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Vote allocation or vote management is a type of strategic voting most common in countries with semi-proportional representation systems like the single non-transferable vote [1] as well as malapportioned forms of proportional representation based on small districts (such as those often used together with the single transferable vote).
In this system, voters were asked to vote for a party candidate based on items such as their day of birthday so as to evenly distribute votes. In districts where a party was running two candidates, males were sometimes asked to vote for one candidate and females for another to ensure even distribution.
This system was also practiced in Japan and South Korea, where the SNTV system was used.
Hong Kong political parties started to adopt this strategy after 2000 to overcome the effect of the largest remainder system with Hare quota combined with small constituencies (5- to 8-member in 2008).
Two vote management systems exist in STV. Vote equalisation works for all systems except those that allow group voting (above the line voting). The other method, party designated transfer, only works for systems that allow group voting. A party employing a vote equalisation strategy would attempt to ensure that all its candidates obtain an equal number of first preference votes, in the hope that transfers from candidates of other parties eliminated early in the count will lead to the election of an increased number of its candidates.
For example, in an election for 3 seats, 2 parties (A and C) present two candidates and a third party B presents a single candidate. All party A voters prefer party B to party C. All party C voters prefer party B to party A. All party B voters prefer party C to party A. The following 1000 votes are cast:
The quota is 250. C2 is eliminated first and candidates A1, B and C1 are elected.
If party C distributes its vote equally between its two candidates for example:
B is eliminated first and candidates A1, C1 and C2 are elected. By equalizing the distribution of its vote party C wins an additional seat.
Evidence from Ireland [2] indicates that this form of vote management has been attempted on a number of occasions. To work, vote equalization requires accurate information about voting intentions and party strengths and also the active cooperation of the voters themselves. If a party misjudges the situation a vote equalization strategy can go badly wrong. For example, in the 2003 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, a vote management strategy by Sinn Féin in West Belfast intended to replace a Social Democratic and Labour Party member with a Sinn Féin member led instead to the election of a member of the Democratic Unionist Party, a party extremely hostile to Sinn Féin. [3]
The party designated transfer system of vote management is applicable only to systems that allow group voting. Under group voting, a voter places a "1" next to their first choice of party list. Their vote then transfers down the party list in an order designated by the party and then to the lists of other parties in an order predetermined by the voter's first choice party. The published lists that show the designated transfers can be long and complicated and can effectively disguise who an "above the line" vote is likely to end electing.
An example of the use of this strategy is provided by the 2004 Australian Senate election in Tasmania. The Liberal and Labor parties and an independent Labor candidate designated that their above the line vote should transfer to the Family First party in preference to the Green party. Had all voters in Tasmania cast "above the line" votes the Green party candidate, who obtained almost a quota of first preference votes, would have lost to a candidate of the little supported Family First party.
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. Under other election systems, a bare plurality or a scant majority are all that are used to elect candidates. PR systems provide balanced representation to different factions, reflecting how votes are cast.
The single transferable vote (STV) or 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 ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternative 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.
Voting refers to the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representatives by voting.
In the study of apportionment, the Harequota is the number of voters represented by each legislator under an idealized system of proportional representation, where every legislator represents an equal number of voters and where every vote is used to elect someone. The Hare quota is the total number of votes divided by the number of seats to be filled. The Hare quota was used in the original proposal for a single transferable vote system, and is still occasionally used, although it has since been largely supplanted by the Droop quota.
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BC-STV is the proposed voting system recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform in October 2004 for use in British Columbia, and belongs to the single transferable vote family of voting systems. BC-STV was supported by a majority of the voters in a referendum held in 2005 but the government had legislated that it would not be bound by any vote lower than 60 percent in favour. Because of the strong majority support for BC-STV, the government elected to stage a second referendum in 2009, but with increased public funding for information campaigns to better inform the electorate about the differences between the existing and proposed systems. The leadership of both the "yes" side and the "no" side were assigned by the government. The proposal was rejected with 60.9 percent voting against, vs. 39.1 percent in favour, in the 2009 vote.
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There are a number of complications and issues surrounding the application and use of single transferable vote proportional representation that form the basis of discussions between its advocates and detractors.
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Schulze STV is a proposed multi-winner ranked voting system designed to achieve proportional representation. It was invented by Markus Schulze, who developed the Schulze method for resolving ties using a Condorcet method. Schulze STV is similar to CPO-STV in that it compares possible winning candidate pairs and selects the Condorcet winner. It is named in analogy to the single transferable vote (STV), but only shares its aim of proportional representation, and is otherwise based on unrelated principles.
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