In an accountable party system, the choice of voters may fluctuate between parties from one election to the next but the supply of parties remains constant. By contrast, in a floating party system, the parties competing for popular support change from one election to the next. Some parties disappear from the ballot, new parties appear, others alter their names and much else, and several parties combine in blocs that blur or destroy their previous identities. Accountability is not meaningful when voters can neither reaffirm nor withdraw their support from the party for which they voted at the previous election.

The choice offered Russian voters in 1999 was that of a floating set of parties. The list ballot contained the names of 26 political parties, most of which had been newly formed since the last election. In the average single-member district, there were ten candidates, including several independents, list party and non-list party candidates to choose between. The broadening of local choice was an obstacle to collective national accountability because the choice of candidates differed greatly from one district to another. The unwillingness of political elites to be consistent in supplying parties meant there were two types of election campaign going on simultaneously: a national battle for list votes, and 225 local battles for district seats. Differences in the supply of parties guaranteed that the outcomes would differ.