Plurality block voting

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Plurality block voting, also known as plurality-at-large voting, bloc vote [1] or block voting (BV) is a non-proportional voting system for electing representatives in multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. [2] The usual result when the candidates divide into parties is that the most popular party in the district sees its full slate of candidates elected in a seemingly landslide victory.

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The term "plurality at-large" is in common usage in elections for representative members of a body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body (for example, a city, state or province, nation, club or association). Where the system is used in a territory divided into multi-member electoral districts the system is commonly referred to as "block voting" or the "bloc vote". These systems are usually based on a single round of voting, but can also be used in the runoffs of majority-at-large voting, as in some local elections in France, where candidates who do not receive an absolute majority must compete in a second round.

The party-list version of plurality block voting is party block voting (PBV), also called the general ticket, which also uses a simple plurality election in multi-member districts. In such a system, each party puts forward a slate of candidates, a voter casts just one vote, and the party winning a plurality of votes sees its whole slate elected, winning all the seats.

Casting and counting ballots

Block voting

In a block voting election, all candidates run against each other for m number of positions, where m is commonly called the district magnitude. Each voter selects up to m candidates on the ballot. Each of the voters have m votes, and are able to cast no more than one per candidate. They cannot vote for the same candidate more than once, as is permitted in cumulative voting. [3]

Voters are permitted to cast their votes across candidates of different parties (ticket splitting). [4]

The m candidates with the most votes (who may or may not obtain a majority of available votes or support from the majority of the voters) are declared elected and will fill the positions.

Due to multiple voting, when a party runs more than one candidate, it is impossible to know if the party had support of as many voters as the party tally of votes (up to number of voters participating in the election) or if it had support of just the number of voters equivalent to the votes received by the most popular candidate and the other candidates of that party merely received votes from subset of that group.

Example

Candidates are running in a three-member district; each of the 10,000 voters may cast three votes (but do not have to). Voters may not cast more than one vote for a single candidate.

Party A has about 35% support among the electorate, Party B around 25% and the remaining voters primarily support independent candidates.

CandidatePartyVotes%Elected?
Candidate A1Party A355536%3.Yes
Candidate A2Party A370037%1.Yes
Candidate A3Party A360036%2.Yes
Candidate B1Party B260026%4.
Candidate B2Party B250025%5.
Candidate B3Party B240024%6.
Candidate I1Independent230023%8.
Candidate I2Independent239520%7.
Candidate I3Independent190019%9.
Candidate I4Independent180015%10
Candidate I5Independent6507%11.
Candidate I6Independent6006%12.
TOTAL28,000
TOTAL possible votes (3 per voter)30,000
Voters10,000100%

Candidates of Party A won in a landslide, even though they only received a plurality (35–37%) among the voters (10,000). This is because most parties run as many candidates as there are open seats and voters of a party usually do not split their ticket, but vote for all candidates of that party.

By contrast, a single transferable vote system would likely elect 1 candidate from party A, 1 candidate from party B and 1 independent candidate in this scenario.

Effects of block voting

The block voting system has a number of features which can make it unrepresentative of the voters' intentions. Block voting regularly produces complete landslide majorities for the group of candidates with the highest level of support. Additionally, like first past the post methods, if there are many parties running and voters do not engage in tactical voting, a small cohesive group of voters, making up only a minority of the voters, can elect all the open seats by merely constituting a plurality.

Landslide victories

Under block voting, a slate of clones of the top-place candidate may win every available seat. A voter does have the option to vote for candidates of different political parties if they wish, but if the largest group of voters have strong party loyalty, there is nothing the other voters or parties can do to prevent a landslide.

While many criticize block voting's tendency to create landslide victories, some cite it as a strength. Since the winners of a block voting election generally represent the same slate or group of voters, there is greater agreement amongst those elected, potentially leading to a reduction in political gridlock.

Tactical voting and strategic nomination

Plurality block voting, like single-winner plurality voting, is particularly vulnerable to tactical voting. Supporters of relatively unpopular third parties have a substantial incentive to avoid wasted votes by casting all of their votes for a slate of candidates from a major party.

Parties in block voting systems can also benefit from strategic nomination. Coalitions are actively hurt when they have more candidates than there are seats to fill, as vote-splitting will occur. Similarly, a coalition has a substantial incentive to nominate a full slate of candidates, as otherwise supporting voters may cast some of their remaining votes for opposing candidates.

Bullet voting is a strategy in which a voter only votes for a single candidate in an attempt to stop them being beaten by additional choices. Because the voter is essentially wasting a portion of their vote, bullet voting is only a good strategy when the voter has a strong preference for their favourite and is unsure of, and/or indifferent to, the other candidates' relative chances of winning, for example, if the voter supports an independent candidate or a minor party which has only nominated one candidate.

This system sometimes fosters the creation of an electoral alliance between political parties or groups as opposed to a coalition. This has been the case in the National Assembly of Mauritius; the New Hampshire House of Representatives, with the election of multiple Free State Project as well as New Hampshire Liberty Alliance members; and in the Vermont Senate, with the elections of Vermont Progressive Party members Tim Ashe and Anthony Pollina. [5] Historically, similar situations arose within the multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Compared to preferential block voting

Block voting, or plurality block voting, is often compared with preferential block voting as both systems tend to produce landslide victories for similar candidates. Instead of a series of checkboxes, preferential block voting uses a preferential ballot. A slate of clones of the top preferred candidate will win every seat under both systems, however in preferential block voting this is instead the instant-runoff winner.

Vacancies

When compared with other voting methods, the question of how to fill vacancies that occur under Block Voting can be difficult given the way that by-elections to fill a single seat in a multi-member district can be expensive.

There are alternative ways of selecting a replacement.

One way is to fill any seat that becomes empty by appointing the most popular unsuccessful candidate in the last election, in a version of countback. This was used in the City of Edmonton (Canada) following the 1905 Edmonton municipal election. [6]

Use of block voting

National elections

Block voting used for electing national legislatures
Electoral systems map block voting.svg
   Block voting (BV) or mixed FPTP and BV
   Block voting (BV) or mixed FPTP and BV only for upper house of legislature
   Parallel voting mixed BV and party-list PR

The Philippines is the country with the most extensive experience in plurality-at-large voting. Positions where there are multiple winners usually use plurality-at-large voting, the exception is the election for sectoral representatives in the House of Representatives. The members of the Senate and all local legislatures are elected via this method. The members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa (the parliament) were also elected under this method in 1978.

The following countries use plurality block voting (not including party block voting using plurality) in their national electoral systems:

CountryLegislative bodyLatest election (year)Type of systemSeats per constituencyElectoral systemTotal seats Constituencies Governmental systemNotes
Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil Senate 2022 block voting via multi-winner districts1 or 2 (alternates each election) Plurality block voting (BV) and First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)81 States and the Federal district Presidential system
Flag of Iran.svg Islamic Republic of Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts1–30[ citation needed ]Modified two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, modified two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (25% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency)290 (285 directly elected)electoral districts[ citation needed ] Presidential system
Assembly of Experts block voting via multi-winner districts1–16Plurality block voting (BV) Presidential system
Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati House of Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts1–3 Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency)46 (44 directly elected + 1 delegate from Banaba Island and 1 ex officio)electoral districts[ citation needed ][ citation needed ]
Flag of Laos.svg Laos National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts5–19Plurality block voting (BV)164 (149 directly elected)[ citation needed ]provinces
Flag of Mali.svg Mali National Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency)147[ citation needed ]electoral districts[ citation needed ]
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands Legislature 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts1–5 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies (19 seats) and Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member constituencies (14 seats)33electoral districts[ citation needed ][ citation needed ]
Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania National Assembly 2018 mixed-member majoritarian1–3 (local districts), 40 (nationwide constituency)Coexistence+superposition (parallel) supermixed/hybrid:

Two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts, two-round block voting (BV) in dual-member districts, and List PR (simple quota largest remainder; closed-list) in larger districts + twice 20 nationally List PR (one set of 20 reserved for women)

157electoral districts[ citation needed ] Semi-presidential system
Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius National Assembly 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts3 (for 20 constituencies) and 2 (for the constituency of Rodrigues)Plurality block voting (BV)70 (62 directly elected + a maximum of 8 Best Losers appointed)electoral districts[ citation needed ] Parliamentary system
Flag of Monaco.svg Monaco National Council 2018 mixed-member majoritarian24 (nationwide constituency)Superposition / Mixed-member majoritarian (MMM) using a single (panachage) ballot:

Plurality block voting (BV) in single nationwide constituency for 16 seats; D'Hondt method (8 seats)

24single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system [ citation needed ]
Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia State Great Assembly (Khural) 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts1–5Two round plurality block voting (BV) candidates have to get at least 28% of the votes in a district to get elected. If there are unfilled seat, a runoff is held with twice the number of candidates as there are unfilled seats [7] 76electoral districts[ citation needed ] Semi-presidential system
Flag of New Zealand.svg Realm of New Zealand Flag of Niue.svg Niue Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts1 (local districts), 6 (nationwide constituency)Parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 seats + Plurality block voting 6 seats

20
Flag of Oman.svg Oman Consultative Assembly 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts1–2 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and Plurality block voting (BV) in two-seat districts86electoral districts[ citation needed ]
Flag of Palau.svg Palau Senate single-winner districts13Plurality block voting (BV)13single nationwide constituency Presidential system
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines Senate 2022 block voting at-large12 (alternating elections)Plurality block voting (BV)24single nationwide constituency Presidential system
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland Council of States

All cantons, except:

2019 block voting via multi-winner districts1–2One-round (plurality) or two-round (majority) block voting[ citation needed ]46 Cantons
Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu Parliament 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts2Plurality block voting (BV)16electoral districts[ citation needed ] Parliamentary system
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Crown dependencies and British Overseas territories Flag of Anguilla.svg Anguilla House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency)Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in local constituencies + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

13 (Including 2 ex officio)electoral districts[ citation needed ] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of the Falkland Islands.svg Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts3–5Plurality block voting (BV)8 Stanley constituency and Camp constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of Bermuda.svg Guernsey States of Deliberation 2020 block voting at-large38Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 38 votes40 (38 directly elected)single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of the Isle of Man.svg Isle of Man House of Keys 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts2Plurality block voting (BV)2412 constituencies, partly based on historical parishes Parliamentary system
Flag of Jersey.svg Jersey States Assembly 2018 block voting via multi-winner districts1–4 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency)Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts, Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member districts seats + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

49electoral districts[ citation needed ] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of Montserrat.svg Montserrat Legislative Assembly 2019 block voting at-large9Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 9 votes11 (9 directly elected)single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of Saint Helena.svg Saint Helena Legislative Council 2021 block voting at-large12Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 12 votes15 (12 directly elected)single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts1 (local districts), 5 (nationwide constituency)Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

21 (15 directly elected + 4 appointed + 2 ex officio)electoral districts[ citation needed ] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg British Virgin Islands House of Assembly 2019 single-winner districts1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency)Majoritarian parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

13electoral districts[ citation needed ] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system

Sub-national elections

Other countries using block voting:

In France, the election of municipal councilors takes place by majority vote [9] plurinominal, in two rounds with panachage:

In British Columbia, Canada, all local governments are elected using bloc voting for city councils and for other multi-member bodies (there called "at-large" voting). In other Canadian provinces, smaller cities are generally elected under plurality-at-large, while larger cities are generally elected under the "ward system" which is a municipal adaptation of single member plurality. The sole exception is London, Ontario which has recently changed to the Alternative Vote. When Toronto was amalgamated in 1997, the new entity's first election used a similar rule. From 1871 to 1988, British Columbia had some multi-member ridings using plurality-at-large, and others elected under single member plurality, with the number of each varying from one election to the next. Other Canadian provincial legislatures have in the past used plurality-at-large or single transferable vote, but now all members of provincial legislatures are exclusively elected under single-member plurality.

In Hong Kong, block voting is used for a tiny proportion of the territory's population to elect the members of the Election Committee, which is responsible for selecting the territory's Chief Executive.

Block voting is often used in corporate elections to elect the boards of directors of corporations including housing cooperatives, with each shareholder's vote being multiplied by the number of shares they own; however, cumulative voting is also popular.

Former use

Block voting was used in the Australian Senate from 1901 to 1948 (from 1918, this was preferential block voting). Block voting was also once used in South Australia. [11] It was used for multi-member constituencies in parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom until their abolition, and remains in use throughout England and Wales for some local elections. It is also used in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands (until 2013, FPTP since 2017), the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena. [12]

Plurality block voting is or was also used in the election of the Senate of Poland (until 2011), the Argentine Chamber of Deputies (between 1854 and 1902, and between 1906 and 1910), of the Parliament of Lebanon, the plurality seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council and for the National Assembly of Mauritius. In some Lebanese and Palestinian constituencies, there is only one seat to be filled; in the Palestinian election of 1996 there were only plurality seats, but in 2006 half the seats were elected by plurality (two by first past the post; the others by block voting, in districts that ranged in size from two to nine seats); half by proportional representation nationwide. (The usual one-party sweep produced by block voting is seen in Hebron in the 2006 election where one party took all the district's nine seats.) [13]

A form of plurality block voting was used for the elections of both houses of Parliament in Belgium before proportional representation was implemented in 1900. The system, however, was combined with a system similar to a runoff election; when not enough candidates had the majority of the votes in the first round to fill the seats, a second round was held between the highest ranked candidates of the first round (with two times as many candidates as seats to be filled). In some constituencies there was only one seat to be filled. A similar system to elect part of the Mongolian parliament. 48 Representatives are elected from districts with 1–3 members, the representatives are required to achieve at least 28% of the vote in a district to be elected, if there are unfilled seats after the first round of voting, a second round similar to the Belgian system is held to fill the remaining seat. The remaining representatives are elected separately using party list proportional representation on the national level. [7]

Block voting was used in some constituencies for the House of Representatives of Japan in the first six general elections between 1890 and 1898: while the majority of seats was elected by plurality in 214 single-member districts, there were 43 two-member districts that elected their representatives by block voting.

See also

Notes

  1. "Block Vote". Electoral Reform Society. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  2. "Election - Plurality, Majority, Systems | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  3. City of Hendersonville, NC Archived June 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Reynolds, Andrew; Reilly, Ben; Ellis, Andrew (2005). Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook. Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. p. 44. ISBN   978-91-85391-18-9. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016.
  5. "State Officeholders | Vermont Progressive Party". November 24, 2013. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  6. Edmonton Bulletin, Dec. 7, 1905
  7. 1 2 Law on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia Procedure for Observation and Reporting on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia (PDF). 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  8. "2010. évi L. törvény a helyi önkormányzati képviselők és polgármesterek választásáról" [Act L. of 2010. on the election of local government representatives and mayors] (in Hungarian).
  9. "Code électoral – Article L252" [Electionl Code – Article L252] (in French). Legifrance. March 23, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014..
  10. "Code électoral – Article L253" [Election Code – Article L253] (in French). Legifrance. March 13, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2014..
  11. corporateName=Australian Electoral Commission; address=50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2600; contact=13 23 26 (March 23, 2016). "Events in Australian electoral history". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved September 4, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "Idea.int". idea.int. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20081029054124/http://www.elections.ps/pdf/Final_Result_PLC_Dist_Seats_2_En.pdf

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Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate who polls more than any other is elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per district and may also be referred to as first-past-the-post (FPTP), single-member plurality (SMP/SMDP), single-choice voting, simple plurality or relative majority. A system that elects multiple winners elected at once with the plurality rule and where each voter casts multiple X votes in a multi-seat district is referred to as plurality block voting. A semi-proportional system that elects multiple winners elected at once with the plurality rule and where each voter casts just one vote in a multi-seat district is known as single non-transferable voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proportional representation</span> Voting system that makes outcomes proportional to vote totals

Proportional representation (PR) refers to any type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions among voters. The essence of such systems is that all votes cast – or almost all votes cast – contribute to the result and are effectively used to help elect someone – not just a bare plurality or (exclusively) the majority – and that the system produces mixed, balanced representation reflecting how votes are cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-round system</span> Voting system

The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian result, not a simple-plurality result as under first past the post. Under the two-round election system, the election process usually proceeds to a second round only if in the first round no candidate received a simple majority of votes cast, or some other lower prescribed percentage. Under the two-round system, usually only the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round, or only those candidates who received above a prescribed proportion of the votes, are candidates in the second round. Other candidates are excluded from the second round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single transferable vote</span> Proportional representation voting system

The single transferable vote (STV), sometimes known as proportional ranked choice voting (P-RCV), is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate preferences if their preferred candidate is eliminated or elected with surplus votes, so that their vote is used to elect someone they prefer over others in the running. STV aims to approach proportional representation based on votes cast in the district where it is used, so that each vote is worth about the same as another. Formally, STV satisfies a fairness criterion known as proportionality for solid coalitions.

Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used to elect multiple winners. It is a generalization of first-past-the-post, applied to multi-member districts with each voter casting just one vote. Unlike FPTP, which is a single-winner system, in SNTV multiple winners are elected, typically in electoral districts; additionally, unlike FPTP, SNTV produces mixed representation and makes it unlikely for a single party to take all the seats in a city or a set area, which can happen under FPTP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voting</span> Method to make collective decisions

Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, convenes together for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a jurisdiction represented by an elected official are called "constituents", and the constituents who choose to cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called "voters." There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater to proportional representation can only be used in elections.

Block voting, also known as bloc voting, refers to certain electoral systems where multiple candidates are elected simultaneously. They do not guarantee minority representation and allow a group of voters to ensure that only their preferred candidates are elected. In these systems, a voter can select as many candidates as there are open seats. That is, the voter has as many votes to cast as the number of seats to fill. The block voting systems are among various election systems available for use in multi-member districts where the voting system allows for the selection of multiple winners at once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First-past-the-post voting</span> Voters vote for one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins

First-past-the-post voting is an electoral system wherein voters cast a vote for a single candidate, and the candidate with the most votes wins the election. Analogous systems for multi-winner contests are known as plurality block voting or "block voting" systems; both FPTP and block voting are "plurality" systems in that the winner needs only a plurality of the votes and not an absolute majority. The term first-past-the-post is a metaphor from horse racing of the plurality-voted candidate winning such a race; the electoral system is formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts, and informally called choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting or score voting.

Parallel voting is a type of mixed electoral system in which representatives are voted into a single chamber using two or more different systems, most often first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) with party-list proportional representation (PR). It is the most common form of mixed member majoritarian representation (MMM), which is why these terms are often used synonymously with each other. In some countries, parallel voting is known as the supplementary member (SM) system, while in academic literature it is sometimes called the superposition method within mixed systems.

An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, electorate, or (election) precinct, is a subdivision of a larger state created to provide its population with representation in the larger state's legislative body. That body, or the state's constitution or a body established for that purpose, determines each district's boundaries and whether each will be represented by a single member or multiple members. Generally, only voters (constituents) who reside within the district are permitted to vote in an election held there. District representatives may be elected by a first-past-the-post system, a proportional representative system, or another voting method. They may be selected by a direct election under universal suffrage, an indirect election, or another form of suffrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1926 Alberta general election</span>

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The general ticket, also known as party block voting (PBV) or ticket voting, is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party, or a team's set list of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner. Unless specifically altered, this electoral system results in the victorious political party receiving 100% of the seats. Rarely used today, the general ticket is usually applied in more than one multi-member district, which theoretically allows regionally strong minority parties to win some seats, but the strongest party nationally still typically wins with a landslide.

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Instant-runoff voting (IRV), also known as plurality with elimination or sequential loser plurality, is a ranked-choice voting system that modifies plurality by introducing last-candidate elimination. In the United Kingdom, it is generally called the alternative vote (AV). In the United States and Australia, IRV is sometimes referred to simply as ranked-choice voting (RCV) or preferential voting respectively, though such terms are considered misnomers because of the wide variety of ranked-choice (preferential) voting systems other than IRV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral system</span> Method by which voters make a choice between options

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References