Personal Representation: The Neglected Dimension of Electoral Systems (ECPR - Studies in European Political Science)

Personal representation is an essential element to achieve a high quality of democracy. Many studies of electoral systems, by focusing on the allocation of seats to parties, have neglected the study of this essential dimension. In democratic countries a huge variety of ballot forms and rules exist to vote for individual candidates and to allocate seats. This book studies different voting procedures and formulas for personal representation, their origins and consequences, their compatibility with party representation and the strategies and normative criteria for electoral system choice.