Single Transferable Vote

• The Single Transferable Vote is used in the Northern Irish Assembly and local elections in Scotland.
• STV is used within multi-member constituencies (where more than one person is to be elected)
• In STV systems, voters rank the candidates in order of preference. There is a certain number of votes that are to be achieved if a candidate is to be elected. If first preference candidates meet this quota they are elected and any extra votes above the quota are transferred to the second preference candidate who is elected when they meet the quota. If no candidates meet the quota, the candidate with the fewest votes is taken out of the race and their votes are transferred to whoever is left in order of preference
• STV produces proportional outcomes and provides a wider array of choice for voters. It usually produces a government in which the parties present gained a majority of the vote.
• STV can create weak bonds between elected representatives and constituents due to the lack of a close constituency link
• Under STV, fewer votes are 'wasted', meaning voters are able to vote for a candidate that may represent them better. This means that representatives may be more accountable to voters.
• With STV, parties have an electoral incentive to provide a balanced team of candidates to maximise the number of higher preferences that their candidates will receive
• STV offers voters a choice of representatives to approach with their concerns once the election is over, rather than just a single elected representative, who may not be at all sympathetic to a voter’s views
• There are fewer safe seats under STV, meaning parties must campaign everywhere and not just in marginal seats
• STV removes the need for tactical voting
• In sparsely populated areas (such as the Scottish Highlands), STV can lead to very large constituencies
• The process of counting results takes longer under STV, meaning that results cannot usually be declared on the same night as the vote takes place and there may not immediately be a clear winner.
• A voting system that allows voters to rank candidates can be prone to ‘donkey voting’, where voters vote for candidates in the order they appear on the ballot.
• In large multi-member constituencies, ballot papers can get rather large and potentially confusing.