Electoral competition
File:Political Competition, OWID.svg
File:Political competition, OWID.svg
{{Elections}}
{{Short description|Competition between political parties or candidates}}
Electoral competition, political competition or electoral competitiveness describes the amount of competition in electoral politics between candidates or political parties, usually measured by the margin of victory.{{cite journal|last1=Klarner|first1=Carl|last2=Berry|first2=William|last3=Carsey|first3=Thomas|last4=Jewell|first4=Malcolm|last5=Niemi|first5=Richard|last6=Powell|first6=Lynda|last7=Snyder|first7=James|year=2013|title=State Legislative Election Returns (1967-2010)|doi=10.3886/ICPSR34297.v1}}
The Polity data series includes a measure of political competition.https://www.systemicpeace.org/inscr/p5manualv2018.pdf Marshall, Monty G., and Ted Robert Gurr. "Polity5: Political regime characteristics and transitions, 1800-2018." Center for Systemic Peace 2 (2020). Political competitiveness can be affected by the proportionality between votes and seats, which can be represented by Gallagher index.
Roemer model of political competition
{{Excerpt|Roemer model of political competition|paragraphs=1|only=paragraphs}}
Effect on corruption
Political competitiveness can affect the level of political corruption.{{cite journal | last=Alfano | first=Maria Rosaria | last2=Baraldi | first2=Anna Laura | last3=Cantabene | first3=Claudia | title=The role of political competition in the link between electoral systems and corruption: The Italian case | journal=The Journal of Socio-Economics | volume=47 | date=2013 | doi=10.1016/j.socec.2013.07.005 | pages=1–10}}
By country
=United States=
As of 1984, in American federal elections, races for U.S. Senate tended to be more competitive than those for U.S. House of Representatives.{{cite journal|last1=Nice|first1=David|year=1984|title=Competitiveness in house and senate elections with identical constituencies|journal=Political Behavior|volume=6|issue=1|pages=95–102|doi=10.1007/BF00988231| s2cid=154349012 }}
In the 21 st century, competition in elections has disappeared; even in wave election years, the vast majority of U.S. House members have been keeping their seats, with little pressure from the opposing party.{{cite web|date=2012-07-25|title=How Do We Make Elections More Competitive?|url=http://prospect.org/article/how-do-we-make-elections-more-competitive|website=Prospect.org|accessdate=2017-04-03}} Competition in U.S. House races has been in decline since at least the 1960s.{{cite journal|last1=Abramowitz|first1=Alan I|last2=Alexander|first2=Brad|last3=Gunning|first3=Matthew|year=2006|title=Incumbency, Redistricting, and the Decline of Competition in the U.S. House Elections|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=68|issue=1|pages=75–88|citeseerx=10.1.1.177.798|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00371.x| s2cid=18783205 }}
In February 2025 the NY Times spoke of the death of competition in elections, which "were decided by low-turnout" of just 57,000 people voting for politicians in U.S. House primary elections rendering these "meaningless". Also, more than three-quarters of primary races in 2024 were uncontested and only 287 of more than 4,600 primaries were "meaningful". This has contributed to eroding trust in government. Apart from gerrymandering in the United States, there has been an aggregation of like-minded voters, because they have moved into the same neighborhoods and communities.{{Cite news |last=Corasaniti |first=Nick |last2=Wines |first2=Michael |date=2025-02-23 |title=The Death of Competition in American Elections |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/us/politics/us-elections-gerrymandering.html |access-date=2025-03-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
See also
References
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