Open list


Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, in which party lists are in a predetermined, fixed order by the time of the election and gives the general voter no influence at all on the position of the candidates placed on the party list.
An open list system allows voters to select individuals rather than, or in addition to parties. Different systems give the voter different amounts of influence to change the default ranking. The voter's candidate choices are usually called preference vote; the voters are usually allowed one or more preference votes for the open list candidates.
Open lists differ from mixed-member proportional representation, also known as "personalized proportional representation" in Germany. Some mixed systems, however, may use open lists in their list-PR component.
Open lists can increase the personalization of politics due to intra- and inter-party competition and identity politics.

Relatively closed variants

A "relatively closed" open list system is one where a candidate must reach a full electoral quota of votes on their own to be assured of winning a seat. The total number of seats won by the party minus the number of its candidates that achieved this quota gives the number of unfilled seats. These are then successively allocated to the party's not-yet-elected candidates who were ranked highest on the party list.

Iceland

In both parliamentary and municipal elections, voters may alter the order of the party list or strike candidates from the list completely. How many votes need to be altered in this way to have an effect on the results varies by the number of seats won by the party in the constituency or municipality in question and the candidate's place on the list. In the parliamentary elections of 2007 and 2009, voters altered the party lists enough to change the ranking of candidates within party lists. However, this did not affect which candidates ultimately got elected to parliament.

More open variants

In a "more open" list system, the quota for election of an individual representative could be lowered from the above amount. It is then possible that more of a party's candidates achieve this quota than the total seats won by the party. It should therefore be made clear in advance whether list ranking or absolute votes take precedence in that case. The quota for individuals is usually specified either as a percentage of the party list quota, or as a percentage of the total votes received by the party.
Example: The quota is 1000 votes and the open list threshold is specified as 25% of the quota, i.e. 250 votes. Therefore, a party which received 5000 votes wins five seats, which are awarded to its list candidates as follows:
Candidates #1, #7 and #4 have each achieved 25% of the quota. They get the first three of the five seats the party has won. The other two seats will be taken by #2 and #3, the two highest remaining positions on the party list. This means that #5 is not elected even though being the fifth on the list and having more preference votes than #2.
In practice, with such a strict threshold, only very few candidates succeed to precede on their lists as the required number of votes is huge. Where the threshold is lower, results defying the original list order are much more common.
Parties usually allow candidates to ask for preference votes, but without campaigning negatively against other candidates on the list.
In some countries individual political parties can choose if their list is open or closed.

Austria

The members of the National Council are elected by open list proportional representation in nine multi-member constituencies based on the states and 39 districts. Voters are able to cast a single party vote and one preference votes each on the federal, state and electoral district level for their preferred candidates within that party. The thresholds for a candidate to move up the list are 7% of the candidate's party result on the federal level, 10% on the state level and 14% on the electoral district level. Candidates for the district level are listed on the ballot while voters need to write-in their preferred candidate on state and federal level.

Croatia

In Croatia, the voter can give their vote to a single candidate on the list, but only candidates who have received at least 10% of the party's votes take precedence over the other candidates on the list.

Czech Republic

In Czech parliamentary elections, voters are given 4 preference votes. Only candidates who have received more than 5% of preferential votes at the regional level take precedence over the list. For elections to the European Parliament, the procedure is identical but each voter is only allowed 2 preference votes.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, any candidate who has obtained at least 30% of the quota is automatically elected.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the voter can give their vote to any candidate in a list ; the vote for this candidate is called a "preference vote". Candidates with at least 25% of the quota takes priority over the party's other candidates who stand higher on the party list but received fewer preference votes. Most people vote for the top candidate, to indicate no special preference for any individual candidate, but support for the party in general. Sometimes, however, people want to express their support for a particular person. Some people, for example, vote for the first woman on the list. If a candidate gathers enough preference votes, then they get a seat in parliament, even if their position on the list would leave them without a seat. In the 2003 elections Hilbrand Nawijn, the former minister of migration and integration, was elected into parliament for the Pim Fortuyn List by preference votes even though he was the last candidate on the list.

Slovakia

In Slovakia, each voter may, in addition to the party, select one to four candidates from the ordered party list. Candidates who are selected by more than 3% of the party's voters are elected first and only then is the party ordering used. For European elections, voters select two candidates and the candidates must have more than 10% of the total votes to override the party list. In the European election in 2009 three of Slovakia's thirteen MEPs were elected solely by virtue of preference votes and only one was elected solely by virtue of her position on the party list.

Sweden

In Sweden, a person needs to receive 5% of the party's votes for the personal vote to overrule the ordering on the party list. Voting without expressing a preference between individuals is possible, although the parties urge their voters to support the party's prime candidate, to protect them from being beaten by someone ranked lower by the party. The share of voters using the open list option at 2022 Swedish general election was 22.49%.

Most open variant

The most-open list, fully-open list, or simply open list system is one where the number of votes for each candidate fully determines the order of election. This system is used in all Finnish, Latvian, and Brazilian multiple-seat elections. Since 2001, lists of this "most open" type have also been used in the elections to fill the 96 proportional seats in the 242-member upper house of Japan.

Free lists or panachage

A "free list", more usually called panachage or mixed list, is a variant on the most open list where voters may support candidates on different lists. Candidates are typically elected using either cumulative or block plurality voting. This gives the voters full control over which candidates are elected, not just within a particular party, but even across them. As a result, independents are not forced to support candidates of only one party, and can support candidates across multiple lists, while still ensuring the results are ultimately proportional.
It is used in elections at all levels in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, in congressional elections in Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras, as well as in local elections in a majority of German states, in French communes with under 1,000 inhabitants, and in Czech municipal elections.

Ballot format

Some ways to operate an open list system when using traditional paper-based voting are as follows:
  • One method is to have a large ballot paper with a box for each party and sub-boxes for the various candidates. In Belgium, when electronic voting is used, the voter has to choose with an electronic pencil on a touchscreen between lists and blank vote, then on the list's page between the top box or the box for one or several candidates on the same list.
  • Another method is to have a separate ballot paper for each party. To maintain voter secrecy, the voter is handed ballot papers for every party. The voter chooses the candidates on one of the ballot papers, for example, by drawing circles around the candidate numbers. Then, the voter puts the party ballot paper into an envelope and puts the envelope into the ballot box.
  • In Brazil, each candidate is assigned a number. The voting machine has a telephone-like panel where the voter presses the buttons for the number of their chosen candidate. In Finland, each candidate is assigned a 3-digit number.
  • In Italy, the voter must write the name of each chosen candidate in blank boxes under the party box.

    Use

By country

Some of these states may use other systems in addition to an open list, for example first-past-the-post in individual constituencies. Some countries use open list may only be used in one of the chambers of the legislature.

Africa

Americas

Asia-Pacific