Which statement accurately compares the single-member plurality (SMP) system with the system of proportional representation (PR)?
a. SMP leads to a greater level of political conflict than PR does.
b. PR is more likely to bring about divided government than SMP is.
c. SMP leads to a representation of people while PR leads to a representation of ideas.
d. PR creates incentives to form coalitions while SMP creates incentives to fragment society.
Q. 2The threshold rule attempts to mitigate fragmentation of assemblies into a chaos of small parties by _____.
a. employing race and gender quotas
b. having voters rank the candidates in order of preference
c. holding a second election between the top two finishers of an election
d. only granting parties a seat if they receive above a certain percentage of votes
Q. 3What do the two-round system and the alternative vote system have in common?
a. Both are used in majoritarian systems to ensure that the winner receives more than half of the votes
b. Both are used in proportional systems to ensure that minor parties are able to win at least a few seats
c. Both are used in majoritarian systems to ensure that the winner has more support than any other candidate
d. Both are used in proportional systems to ensure that parties have a minimum base of support before winning any seats
Q. 4The problem of overrepresentation is least likely to occur when a country has a _____.
a. presidential system
b. divided government
c. high voter turnout rate
d. system of proportional representation
Q. 5In Israel, ballots have the names of parties rather than people. Israeli elections use a _____ system.
a. two- round
b. mixed-member
c. semipresidential
d. proportional representation
Q. 6The United States uses which voting system?
a. Single-member plurality
b. Two-round majoritarianism
c. Proportional representation
d. Mixed member parliamentarian
Q. 7In a 2001 election in British Columbia, the Liberal Party won 58 percent of the vote and 97 percent of the seats. This is an example of _____.
a. pluralism
b. Duverger's law
c. overrepresentation
d. pork-barrel politics
Q. 8Gender quotas for the legislature would be used by which system of representation?
a. Descriptive
b. Majoritarian
c. Plurality
d. Proportional