Every democracy is unique in the way its citizens participate in the decisionmaking. The most prominent form of participation is the election of executive officers and legislative officers of government. Different forms of democracy suit different cultures and their social values. Some cultures value concensus, others value strict hierarchies, and still others value long public debates. What are the critical values and goals that Israel's electoral system should reflect? Israel faces a unique set of challenges today. Economically, we have developed a wide spectrum of income and quality-of-life among citizens, as evidenced by comparing places like Caesarea and Dimona. Israel competes and participates in a global economy that demands political stability in its member nations. Israel places one of the greatest tax burdens on its citizens of any country. Israel's security needs place demands of personal sacrifice upon many of its citizens. Though the terror war waged against us has not broken our spirit, it has caused enormous financial and emotional stress on many of us. More than ever, our ability to function as a society and a nation depends on the trust we have on our government. Yet in our current era, trust in our elected officials has sunk abysmally low. There is a lack of accountability and responsibility on the part of individual Knesset members and a break in the connection between government and the public. As socioeconomic status is related to geographic location in Israel, regional representation is essential. More than any other political issue, trust and legitimacy must be restored. Therefore, we argue that Israel's system of election needs to incorporate the following: A closer connection between the public and government Legislators who are individually and directly responsible to the public Legislators who represent every geographic disctrict of Israel A system that encourages public participation A system that encourages common ground among legislators A system that promotes social unity instead of sectarianism A system that ensures representation legitimacy through absolute majority election in each district Below, we have listed the voting schemes most commonly discussed in the literature of comparative democracies. On the basis of the valuative needs listed above, the most appropriate systems would be those in the Plurality-Majority category for single-member districts. These would include the Majority-Runoff and Alternative Vote systems. Different Democratic Voting Systems Plurality-Majority Systems The distinguishing feature of plurality-majority systems is that they almost always use single-member districts. In a First Past the Post system, the winner is the candidate with a plurality of votes, but not necessarily an absolute majority of the votes. When this system is used in multi-member districts it becomes the Block Vote. The Alternative Vote and Majority-Runoff systems are single-member systems that ensure that the winning candidate receives an absolute majority of votes cast. Alternative Vote (AV; Australian System) A preferential, plurality-majority system used in single-member districts in which voters rank their preferences among the candidates. If there is no absolute majority of first choices, the lowest polling candidate is disqualified, his ballots are re-allocated according to the subsequent individual choices of his voters, and the ballots are recounted. The elimination, re-allocation, and recounting steps are repeated until one candidate achieves an absolute majority of votes cast. Whenever a preference is expressed for a candidate who has already been eliminated, the voter's subsequent preference is used. Block Vote (BV) A plurality-majority system used in multi-member districts in which electors have as many votes as there are candidates to be elected. Voting can be either candidate-centred or party-centred. Counting is identical to a First Past the Post system, with the candidates with the highest vote totals winning the seats. First Past the Post (FPTP) The simplest form of plurality-majority electoral system, using single-member districts, a categorical ballot and candidate-centred voting. The winning candidate is the one who gains more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily a majority of votes. Majority-Plurality (Two-Round System) In Majority-Plurality Two-Round elections any candidate who has received the votes of over 12.5 per cent of the registered electorate in the first round can stand in the second round. Whoever wins the highest numbers of votes in the second round is then declared elected, regardless of whether they have won an absolute majority or not. Majority-Runoff (Two-Round System) The most common method for the second round of voting in a Two-Round System is a straight "run-off" contest between the two highest vote-winners from the first round. Proportional Representation (PR) Any system which consciously attempts to reduce the disparity between a party's share of the national vote and its share of the parliamentary seats. List Proportional Representation (List PR) In its most simple form List PR involves each party presenting a list of candidates to the electorate, voters vote for a party, and parties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of the national vote. Winning candidates are taken from the lists. Single Transferable Vote (STV) A preferential proportional representation system used in multi-member districts. To gain election, candidates must surpass a specified quota of first-preference votes. Voters' preferences are re-allocated to other continuing candidates when an unsuccessful candidate is excluded or if an elected candidate has a surplus. Party Block Vote (PB) A form of the Block Vote in which electors choose between parties rather than candidates. The successful party will typically win every seat in the district. Semi-Proportional Systems (Semi-PR) Those electoral systems which provide, on average, results which fall some way in between the proportionality of PR systems and the direct-representation of plurality-majority systems. Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) Systems in which a proportion of the parliament (usually half) is elected from plurality-majority districts, while the remaining members are chosen from PR lists. Under MMP the list PR seats compensate for any disproportionality produced by the district seat results. Open List A form of List Proportional Representation in which electors can express a Parallel System - A semi-proportional system in which proportional representation is used in conjunction with a plurality-majority system but where, unlike MMP, the PR seats do not compensate for any disproportionality arising from elections to the plurality-majority seats. Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) A semi-proportional system which combines multimember districts with a First Past the Post method of vote counting, and in which electors have only one vote.

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