Electoral Systems: Two-Round System

The two-round electoral system is also known as second ballot or runoff voting. It requires the candidate in question to win a majority of the electorate. It is often used in countries with multiparty systems, as the two candidates with the most votes go to a 'second round,' and the candidates with smaller percentages of the total vote are eliminated. This two-round presidential election is also used in Russia. If the United States adopted such a system it would have made little difference in many of its elections, given the lack of dominance of third-party candidates in the United States. However, in the instances where third-party candidates did run, as in the case of Ralph Nader against Al Gore and George W. Bush, a run-off would have occurred. Given that Nader's views were closer to those of Gore, had a run-off occurred, it is likely that Gore would have won the presidency.

In a first-past-the-post system election system with many candidates, where the liberal or conservative vote is fragmented but wins 51% of the popular vote, while the opposing side is consolidated with one candidate and wins 49%, the single candidate will win. However, in a two-round system if one candidate does not win a majority, the more popular oppositional candidate has a chance to prove his or her worth in the second round of elections.

Perhaps more significantly, adopting this system would eliminate the U.S. Electoral College, and reduce the priority of national presidential candidates having to woo certain states with many electoral votes, such as California or Texas, as every citizen's vote would be worth the same amount. In Russia the impact of the system has been minimal and not necessarily promoted democracy. "In 1996 Boris Yeltsin won barely a third of the vote in the first round; in 2000 and 2004 Vladimir Putin won an absolute majority in the first round" (Munro 2008). In short, a viable opposition party, or preferably parties must challenge the chief executive to truly create a contentious election. But under the regime of Putin, oppositional elements have been suppressed, although the president seems popular, according to Russian public opinion polls.

Works Cited

Munro, Neil. (30 Jan 2008). "Russia Votes." Centre for the Study of Public Policy:

University of Aberdeen. The Levada Center: Moscow. Retrieved 3 Feb 2008 at http://www.russiavotes.org/president/presidency_electoral_system.php?PHPSESSID=b930691dd1def289a14f0530ced79ace