1. AMS Additional Member System

2. Type of System AMS is a mix of both a proportional system and a majoritarian system. It is a hybrid (mixed) voting system.

3. How this system works Under AMS a voter gets 2 votes. One for a real person, and one for a party. Some varieties of AMS the two votes are merged, with the vote for the candidate counting as a vote for the party as well. This is rare. When the votes are in, each constituency gives a winner, in the FPTP style. If a candidate was standing in a constituency as well as on the party list, their name is removed from the list, with every one moving up a place. Additional members are allocated to political parties on a corrective basis so that the total number of seats they have in parliament is proportional to the number of votes they won.

4. AMS The winner of the FPTP vote then represents the constituency that they won so that there is a direct link with this system.

5. The d’hondt Formula Additional members are allocated to Parties on a corrective basis to ensure that the total number of seats they have in parliament is proportional to the number of seats they have won. Parties winning a share of the popular vote that is not reflected in the number of seats they have won in the number of single member constituency seats have their seats “topped up” by additional members The d’hondt formula is used to do this. This is a maths formula used to allocate seats proportionally. Its a “highest average” system that uses a divisor method rather than a quota. It does not give strict proportionality and favours larger parties. The total votes of each party are divided by the number of seats it has already, plus the next seat to be allocated.

6. Constit seats wonCon 0 Lab 2 Lib Dem 2 Plaid cymru 4 Winner List votes36,62253,84231,68384,544 First divisor1335 First seat36,62217,94710,56116,910CON Second divisor2335 Second seat18,31117,94710,56116,910CON Third divisor3335 Third seat12,20717,94710,56116,910LAB Fourth divisor3435 Fourth Seat12,20713,46010,56116,910Plaid Cymru

7. D’Hondt Formula List seats were allocated according to the calculation of the number of votes for each party divided by the number of seats won by the party plus 1 The party with the highest score after this calculation win that seat. For the 1 st seat the calculation was based on the number of constituency seats won by each party decided by FPTP in the region. The 2 nd 3 rd and 4 th list seats took the new total of seats.

8. Outcome of table of seats won in Mid and West Wales. The conservatives won the first seat in the west welsh constituency. The second seat was won by conservatives again because it now had 1 seat plus the new seat which equals 2 seats but it still had the highest total of votes so it got the second seat also. Labour then won the third seat because its original total was divided by 3 and it had the highest total number of votes out of the 4 parties so it won that seat. Plaid Cymru won the next seat because its total was divided by 5 and it had the highest number of votes The other parties seats meant the number that their original votes was divided by was bigger because they had 1 added on each time they won a seat so conservatives total was divided by 3 instead of 0 or 1 like at the start.

9. Advantages of this system This system gives broadly proportional results. Each voter has a directly accountable single constituency representative Every voter has a effective vote It allows a voter to vote for a candidate that they agree with and also a party that they support without dislodging either from government.

10. Disadvantages of AMS Having two different types of representative creates animosity between them. AMs and MSPs elected via the regional list are seen as having got in by the back door or assisted places. People can get confused as to what they are supposed to do with their vote. It uses large multi member constituencies that break the link between individual MP’s and their constituency. It gives coalition governments which can often disagree and gives power to small parties by threatening to leave the big party that used the small party vote to pass a law they anted and be a majority in the coalition. Coalition means watered down versions of policies which is not what the voter wants.