Open list
Encyclopedia
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation
where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This as opposed to closed list
, which allows the usually much fewer, active, members, party officials, or consultants, to determine the order of its candidates and gives the general voter no influence at all on the position of the candidates placed on the party list. Additionally, an open list system can also allow a voter the alternative of voting for the party as a whole without expressing a preference between individuals. There are differences possible between varying open list systems, each giving the voter varying amounts of influence. Voter's choice is usually called preference vote.
on his or her own in order to be elected (usually Hare quota
, but Droop quota
is also possible). The total number of seats won by the party minus the number of its candidates that succeeded in getting this quota would then successively be given to those unelected candidates from that party who had been ranked highest on the original list.
In Dutch elections (for example to the House of the Representatives) the voter can give his vote to any candidate of a list; the vote for the candidate in question is called a "preference vote" (voorkeurstem in Dutch). If a candidate has at least 25 % of the quota then he can precede other candidates who stand higher on the list but received fewer preference votes.
An example: A party list got 5000 votes. If the quota is 1000 votes, then the list will provide five members of the parliament.
Candidates #1, #7 and #4 have reached a quarter of the quota each (250 preference votes or more). They get the first three of the five seats the list has earned. The other two seats will be taken by #2 and #3. This means that #5 is not elected though being the fifth on the list and having more preference votes than #2. (If the party had gained only two seats altogether, then only #1 and #7 had been elected.)
In practice, on the national level only one or two candidates can precede on their lists. This happens more often at the local level where the quota (in absolute numbers of votes) is lower. Parties usually allow candidates to ask for preference votes, but not to have a negative campaign against other candidates on the list.
In elections in Sweden
, the 'most open' list is used, but a person needs to receive 5 percent of the party's votes (in elections to the European Parliament
, municipal assemblies
or county councils
) or 8 percent of the party's votes (in elections to the Riksdag
) for the personal vote to overrule the ordering on the party list. Voting without expressing a preference between individuals is possible, although the parties urge their voters to support the party's prime candidate, to protect them from being overrun by a person ranked lower by the party.
In Slovakia each voter may, in addition to the party, select one to four candidates from the ordered party list. Candidates who are selected by more than three percent of all of a party's voters are elected (in order of total number of votes) first and only then is the party ordering used. For European elections, voters select two candidates and the candidates must have more than 10 percent of the total votes to override the party list. In practice however, the most well-known candidates tend to be at the top of the party lists, and there are often 15-20 parties in elections so the effect of voters either not giving preference votes at all after selecting a specific party, or giving them to candidates who would be elected anyway is that there are very few candidates elected who would not be elected anyway by virtue of their position on the party lists. However, in the European election in 2009
(the most recent election run under this system) three of Slovakia's thirteen MEPs were elected solely by virtue of preference votes (having positions too low to otherwise win) and only one (Katarína Neveďalová of SMER) was elected solely by virtue of her position on the party list (having fewer preference votes than a number of other candidates who themselves, nevertheless had preferences from fewer than 10 percent of their party's voters).
In the Netherlands, a country with an open list proportional representation system, most people vote for the top candidate indicating no special preference, but support for the party in general. Sometimes, however, people want to express their support for a particular person. Many women, for example, vote for the first woman on the list. If a candidate gathers enough preference votes, then he gets a seat in parliament, even if his position on the list would leave him without a seat. In the 2003 elections
Hilbrand Nawijn
, the former minister of migration and integration was elected into parliament for the Pim Fortuyn List by preference votes even though he was the last candidate on the list
.
A country could introduce a version of a more open list voting system allowing parties to choose a small number (say, 5 or 10) of candidates to be guaranteed to be selected first (perhaps to form a small 'core' of government, such as head of state, cabinet, etc.) This solves the problem of major party figures being prevented from taking office, yet still allows the vast majority of party candidates' order on the party list to be decided by the voters.
election is taking place. This system is used in all Finnish
and Brazil
ian multiple-seat elections. While ties may be resolved by a toss in Finland, the oldest candidate wins the tie in Brazil.
. This gives the elector more control over which candidates are elected.http://www.aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/es/esd/esd02/esd02e/esd02e03
For example: In one constituency (electoral district), four parties (A to D) may nominate up to five candidates each, and a total of 10 MPs will be elected. Party A gets 40 percent of the vote, so gets 4 representatives elected, so the preference votes have no effect - if less than 4 were elected, they would have had an effect. Party B gets 30 percent of the vote, getting 3 representatives elected, but their preference votes would only have had an effect if only 1 candidate was elected. Party C gets 20 percent of the vote, and the preference votes determine which of the 2 unplaced candidates get elected. In the case of party D, there is only one candidate to whom votes may be given, so the candidate could equally well have been fixed on the list.
, regional
and municipal elections
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This as opposed to closed list
Closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
, which allows the usually much fewer, active, members, party officials, or consultants, to determine the order of its candidates and gives the general voter no influence at all on the position of the candidates placed on the party list. Additionally, an open list system can also allow a voter the alternative of voting for the party as a whole without expressing a preference between individuals. There are differences possible between varying open list systems, each giving the voter varying amounts of influence. Voter's choice is usually called preference vote.
Relatively closed list
A 'relatively closed' open list system would be one where a candidate has to get a full quotaQuota share
A quota share is a specified number or percentage of the allotment as a whole , that is prescribed to each individual entity ....
on his or her own in order to be elected (usually Hare quota
Hare quota
The Hare quota is a formula used under some forms of the Single Transferable Vote system and the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation...
, but Droop quota
Droop Quota
The Droop quota is the quota most commonly used in elections held under the Single Transferable Vote system. It is also sometimes used in elections held under the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation . In an STV election the quota is the minimum number of votes a...
is also possible). The total number of seats won by the party minus the number of its candidates that succeeded in getting this quota would then successively be given to those unelected candidates from that party who had been ranked highest on the original list.
More open list
For a 'more open' list system, the quota could be lowered to less than a full one instead. It is then (theoretically) possible that more candidates are eligible for a seat than the party deserves as a whole. It should therefore be clear in advance whether list ranking or absolute votes takes precedence in that case.In Dutch elections (for example to the House of the Representatives) the voter can give his vote to any candidate of a list; the vote for the candidate in question is called a "preference vote" (voorkeurstem in Dutch). If a candidate has at least 25 % of the quota then he can precede other candidates who stand higher on the list but received fewer preference votes.
An example: A party list got 5000 votes. If the quota is 1000 votes, then the list will provide five members of the parliament.
| Candidate position | Preference votes | 25% of the quota | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 3500 | x (first) | x |
| #2 | 50 | x | |
| #3 | 150 | x | |
| #4 | 250 | x (third) | x |
| #5 | 100 | ||
| #6 | 100 | ||
| #7 | 450 | x (second) | x |
| #8 | 50 | ||
| ... | ... | ||
Candidates #1, #7 and #4 have reached a quarter of the quota each (250 preference votes or more). They get the first three of the five seats the list has earned. The other two seats will be taken by #2 and #3. This means that #5 is not elected though being the fifth on the list and having more preference votes than #2. (If the party had gained only two seats altogether, then only #1 and #7 had been elected.)
In practice, on the national level only one or two candidates can precede on their lists. This happens more often at the local level where the quota (in absolute numbers of votes) is lower. Parties usually allow candidates to ask for preference votes, but not to have a negative campaign against other candidates on the list.
In elections in Sweden
Elections in Sweden
Elections in the Kingdom of Sweden are held every four years, and determine the makeup of the legislative bodies on the three levels of administrative division in the country. At the highest level, these elections determine the allocation of seats in the Riksdag, the national legislative body of...
, the 'most open' list is used, but a person needs to receive 5 percent of the party's votes (in elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, municipal assemblies
Municipalities of Sweden
The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...
or county councils
County Councils of Sweden
A county council, or landsting, is an elected assembly of a county in Sweden. A county council is a political entity, elected by the county electorate and typically its main responsibilities lie within the public health care system. In each county there is also a county administrative board which...
) or 8 percent of the party's votes (in elections to the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
) for the personal vote to overrule the ordering on the party list. Voting without expressing a preference between individuals is possible, although the parties urge their voters to support the party's prime candidate, to protect them from being overrun by a person ranked lower by the party.
In Slovakia each voter may, in addition to the party, select one to four candidates from the ordered party list. Candidates who are selected by more than three percent of all of a party's voters are elected (in order of total number of votes) first and only then is the party ordering used. For European elections, voters select two candidates and the candidates must have more than 10 percent of the total votes to override the party list. In practice however, the most well-known candidates tend to be at the top of the party lists, and there are often 15-20 parties in elections so the effect of voters either not giving preference votes at all after selecting a specific party, or giving them to candidates who would be elected anyway is that there are very few candidates elected who would not be elected anyway by virtue of their position on the party lists. However, in the European election in 2009
European Parliament election, 2009 (Slovakia)
The European Parliament election of 2009 in Slovakia was the election of the delegation from Slovakia to the European Parliament in 2009.The turnout, although increased compared to the previous election, was 19.63%, the lowest of any nation involved in the election.-Division of Seats:The system of...
(the most recent election run under this system) three of Slovakia's thirteen MEPs were elected solely by virtue of preference votes (having positions too low to otherwise win) and only one (Katarína Neveďalová of SMER) was elected solely by virtue of her position on the party list (having fewer preference votes than a number of other candidates who themselves, nevertheless had preferences from fewer than 10 percent of their party's voters).
In the Netherlands, a country with an open list proportional representation system, most people vote for the top candidate indicating no special preference, but support for the party in general. Sometimes, however, people want to express their support for a particular person. Many women, for example, vote for the first woman on the list. If a candidate gathers enough preference votes, then he gets a seat in parliament, even if his position on the list would leave him without a seat. In the 2003 elections
Dutch general election, 2003
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.-Background:...
Hilbrand Nawijn
Hilbrand Nawijn
Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn is a Dutch politician of the Party for the Netherlands . He was Minister for Integration & Immigration from July 22, 2002 until May 27, 2003 and later a Member of the House of Representatives for the Pim Fortuyn List .Nawijn was born in Kampen...
, the former minister of migration and integration was elected into parliament for the Pim Fortuyn List by preference votes even though he was the last candidate on the list
Lijstduwer
Lijstduwer is a Dutch term for the last candidate on a party list.In Suriname, the Netherlands and Belgium, this position is often taken by well-known non-politicians such as artists and sportspeople. They are officially a candidate, but they are put at the end of the party list in a bid to...
.
A country could introduce a version of a more open list voting system allowing parties to choose a small number (say, 5 or 10) of candidates to be guaranteed to be selected first (perhaps to form a small 'core' of government, such as head of state, cabinet, etc.) This solves the problem of major party figures being prevented from taking office, yet still allows the vast majority of party candidates' order on the party list to be decided by the voters.
Most open list
The 'most open' list system is the one where the absolute amount of votes every candidate receives fully determines the "order of election" (the list ranking only possibly serving as a 'tiebreaker'). When such a system is used, one could make the case that within every party an additional virtual single non-transferable voteSingle non-transferable vote
The single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used in multi-member constituency elections.- Voting :In any election, each voter casts one vote for one candidate in a multi-candidate race for multiple offices. Posts are filled by the candidates with the most votes...
election is taking place. This system is used in all Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian multiple-seat elections. While ties may be resolved by a toss in Finland, the oldest candidate wins the tie in Brazil.
Free list
A 'free list' is similar in principle to the most open list, but instead of having just one vote for one candidate in one list, an elector has (usually) as many votes as there are seats to be filled, and may distribute these among different candidates in different lists. Electors may also give more votes to one candidate, in a manner similar to cumulative votingCumulative voting
Cumulative voting is a multiple-winner voting system intended to promote more proportional representation than winner-take-all elections.- History :...
. This gives the elector more control over which candidates are elected.http://www.aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/es/esd/esd02/esd02e/esd02e03
Arbitrary list
In an Arbitrary List system, political parties may put their candidates on the list in a fixed place, and may leave some places on the list empty, and some candidates unplaced. Each empty place on the list that needs to be filled, will be filled by the unplaced candidate who got the most votes. It is only possible to vote for unplaced candidates. Hence, having only one candidate unplaced is identical to having all candidates placed.For example: In one constituency (electoral district), four parties (A to D) may nominate up to five candidates each, and a total of 10 MPs will be elected. Party A gets 40 percent of the vote, so gets 4 representatives elected, so the preference votes have no effect - if less than 4 were elected, they would have had an effect. Party B gets 30 percent of the vote, getting 3 representatives elected, but their preference votes would only have had an effect if only 1 candidate was elected. Party C gets 20 percent of the vote, and the preference votes determine which of the 2 unplaced candidates get elected. In the case of party D, there is only one candidate to whom votes may be given, so the candidate could equally well have been fixed on the list.
| Party A candidates | Votes | Elected | Party B candidates | Votes | Elected | Party C candidates | Votes | Elected | Party D candidates | Votes | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | x | 30 | x | 11 | x | #1 | x | ||||
| |15 | x | 0 | x | #2 | x | #2 | |||||
| |13 | x | #3 | x | #3 | 10 | ||||||
| |12 | x | #4 | #4 | #4 | |||||||
| #5 | #5 | 9 | #5 | ||||||||
| Total | 40 | 4 | 30 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 1 |
Practical operation
Some ways to operate an open list system when using traditional paper-based voting are as follows:- One is to have a large ballot paper with a box for each party and sub-boxes for the various candidates.
- The second method (used in Slovakia) is to have a separate ballot paper for each party. To maintain voter secrecy, the voter is handed a ballot paper for each party. He chooses his candidates (or not, if he wants to vote for the party as a whole) on one of the ballots and puts that paper into an envelope, putting the envelope into the ballot box (and discarding the rest into a prepared bin).
- In BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
until the spread use of electronic vote, each candidate is assigned a number (in which the first 2 digits are the party number and the rest is the candidate's number within the party). The voter then writes the number for his candidate in the ballot.
List of countries with open list proportional representation
('more open', as described above) (semi open)Other elections
during EuropeanEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, regional
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
and municipal elections
Further reading
- Toplak, Jurij. "Preferential Voting: Definition and Classification" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, Chicago, IL, April 2009.