Bloc Vote

A form of First Past the Post but with multiple winners and votes

Bloc Vote

The Bloc Vote is a voting system used for local elections in some parts of England and was the historical norm for elections to Westminster.

Alongside the Limited Vote, it is a Multiple Non-Transferable Vote or plurality at large system.

Each constituency elects more than one representative and voters can cast as many votes as there are available seats.

Political parties will stand multiple candidates in the hope of winning all the seats available. The candidates with the most votes win, even if they have not managed to secure a majority of the votes.

While it is relatively simple for voters to understand, it is very disproportional and enables the strongest party to take all the seats in the constituency.

It encourages strong organisation as parties want to discourage voters from splitting their votes across candidates from multiple parties.

It encourages tactical voting. In order to avoid wasting votes on candidates who are certain to either win or lose, electors have an incentive to vote for candidates who have a realistic but not definite chance of winning.