The objectives of this study are twofold: provide information to the general public and conduct a scientific inquiry.

Information
This site provides simple descriptions of electoral systems in three countries (Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands) where the legislative assembly is elected following three different sets of electoral rules. In Australia, voters rank candidates by order of preference. The vote count is then completed iteratively by eliminating the least voted candidate until one candidate obtains a majority. In Canada – and in Quebec – voters cast a ballot for their preferred candidate and the candidate who gets a plurality (most votes) wins the election in the riding. In the Netherlands, voters cast a ballot for a party of their choice and seats are distributed in the legislative assembly as a function of the party’s share of total votes. You can find more information on these three systems on this website.

You are invited to reflect on how you would vote if the current Quebec general election using these different systems. The « practical » part of voteauplurielquebec.org allows you to participate in a simulation of the vote under each system.

Research
This site has been built by a group of political scientists from Quebec who want to understand the effect of different electoral systems on politics. Voteauplurielquebec.org is part of a larger international project that brings together researchers from numerous countries. Does the electoral system have an impact on who gets elected? Are the different systems really different? Is there a better system? To answer these questions, it is essential that we study how voters utilize electoral systems and the best way to achieve this is by asking them. This is why we offer you the opportunity to vote three times, each time asking yourself: « For this election, how would I vote given the electoral system being used? »

This unique tool is fully adapted to the Quebec context. The tool uses the actual Quebec electoral ridings and the official list of candidates from the Directeur général des élections du Québec.  Vote au pluriel – Québec is part of a vast international study, Making Electoral Democracy Work, that aims at gaining a better understanding of the functioning of democracy. MEDW is directed by Professor André Blais at Université de Montréal.

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