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AES Notebook Alternative VoteThe
Alternative Vote (AV) is a relatively unusual electoral system, today used
only in Australia, and, in a modified form, in Nauru. Recently, the system
has been muted as the best alternative to FPTP in the United Kingdom. And
in 1996 was recommended as the new electoral system for Fiji. It is thus a
good example of the regional diffusion of electoral systems discussed
earlier: the majority of past, present, and likely future usage of AV has
all occurred within the Oceania region. Like
elections under a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, AV elections are
usually held in single-member districts. However, AV gives voters
considerably more options than FPTP when marking their ballot. Rather than
simply indicating their favored candidate, under AV electors rank the
candidates in the order of their choice, by marking a "1" for
their favorite candidate, "2" for their second-choice,
"3" for their third choice, and so on. The system thus enables
voters to express their preferences between candidates, rather than simply
their first choice. For this reason, it is often known as preferential in
the countries using it. AV also differs from FPTP in the way votes are counted. Like FPTP or Two-Round Systems, a candidate who has won an absolute majority of votes (fifty percent plus one) is immediately elected. However, if no candidate has an absolute majority, under AV the candidate with the lowest number of first preferences is "eliminated" from the count, and their ballot examined for their second preferences. These are then assigned to the remaining candidates in the order as marked on the ballot. This process is repeated until one candidate has an absolute majority, and is declared duly elected. For this reason, AV is usually classified as a majoritarian system, as a candidate requires an absolute majority, and not just a plurality, of all votes cast to secure a seat. |
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Copyright (C) NJIT 2003 |
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