The Additional Member System (AMS) is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly.
Also, AMS as a generic term could refer to either the mixed member proportional representation system or the parallel voting system, a semi-proportional voting system. In both cases, some representatives are elected from single-winner geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from a wider area, usually by party lists. Voters usually have two votes, one for the party and the second for the candidate in a constituency, even if sometimes these votes are combined. The constituency representatives are generally elected under the first-past-the-post voting system. The party representatives are elected by a party vote, where the electors vote for a political party, and usually not directly for an individual. The particular individuals selected come from lists drawn up by the political parties before the election, at a national or regional level. Basic technical and political differences intervene between these two systems.
- Under the mixed member proportional representation (MMP) or Top-Up (compensatory) system, the aim is either for the party's total number of representatives, including constituency representatives, to be proportional to its percentage of the party vote, or for the allocation of additional party seats to offset all or most of the disproportionate result in the constituencies. The party vote determines the proportional number of representatives the party has in the assembly, so creating a proportional representation, differently from the semi-proportional parallel voting.
- Under a parallel voting or Supplementary Member (SUP or SM) system, the party seats are allocated proportionally within themselves, without consideration of any constituency seats the party may have won. Under some points of view, the SUP is not an electoral method, but two systems run in parallel for simultaneous, separate elections. However, differently from the Mixed member proportional representation, the proportional division of the seats between the contesting parties is calculated upon the party-list seats only, and not upon all seats.
Read more about Additional Member System: Calculation Methods, Use, Criticisms
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