STV ( Single Transferable Vote )

Question 1

How does STV work?

Answer 1

1. Voters rank candidates, putting a 1 for their favourite, a 2 for next and so on
2. If the voters first choice candidate does not need their vote, either because he or she is elected without it or because that candidate has too few votes to be elected with, the that vote is transferred to the voters second choice candidate and so on
3. In this way very few votes are wasted

This system is used in the Australian Senate and the Republic or Ireland

Question 2

What are the advantages of STV?

Answer 2

. Reduces the likelihood of tactical voting as voters know that their vote won’t be wasted regardless of their choice
. Produces strong and stable governments as they have founded on the majority support of the electorate
. It enables voters to express opinions effectively. Voters can choose between candidates within parties, demonstrating support for different wings of the party.

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of STV?

Answer 3

. Constituencies would be 3-5 times larger than they are now but with 3-5 MPs meaning MPs may have to spend excessive time on dealing with constituency problems and neglect broader issues
. The system does not produce such accuracy in the proportional representation of parties as the party list of AMS systems