THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

No subject is more central to the study of politics than elections. All across the globe elections are a focal point for citizens the media and politicians long beforeand sometimes long afterthey occur. Electoral systems the rules about how voters preferences are translated into election results profoundly shape the results not only of individual elections but also of many other important political outcomes including party systems candidate selection and policy choices. Electoral systems have been a hot topic in established democracies from the UK and Italy to New Zealand and Japan. Even in the United States events like the 2016 presidential election and court decisions such as Citizens United have sparked advocates to promote change in the Electoral College redistricting and campaignfinance rules. Elections and electoral systems have also intensified as a field of academic study with groundbreaking work over the past decade sharpening our understanding of how electoral systems fundamentally shape the connections among citizens government and policy. This volume provides an indepth exploration of the origins and effects of electoral systems.