Are mixed electoral systems still “the best of both worlds”? The review of public choice special issue: Mixed electoral systems

Abstract

By all accounts, the development and implementation of mixed electoral systems is an ongoing process. We continue to learn from theory and practice regarding fundamental tenets of these systems as well as contextual idiosyncrasies of their use with various countries’ electorates. It remains uncontroversial whether trade-offs exist, but determining priority features has attracted considerable attention in both policy and academic circles. Moreover, exactly what trade-offs will be most potent within the complexity of real elections is often less than apparent. Thus, iteration and reform have been central to the development of these systems towards their promised paradigm. This review of the Public Choice Special Issue: Mixed Electoral Systems (Vol. 204, Issue 1–2) provides an overview of what we have learned to date about the promises and pitfalls of mixed electoral systems through historical analysis of hybrid systems, case studies of modern mixed electoral systems, statistical and formal theoretical analysis of features of mixed electoral systems, and, finally, proposed reforms of mixed electoral systems.