Use the following information to answer questions 1-2 First-past-the-post is so named because a candidate has only to win more votes than his nearest competitor to take the riding,not an absolute majority of the votes cast. The most direct consequence is to exaggerate the majority enjoyed by the winning party,often grotesquely:with less than half the popular vote,governments have been formed with nearly all of the seats. - from The Globe and Mail 1. From a liberal democratic perspective, the most serious weakness of the system describe in the excerpt is its tendency to a. deny interest groups an opportunity to influence government decisions b. undermine the authority of the executive branch C. reduce the effectiveness of the governing party d. distort the expressed will of the electorate 2. Individuals who would defend the single-member constituency system described in the excerpt claim that such a system ultimately preserves government a. stability b frugalness c accountability d.responsiveness

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Use the following information to answer questions 1-2 First-past-the-post is so named because a candidate has only to win more votes than his nearest competitor to take the riding,not an absolute majority of the votes cast. The most direct consequence is to exaggerate the majority enjoyed by the winning party,often grotesquely:with less than half the popular vote,governments have been formed with nearly all of the seats. - from The Globe and Mail 1. From a liberal democratic perspective, the most serious weakness of the system describe in the excerpt is its tendency to a. deny interest groups an opportunity to influence government decisions b. undermine the authority of the executive branch C. reduce the effectiveness of the governing party d. distort the expressed will of the electorate 2. Individuals who would defend the single-member constituency system described in the excerpt claim that such a system ultimately preserves government a. stability b frugalness c accountability d.responsiveness

Answer 1

1. **d. distort the expressed will of the electorate.** The passage clearly states that first-past-the-post can lead to a party winning a large majority of seats with less than half of the popular vote. This means the representation in the government doesn't accurately reflect the overall preferences of the voters, thus distorting the will of the electorate.2. **a. stability.** Proponents of first-past-the-post often argue it creates stronger, more stable governments. While it can lead to disproportionate representation, it also tends to produce majority governments (even with less than a majority of the popular vote) which are less susceptible to collapse from coalition infighting or minority party tactics. This is often contrasted with proportional representation systems, which can lead to more representative but potentially less stable coalition governments.

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