Electoral Systems- The Single Transferable Vote Flashcards
Single transferable vote (STV)
A proportional electoral system that is used for Northern Irish Assembly elections and Scottish local elections.
Constituencies are of a larger size than under FPTP and elect several representatives rather than just one. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. To get elected, a candidate must receive a set number of votes, known as a quota.
What type of electoral system is STV?
A proportional electoral system
Where is STV used?
Northern Ireland
Scottish local government elections
How does STV operate?
+ There are six seats avallable in each constituency.
+ Each party is permitted to put up as many candidates as there are seats in
a constituency (i.e. up to six).
+ Voters put the candidates in their order of preference by placing a number
(1, 2, 3 etc.) beside their names.
+ Voters can choose candidates from different parties if they wish.
+ Winning candidates are elected by reaching a quota that is calculated by
using this formula: VOTES ÷ SEATS + 1.
+ So, if 100 votes were cast and five seats are available, the quota is 100 ÷ 5 + 1.
This works out as 21.
+ Successful candidates must equal or surpass this number of votes.
+ At first all the first preferences are counted for each candidate. Any candidates who achieve the quota are elected automatically.
+ If no one reaches the quota then the candidate with the least first preferences is eliminated and the second and subsequent choices of the voters who chose that candidate are transferred.
+ If a candidate does reach the quota, the second and subsequent preferences from the ballot papers of the elected candidates are added to the other candidates. If this results in another individual achieving the quota, they are elected.
+ This process continues until six candidates have achieved the quota and are elected.
Outcomes of STV
+ The overall outcome is largely proportional to the first-preference votes cast for each party.
+ It results in a multi-party system.
+ STV encourages power sharing so coalitions are the norm. In Northern
Ireland this is between divided communities.
+ STV — and the coalitions it promotes — can result in gridlock. For
instance, Sinn Fein and the DUP were unable to come to a compromise and form a coalition between 2017 and 2020.
+ STV has broken the link between a single representative and their
constituents.
+ The complex nature of STV has confused voters, as happened with Scottish voters in 2007, when they voted using STV for local elections but also voted using AMS for Scottish Parliamentary elections.
Advantages of STV
Voters have a simple choice — it’s ‘as easy as 1, 2, 3’.
It produces a broadly proportional outcome.
It gives voters a wide choice of candidates. Their second and subsequent choices are taken into consideration in the counting.
As there are six representatives per constituency, each voter has a choice of those to represent them and usually they find themselves represented by someone from the party they supported.
Disadvantages of STV
Calculating the result is very complex and takes a long time.
It is more likely to result in minority or coalition government that could be unstable.
It can help candidates with extremist views to be elected.
With six representatives per constituency, the lines of accountability are not clear.
