in-depth analysis of empirical applications to party competition in Britain, France, and the United States in the postwar years. Party Competition and Responsible Party Government will appeal to readers interested in the study of political parties, voting behavior and elections, as well as to scholars specializing in French, British, and American politics. James Adams is Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-228) and index. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Basic Geometry of Voting -- Copyright -- PREFACE -- CONTENTS -- CHAPTER I FROM AN ELECTION FABLE TO ELECTION PROCEDURES -- CHAPTER II GEOMETRY FOR POSITIONAL AND PAIRWISE VOTING -- CHAPTER III THE PROBLEM WITH CONDORCET -- CHAPTER IV POSITIONAL VOTING AND THE BC -- CHAPTER V OTHER VOTING ISSUES -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- INDEX.

Following the publication of the ESMA Final Report and Feedback Statement on the Consultation Regarding the Role of the Proxy Advisory Industry in February 2013, a number of industry members formed a committee under the independent chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Dirk Andreas Zetzsche, LL.M. (Toronto), to develop an industry code of conduct. The "Best Practice Principles for Providers of Shareholder Voting Research & Analysis" were published in April 2014. With this report, the chair aims to make the committee's work and discussions transparent to facilitate the application of the provisions and enhance understanding of the reasoning behind their adoption. The report also aims to enhance transparency and understanding on the functioning of Providers of Shareholder Voting Research & Analysis (to which is commonly referred to as the proxy advisors) and their role in corporate governance and assist in creating a more informed discussion. The report is structured as follows: After an introduction (sub 1.), I describe the composition and work organization of the drafting committee for the Principles (sub 2.), before I explain the Committee's as well as the Chair's position on the certain provisions of the Principles (sub 3.). The report discusses, inter alia, the scope of the Principles, the Committee's general approach, the delineation of responsibility between proxy advisors, institutional investors and issuers that forms the basis of the Principles, the attitude of the industry towards local governance standards, and how Signatories should deal with conflicts of interests. A major section of the report is devoted to the communication between issuers and Providers of Shareholder Voting Research & Analysis (sub 4.). In particular I explain why a mandatory distribution of research report to issuers would put the providers' commitment vis-à-vis their clients (the investors) at risk. I further undertake to outline how the Principles may be enforced (sub 5.) and describe the next steps on the Committee's agenda (sub 6.). Three further documents issued by the Committee are annexed to the report: I. The "Best Practice Principles for Providers of Shareholder Voting Research & Analysis" discussed in the report, II. The consultation document distributed by the Committee to stakeholders in fall 2013, and III. The Feedback Statement on the Consultation.

Studies interested in the effects of electoral systems have to contend with a difficult problem. Ideally, to properly estimate these effects, one would wish to compare elections that are completely identical except for their electoral system. This ideal situation, however, never occurs in real life. To circumvent this limitation, we created electoral simulations that approximate this ideal situation. In the context of a general election, we asked respondents to take part in multiple simulated votes, each of them using different electoral rules. By studying the different choices of voters and different outcomes of these elections, we gain the ability to identify how electoral systems determine voting behavior. This design was used to identify the relative importance of psychological and mechanical effects on the vote as well as voting preferences for female political candidates.

An accessible textbook that provides an overview of the historical origins and development of voting theory, this guide explores theories of voting and electoral behaviour at a level suitable for college students.