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Why Election Systems Matter

By Jack M. Balkin

The current situation in the Democratic and Republican parties is almost entirely a function of the fact that they operate under two strikingly different election systems. It is "natural experiment" that has much to teach us about institutional design. The Democrats are operating under a classic system of proportional representation. The only real surprise is that it so quickly was reduced to a two-person contest, probably a function of the enormous amounts of money needed to finance a modern campaign. The Republicans, on the other hand, have chosen to operate, in many states, under a classic first-past-the-post winner-take-all system. This means that John McCain was able to get all of Missouri's delegates by getting, I believe, 34% of the total vote in that state. I haven't done the numbers to know what would be happening in the Democratic race if states operated on a first-past-the-post winner take all system. At the very least, Clinton would have hundreds of additional delegates from New York, New Jersey, and California, for starters, not to mention similar possibilities in Texas and Ohio, should she win either by even one vote. If Republicans had adopted a p.r. system similar to the Democrats, then John McCain would by no means have the nomination locked up, and we could all look forward to a circus at the Republican convention in Minneapolis. My own view is that the Democrats' system is more democratic precisely because it doesn't allow for the possibility that the person rejected by a quite substantial majority will "win" simply by coming in first. But, obviously, reasonable people differ about this, and the current contests provide much fodder for argument.

Full post as published by Balkinization on March 04, 2008 (boomark / email).

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