The 360: Post-election and America's 2 party system

Voter turnout was significant in Tuesday's off-year election. Democrats claimed two state governorships and California's Proposition 50, which allows the state to redistrict to net more Democrats in the House of Representatives, introduced in response to Texas' efforts to net more Republicans, passed handily.

Georgia Kernell, professor of communication and political science, is an expert on elections around the world, including comparing parliamentary and two-party systems in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Kernell says that Tuesday's election results are very much a function of theUnited States' unique two-party system.

"While voters went out to support Democrats, the common message in exit polls and in the media, as well as on the campaign trail, was about stopping the Republicans. A focus on an opponent's negatives is not unique to the American case, but it is more common here due to our two-party system."

"In other countries, coalitions are more common, and campaign messages and voter priorities tend to focus on a multidimensional policy space rather than a simple 'us versus them.' The reason we see such stark differences across countries in the number of parties and level of choice offered to voters is not due to cultural or historical factors; however, it's due to the rules that govern elections and parties themselves."

These rules structure politicians' campaigns, voter behavior, and ultimately, democratic representation, topics she explains in the most recent episode of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation podcast "Talking Policy," entitled "American Party Politics and the Crisis of Representation ."

Kernell's current research focuses on political parties, political communication, comparative political behavior, partisanship and voting, including how parties' organizations affect candidate strategies, representation and electoral success.

Kernell heads the Political Party Organizations Lab at UCLA, which collects and codes constitutions and rules from political parties around the world.