Single Transferable Vote

How do we sustaindemocracyin nations where regional divides and historic tensions threaten social stability? How do we counter the threat of political polarisation in systems where the reins of government pass between two major parties? The Single Transferable Vote model was developed to answer these challenges by providing the electorate with a variety of candidates who can govern in unison. Let's see how this works - both in theory and in practice.

Single Transferable Vote meaning

Developed in the 19th century, the Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a model ofproportional representation(PR).

Let's say we have 5 candidates running, and three seats available in what is known as a multi-member district. In this particular election, there is a voter turnout of 300,000 people. Each voter is asked to rank the 5 candidates, with the most desirable put in first place and the rest being placed from 2 - 5. Once all the votes are cast, this formula, known as the Droop quota, is used to determine if there is at least one outright winner:

$\left(\frac{TotalVotes(300,000)}{TotalNumberofSeats\left(3\right)+1}\right)+1$

An example ballot paper for plurality voting systems such as FPTP which, unlike PR systems, offer the choice of only one candidate, Wikimedia Commons

Concerns over the polarising effect of majoritarian voting systems lead to a search for more representative and inclusiveelectoral systems. The British MP, lawyer and reformer Thomas Hare (1806-1891), in hisTreatise on the Election of Representatives, lays the foundation for the STV system. Through its multi-member districts and transferrable vote mechanism, Hare claimed that STV would

兔子的方法提出了子sequent decades, and even won the praise of influential Liberal philosopher J.S. Mill. It has historically been used in countries with smaller populations, as a multi-member community system functions best in these conditions.

Today, the only independent states which use STV for national elections areMaltaand theRepublic of Ireland.

STV relies ondistrict magnitudeto effectively achieve proportionality. Its proportional representation function has also proved incredibly useful in areas with tense political histories and regional tensions.

Single Transferable Vote UK

STV, as we have said, operates best in countries or regions with a relatively small population. The multi-member districts are constituencies in which elected representatives from multiple parties serve in the national legislature (Assembly orParliament). Therefore, one of STV's chief selling points, in terms of the outcomes it creates, is that it brings different voices to the table.

In the UK, STV is used for elections to the Northern Irish Assembly, a devolved legislature that was established in 1998. Voters in eighteen parliamentary constituencies are asked to select candidates who will represent them in the Assembly. Ultimately, 5 Members of the Legislative Assembly are chosen in each constituency.

A breakdown of the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly results in each of the 18 constituencies, Wikimedia Commons

So, why is STV used in Northern Ireland? The answer to that question lies in the political history of the island of Ireland. For over thirty years, from the 1960s until the late 1990s, Northern Ireland experienced a sustained period of political violence and turmoil known asthe Troubles.During this time, what was known as 'home rule' (i.e. the ability to govern the nation independently) was withdrawn from Northern Ireland and it was governed directly by Westminster. Once the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 created a system for power-sharing across the political divide, the Northern Ireland Assembly was established and STV was chosen as its electoral system.

The STV electoral system in Northern Ireland works in the way described above with the Droop quota determining the threshold which a candidate must pass to enter the Assembly. There is another condition in the process, unique to the Northern Irish system, which stipulates that candidates must declare their 'Affiliation' as either republican, loyalist, or other. Thus, STV's multi-member constituencies and multi-party representation offer an electoral solution to the regional tensions in Northern Irish society.

转移投票法副词antages

As we have discussed, there are several features of STV that make it extremely helpful in developing and sustainingdemocracy, particularly in certain political contexts.

Every vote counts

An example of a 'Donkey Vote', Wikimedia Commons

Impact of single transferable vote on party politics

STV, furthermore, may not provide the representation that its designed to. That is because, in a situation where a party has fielded multiple candidates, STV can promote the individual over the party, thus undermining the role of policy documents, such as party manifestos. There is also an argument that STV doesn't deliver proportional representation, as the transfer of votes once the threshold is met can lead to a result where the party with the majority of votes ends up losing the election. This was the case in the Maltese election in 1981, after which an adjustment had to be made to the electoral system.