Single Transferable Vote
Used for the Northern Ireland Assembly, local government in Northern Ireland and Scotland,
and the European Parliament
Proportional Voting System
Constituencies are multi-member
Candidates are ranked in order of preference and voters can vote for as many or few candidates
as they wish
Candidates are elected if they receive a certain quota of votes, a ‘droop quota’, which is
calculated as the total number of votes cast, divided by (number of seats available+1), add 1
Counting takes place in several rounds, the bottom candidate being eliminated and votes for
that candidate being transferred to second preferences, along with any votes in excess of the
quota.
Continue until all member spaces are filled.
Single Transferrable Vote: Advantages
Can be highly proportional
Creates competition for candidates from the same party, so they can be judged on their own
strengths
Greater voter choice as several representatives exist for the people both within and across
parties- possibly increasing turnout
Government is likely to be made up of parties with more than 50% of the vote, meaning high
levels of support
Single Transferable Vote: Disadvantages
Degree of proportionality can vary
Single-party, strong government is very unlikely
Could be divisive by creating competition between candidates from the same party
Weak links between representatives and constituency
Likely to form coalition governments, which have proven unstable in Northern Ireland
Can give small parties undue power if they hold the balance, since larger parties will need to get
them onboard, granting them greater influence than their number of votes constitute
Complex and slow to count and results are difficult to understand
Allows parties to ‘play the system’, such as the Greens who put less constituency MPs up for
election in Scotland as this would make them more likely to benefit from the regional list system
Used for the Northern Ireland Assembly, local government in Northern Ireland and Scotland,
and the European Parliament
Proportional Voting System
Constituencies are multi-member
Candidates are ranked in order of preference and voters can vote for as many or few candidates
as they wish
Candidates are elected if they receive a certain quota of votes, a ‘droop quota’, which is
calculated as the total number of votes cast, divided by (number of seats available+1), add 1
Counting takes place in several rounds, the bottom candidate being eliminated and votes for
that candidate being transferred to second preferences, along with any votes in excess of the
quota.
Continue until all member spaces are filled.
Single Transferrable Vote: Advantages
Can be highly proportional
Creates competition for candidates from the same party, so they can be judged on their own
strengths
Greater voter choice as several representatives exist for the people both within and across
parties- possibly increasing turnout
Government is likely to be made up of parties with more than 50% of the vote, meaning high
levels of support
Single Transferable Vote: Disadvantages
Degree of proportionality can vary
Single-party, strong government is very unlikely
Could be divisive by creating competition between candidates from the same party
Weak links between representatives and constituency
Likely to form coalition governments, which have proven unstable in Northern Ireland
Can give small parties undue power if they hold the balance, since larger parties will need to get
them onboard, granting them greater influence than their number of votes constitute
Complex and slow to count and results are difficult to understand
Allows parties to ‘play the system’, such as the Greens who put less constituency MPs up for
election in Scotland as this would make them more likely to benefit from the regional list system
