THE POLITICS OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS IN THE ELECTIONS OF COMMUNE COUNCILS

In this article, I will focus on the evolution of the systems of elections to the commune councils in Poland. Between 1990 – 2014, seven elections to the commune councils were organized in Poland, conducted on the basis of four different voting systems. The most important alterations in the ordinations between 1990 and 2011 included: changing the category of entities qualifying for majority election system, modification of the dimension of the constituencies, changing the mode of distribution of seats, introducing electoral threshold, diminishing the number of councilors, implementing the procedure of “grouping list”. Analysis of changes in the electoral regulations leads to the conclusion that the elections to municipal councils have been politicized.

PROJECTS OF REFORMS OF THE AMERICAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM AT THE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL

The decentralized structure of the U.S. electoral system makes it impossible to speak about a single electoral system which operates in the United States covering about 16.000 elections that are held over a four-year period. States, responsible for holding elections at the state and local level, are trying to reform this system. A significant role in promoting and implementing these reforms is played by non-governmental organizations such as FairVote: The Center for Voting and Democracy, The League of Women Voters, and Common Cause. The purpose of this article is to present the proposed reforms of the U.S. electoral system at the federal, state and local level. The aim is to show the debate which takes place on the American political scene, on the issue of organizing more representative elections.

Changing the electoral systems as a research problem

The aim of the article is to review the main research issues related to the analysis of changes in electoral systems. Since the nineties of the twentieth century, the issue has become a popular research. Based on the literature review, attention was drawn to research on entities involved in changes to electoral systems, the motivations underlying these decisions, awareness of the political consequences of participants into the effects of changes in electoral systems, factors shaping electoral reform processes.