Electoral Systems
The United States has one of these systems for presidential elections, where electors, rather than voters directly, cast the deciding votes for the president and vice president.
Electoral College
This 1965 law aimed to overcome legal barriers preventing African Americans from exercising their right to vote in the U.S.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Mexico has this age requirement for citizens to vote in federal elections
18 years old
The European Union's electoral system uses this voting method, where the number of seats a country receives in the European Parliament is roughly proportional to its population.
Proportional Representation
This ancient civilization is credited with developing one of the earliest known forms of democracy, where citizens participated directly in decision-making.
Athens
This term refers to a system where voters directly choose a candidate for office without the use of intermediaries like electors or delegates.
Direct Election/Democracy
This Amendment guarantees the right to vote, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
The 15th Amendment
This political party, founded in 1929, was the dominant party in Mexico for much of the 20th century.
Institutional Revolution Party (PRI)
The concept that allows for all governments to hold its own elections, free from foreign interference
Sovereignty
This concept allows for the democratically essential "one person one vote"
Universal Suffrage
In this voting system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate gets a majority, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated and their votes are transferred until someone has a majority.
Ranked choice voting
Ratified in 1920, the 19th Amendment allowed this group of people to vote
Women
In Mexico, this type of voting system is used for electing members of the legislature, where voters choose a combination of both individual candidates and political parties
Mixed-Member Proportional Representation
This international agreement, signed in 1991, aimed to promote democracy and human rights in Latin America by supporting free and fair elections.
The Inter-American Democratic Charter?
To mitigate pressure and intimidation at the polls, most democracies use this process to ensure anonymity in voting.
Secret ballot
The system in which voters cast their votes for political parties rather than individual candidates, and the number of seats each party receives in a legislature is proportional to the number of votes it receives is called
Proportional Representation
An essential form of voting that allows for those unable to make it to the polls to still cast their ballot
Mail-in voting
At the beginning of the 21st century, this reform aimed to increase transparency in the electoral process by regulating the funding of political parties and political campaigns in Mexico.
The Electoral Reform of 2007
This term refers to the peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another, an important tenant of a stable democracy
Democratic Consolidation
This document, signed in 1215, is considered an early influence on democracy. It required the King of England to consult with Parliament before making decisions on taxes or laws.
Magna Carta
This is the term for a voting system where the country is divided into several electoral districts, and each district elects one representative to the legislature.
Single member districts
This amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18.
26th Amendment
In 2014, Mexico passed a significant electoral reform aimed at strengthening democratic processes. One of its major components was the creation of a new electoral oversight body, which is responsible for overseeing both elections and political parties.
The National Electoral Institute (INE)
The intergovernmental organization, headquartered in Brussels, sends observers to member states to ensure free and fair elections
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
In 1948, this country became the first to grant women the right to vote in national elections in South America.
Brazil