Electoral Systems with a Majority Bonus as Unconventional Mixed Systems
Abstract
Among the large family of mixed electoral systems, systems with a majority bonus have been largely overlooked. Based on a comparison of regional elections in France and Italy, this article shows that these systems fit well into the typology as mixed systems. Their impact on the patterns of electoral competition can be viewed as mixed, leading to a bipolar but fragmented competition and to intermediate levels of disproportionality in between proportional and majoritarian systems.