BC-STV
In British Columbia on May 12, 2009 we will be having a provincial election. At the same time we, as voters will have the opportunity to change our electoral system.
The current system is called "First Past the Post." This does not mean that 50%+1 of the votes elected that person, it just means that one person received more votes than anyone else. So, say there are 10,000 people voting, and there are 5 people running. The winner just has to win more than any other person. So lets say:
person A gets 3,000
person B gets 2,500
person C gets 2,000
person D gets 1,500
person E gets 1,000
Person A wins, even though 7,000 (or 70%) of the people didn't vote for person A. And because each riding (district where everyone in that area votes for/is represented by one person) can only elect one person, only person A gets sent to the BC Legislature.
BC-STV (or British Columbia Single Transferable Vote) allows the voter to choose who they want in, by numbering the candidates. The number of candidates who can be elected will be dependent on the district (which will be made up of more than one original riding area). Each vote will count. And the formual is (valid votes / number of seats +1) +1. And lets look at that distict again. This time, 3 members will become MLA (Members of the Legislative Assembly). That means everyone with 2,501 votes will get in.
Formula:
(10,000 / 3+1) +1 = (10,000 / 4) +1 = 2,500 +1 = 2,501
Now person A would automatically get in, because they have 3,000. But the other 499 would not be wasted. This is the surplus. The second preference now takes part. A "transfer" value takes part. Transfer formula = Person A's surplus / Person A's total votes. The secondary votes are mulitplied by that transfer value, and if someone gets elected, then the transfer value starts again. To see a really good video that probably explains it better than I, go here.
The former mayor, and former/current editor of the local newspaper, has made some comments about the system. He explains the history of it (we voted for it before and the system received 57.7% of the vote, but we needed 60%!), as well as the pros and cons.
http://stv.ca/join
Another good site that explains the pros/cons.
The current system is called "First Past the Post." This does not mean that 50%+1 of the votes elected that person, it just means that one person received more votes than anyone else. So, say there are 10,000 people voting, and there are 5 people running. The winner just has to win more than any other person. So lets say:
person A gets 3,000
person B gets 2,500
person C gets 2,000
person D gets 1,500
person E gets 1,000
Person A wins, even though 7,000 (or 70%) of the people didn't vote for person A. And because each riding (district where everyone in that area votes for/is represented by one person) can only elect one person, only person A gets sent to the BC Legislature.
BC-STV (or British Columbia Single Transferable Vote) allows the voter to choose who they want in, by numbering the candidates. The number of candidates who can be elected will be dependent on the district (which will be made up of more than one original riding area). Each vote will count. And the formual is (valid votes / number of seats +1) +1. And lets look at that distict again. This time, 3 members will become MLA (Members of the Legislative Assembly). That means everyone with 2,501 votes will get in.
Formula:
(10,000 / 3+1) +1 = (10,000 / 4) +1 = 2,500 +1 = 2,501
Now person A would automatically get in, because they have 3,000. But the other 499 would not be wasted. This is the surplus. The second preference now takes part. A "transfer" value takes part. Transfer formula = Person A's surplus / Person A's total votes. The secondary votes are mulitplied by that transfer value, and if someone gets elected, then the transfer value starts again. To see a really good video that probably explains it better than I, go here.
The former mayor, and former/current editor of the local newspaper, has made some comments about the system. He explains the history of it (we voted for it before and the system received 57.7% of the vote, but we needed 60%!), as well as the pros and cons.
http://stv.ca/join
Another good site that explains the pros/cons.