SV

Cards (4)

  • Advantages of Supplementary Vote
    • It ensures broad support for the winner
    • It is simple and straightforward to use
    • It gives voters greater choice than FPTP, as they can indicate a second preference and choose their desired candidate whilst also choosing between the two candidates most likely
    • It has allowed some independent candidates to win. For example, 12 out of the 40 elected police and aime commissioners were independents in the 2012 contest
  • Disadvantages of Supplementary Vote
    • The winner doesn't need to get an absolute majority of the votes cast
    • To have influence over the outcome, voters need to be able to identify the likely top two candidates which isn't always clear, with the exception of London.
    • The least unpopuler candidates are more likely to win, rather than the most popular
    • If SV was used for the constituencies in UK Parliament elections, the problem would s remain of votes for candidates that don't win being wasted, though to a lesser extent than FPTP.
  • Both SV and AV were considered, but SV was chosen partly because it was simpler to use.
  • It was also preferred as only the top two candidates after the first preferences had been counted would make it into the final round. This meant that candidates with itle positive support would be less likely to win merely because they were a lowest common denominator second or third choice. In this way the winner would have a clear mandate