Comparing The Two-Party And Proportional Voting

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The United States has functioned under a Democracy since the country was formed as an independent nation with an independent political system. Under this democracy politics function as a two-party system for elections. In light of the 2016 election, though, it has been brought to the attention of many citizens that this may not be the best way to run elections at any level. So the question then becomes, what other types of electoral processes are there and which would be best for the United States? The two main political systems that are utilized in the modern world are the Two-Party, or Majoritarian, system and the Proportional Representation system.
The Two-Party, or Majoritarian, system functions under the ideal basis that the most qualified person will be selected to represent the electorate. The largest problem that is presented with this system is that it makes it highly unlikely for any smaller party, such as the Tea Party or the Green Party in the United States, to have any fair chance of representation. This is because the big name parties, such as the Democratic and Republican parties, have the monetary abilities to advertise much more than their smaller parties as well as encourage companies to not advertise for those smaller parties. This leads to the …show more content…

This version is utilized by 80% of the countries who have a Proportional Representation system. This version allow for legislators to be elected in large, multi-layered districts where voters show preference on a ballot. Instead of voting for individuals, however, the voters show preference for parties who will then receive the number of seats proportional to that preference. So if the party receives 20% of the vote they will get 20% of the seats. This does mean, however, that the voters are not able to indicate preference on candidates as the parties fix the order in which the candidate are