With the Single Transferable Vote (STV), the mix of opinions in parliament matches the strength of their support in the country, and representatives - for example, Members of Parliament - have a strong connection to their local area.
The Single Transferable Vote, often called STV, is a form of proportional representation. It was first developed in Britain annd is now used in places such as Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Malta, Scotland and Australia for some or all of their elections.
In America, it is often referred to as ‘ranked-choice voting in multi-member seats’, in Australia they call it ‘Hare-Clark’.
Instead of choosing one person to represent a small constituency or ward, voters choose a few people for a larger area. This means more voters can have someone elected who shares their views.
On the ballot paper, voters put candidates in order, with a 1 beside their favourite candidate, 2 beside their next choice, and so on. They do not have to number every candidate.
Parties will stand more than one candidate in each area.
To get elected, a candidate needs to win a set amount of votes, based on the number of vacancies and the number of votes cast.
After the votes have been counted, any candidate who has reached this number of votes is elected. If they won more votes than they need, these extra votes move to each voter’s second favourite candidate.
Once these votes have been moved, anyone who now has the number of votes needed is elected. If nobody hits the number then the people counting the vote remove the least popular candidate. People who voted for them have their votes moved to their second favourite candidate. This process continues until every vacancy is filled.
The numbers tell the people counting the votes where your vote should go if your earlier choice has already been elected or is no longer in the running.
The Single Transferable Vote is an electoral system that puts the power in the hands of the public.
Voters can choose between people from the same party, as well as people from different parties. This lets voters choose the person they prefer, not just the party.
Voters can also vote for independent candidates without worrying about wasting their vote. Ireland has many independent MPs, as do some Scottish councils.
Constituencies can be based on recognisable local areas, covering a whole town or county. This creates a recognisable local link, and gives voters a choice of representatives to talk to.
After the 2020 Irish General Election, we spoke to people who had used STV in Ireland and First Past the Post at Westminster elections. They told us what it was like to vote using STV.
Rather than having 3 single-member constituencies next to each other, you have one bigger constituency that elects 3 MPs. To better fit the natural, administrative and locally recognised boundaries, some of the new multi-member constituencies elect 3 and some 4 MPS. Constituencies designed by Lewis Baston.
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