History and use of instant-runoff voting
Encyclopedia
Instant-runoff voting
, more commonly known outside the USA as the alternative vote or preferential voting, was devised around 1870 by the US architect W. R. Ware
. Today it is in use at a national level to elect the Australian House of Representatives
, the Fijian House of Representatives
, the President of Ireland
and President of India
. In Australia it is also used for elections to the legislative assemblies
(lower house
s) of all states and territories except Tasmania
and the Australian Capital Territory
, and for the Tasmanian Legislative Council
(upper house
).
IRV is also used a number of municipal elections in Australia, the United States, and New Zealand
. Because of its relationship to the Single Transferable Vote
(STV) system, IRV is used for by-elections in a some jurisdictions that use STV for ordinary parliamentary elections, such as the Republic of Ireland
and Scotland
.
IRV is known by different names in the various countries in which it is used. It is also known as the 'Alternative Vote', 'Ranked Choice Voting', 'Preferential Voting', and the 'Hare system'. The last three of these names may be misleading, because IRV is only one of a number of forms of preferential voting
systems, and because the precise system known as 'instant-runoff voting' was invented by Ware rather than Thomas Hare.
involving multi-seat constituencies, and today STV is used in a number of countries, including Australia, the Republic of Ireland and Malta
.
William Robert Ware, the founder of the schools of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University, invented IRV around 1870 by applying the Single Transferable Vote system to single winner elections. IRV was adopted for the Australian House of Representatives in 1918 and has been used to elect the President of Ireland since the office came into being in 1937. It was introduced in Fiji
in 1999 and in Papua New Guinea
in 2007.
In 2007, the Australian Labor Party won a majority of seats and a majority of votes in the final round of counting. Every House race had at least four candidates, and the average number of candidates was seven, yet every race was still won with a majority of the vote in the final instant runoff. The number of candidates who depended on preferences to win was 76 – more than half of the 150 winners.
and 1953
. IRV was initially brought in by the governing coalition consisting of the Liberal
and Conservative
Parties to try to prevent a left-wing government under the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
as voters could then choose one of the governing parties as their first choice and the other as their second choice. However, IRV backfired on the Liberals and Conservatives when many CCF supporters chose the relatively unknown Social Credit Party
, a minor party that had never held any seats in the British Columbia legislature, as their second choice. The Social Credit Party achieved a spectacular upset victory in the 1952 election
, winning a plurality of 19 seats in the 48-member legislature to 18 for the CCF, 6 for the Liberals and 4 for the Conservatives. The Soc Creds formed a short-lived minority government until the 1953 election
, in which they won a majority of seats (28 of 48). After the 1953 election, the Liberal and renamed Progressive Conservative Parties were reduced to third parties in the province, and first-past-the-post was reinstated by the government.
Today IRV is used for certain party and private elections in Canada, including such large-scale elections at the Canadian Wheat Board
, the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election, 2006, where it has generated high turnout, and the British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2011
. The Liberal Party of Canada had adopted IRV with a national primary for its leadership elections.
IRV is used for presidential elections and for by-elections to the Dáil
(the lower house
of parliament). Most elections in the Republic use the Single Transferable Vote
. This system was first introduced for a national election when the abortive Parliament of Southern Ireland
was elected in 1921. It was provided, at the same time, that by-elections for the body would occur under IRV. When what is now the Republic seceded from the United Kingdom
in 1922 STV was adopted for ordinary elections to Dáil Éireann and IRV for by-elections, and this combination has been used ever since. STV is also used for local and European elections, but in these cases by-elections do not occur. Instead local council vacancies are filled by co-option
and European vacancies by an individual from a list of replacements nominated by the MEP
at the time of his election.
The office of President of Ireland
has existed since the adoption of the current Constitution of Ireland
in 1937, which provided that the President would be elected by IRV. However the first election did not occur until 1945. This is because the constitution also allows that, where there is agreement among political parties, a consensus candidate can come to office without the occurrence of an election. The President occupies a largely ceremonial position, as real power is exercised by the Taoiseach
(prime minister) and Dáil.
On the island of Ireland
IRV is not referred to as 'instant-runoff voting' and only rarely as the 'Alternative Vote', the name popular in Great Britain
. Instead it is usually called the 'Single Transferable Vote' or, sometimes, incorrectly, 'proportional representation'. The name Single Transferable Vote is used because when the rules of STV are applied to a single-winner election, such as a presidential election or by-election, STV becomes one and the same as IRV. However this can be confusing because there are many important differences between the use of STV for multi-seat elections and IRV. For this reason many scholars regard STV as a separate system from IRV, and that is the convention followed in this article. It is incorrect to refer to IRV as 'proportional representation' because the term proportional representation can only meaningfully be applied to an election in which more than a single candidate is returned.
is chosen by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of the Parliament and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha). The election is held with IRV, which in the Indian Constitution (Article 55) is called single transferable vote
.
for by-elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly
and to local assemblies in Scotland
, both of which use the single transferable vote
method of proportional representation in regularly scheduled elections. It is used in its contingent vote form (also called the supplementary vote), for all direct elections for mayor in England, including in London. It is used to fill vacancies within the House of Lords, to elect the leaders of the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party and for many private elections, including for Chancellor of Oxford University and rectorial elections at the University of Edinbrugh.
AV or IRV was the electoral method available to select a replacement MEP by election for the Northern Ireland
constituency of the European parliament, however now a party can co-opt a replacement without the need for a by-election.
The voting method has been debated vigorously in the country since the early 20th century. In 1917, for example, the Speaker's Conference advocated the adoption of instant-runoff for 358 of the 569 constituencies in the UK, and STV for the rest. The intention was that STV would be used in densely populated urban areas but, in order to keep constituencies from being too large, IRV would be used in more sparsely populated rural areas. Although the House of Commons
voted in favour of the proposals five times, the House of Lords
continually rejected it until the nationwide effort was ultimately abandoned in parliament.
In 1921 the Government of Ireland Act established two home rule parliaments in Ireland
–the Parliament of Northern Ireland
and the Parliament of Southern Ireland
–and while STV was used for regular elections to these bodies IRV was used for by-elections. This combination of IRV and STV has been used in what is now the Republic of Ireland ever since. The Northern Ireland Parliament continued to use the combination until the late 1920s when it switched to the 'first past the post
' plurality system. However STV for regular elections, and IRV for by-elections, has been reintroduced and used there to elect devolved assemblies since the 1970s.
IRV is usually referred to in the UK as the 'Alternative Vote' or 'AV'. In 1998 the Jenkins Commission
, charged by the government with suggesting an alternative system to plurality, devised a new system called the Alternative Vote Plus
(AV+) for elections to the British Parliament
. This involved a combination of party-list proportional representation
and single seat constituencies elected under IRV. However no action has been taken on the Commission's report. Most electoral reformers in the UK favour one or other form of proportional representation
. However the Labour Party minister Peter Hain
has written a number of articles advocating IRV for elections to the British Parliament. Electoral scientists have shown that, because of the current distribution of voters across constituencies, had IRV been used in recent British general elections it would have greatly benefited Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the expense of the Conservative Party.
In March 2009 the government announced that it would run an inquiry into the use of the Alternative Vote system at future general elections, and in February 2010 the House of Commons voted to hold a national referendum on AV. The government's term expired before this legislation was approved, but in July 2010, new Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced a referendum on AV.. On May 5, 2011, the referendum was defeated by 68% to 32%, as detailed in United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011.
cities and local authorities converted from plurality voting to the single transferable vote
(stv) for their elections—including the nation's second largest city and capital Wellington and fifth largest city Dunedin Where electing a mayor directly, these cities used instant runoff voting - for instance, in 2007 Wellington's mayor Kerry Prendergast defeated her 10 rivals on the 9th round of counting.. Other contested IRV races include the Dunedin mayoral election, 2010
and Wellington City mayoral election, 2010
.
As of September 2008, eight authorities are elected with single transferable vote: Chatham Islands Council, Dunedin City Council, Kaipara District Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Marlborough District Council, Porirua City Council, Thames-Coromandel District Council and Wellington City Council. Wellington upheld STV in a ballot measure in September 2008.
in various jurisdictions since 1917. Since 2002, IRV has been adopted in a number of American cities, with several of these adoptions pending implementation. It was used in a statewide election in North Carolina in 2010 to fill a judicial vacancy. As of August 2011, American cities using IRV for least one of their elections include: San Francisco, California
; Oakland, California
; Takoma Park, Maryland
; Minneapolis, Minnesota
; St. Paul, Minnesota; Berkeley, California
; San Leandro, California
; Hendersonville, North Carolina
; Telluride, Colorado
; Basalt, Colorado
; and Portland, Maine
.
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
, more commonly known outside the USA as the alternative vote or preferential voting, was devised around 1870 by the US architect W. R. Ware
William Robert Ware
William Robert Ware , born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools....
. Today it is in use at a national level to elect the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, the Fijian House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
, the President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
and President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
. In Australia it is also used for elections to the legislative assemblies
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
(lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
s) of all states and territories except Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
, and for the Tasmanian Legislative Council
Tasmanian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart...
(upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
).
IRV is also used a number of municipal elections in Australia, the United States, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Because of its relationship to the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
(STV) system, IRV is used for by-elections in a some jurisdictions that use STV for ordinary parliamentary elections, such as the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
IRV is known by different names in the various countries in which it is used. It is also known as the 'Alternative Vote', 'Ranked Choice Voting', 'Preferential Voting', and the 'Hare system'. The last three of these names may be misleading, because IRV is only one of a number of forms of preferential voting
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
systems, and because the precise system known as 'instant-runoff voting' was invented by Ware rather than Thomas Hare.
History
Instant-runoff voting is based on the Single Transferable Vote electoral system, invented independently by Thomas Hare in 1857 and Carl Andrae in 1855. Unlike IRV, the Single Transferable Vote was designed as a form of proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
involving multi-seat constituencies, and today STV is used in a number of countries, including Australia, the Republic of Ireland and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
William Robert Ware, the founder of the schools of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University, invented IRV around 1870 by applying the Single Transferable Vote system to single winner elections. IRV was adopted for the Australian House of Representatives in 1918 and has been used to elect the President of Ireland since the office came into being in 1937. It was introduced in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
in 1999 and in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
in 2007.
Australia
In Australia IRV has been used to elect the members of the lower house of Parliament since 1918, using a form of IRV where voters must rank every candidate. Voters are required to rank all candidate to cast a valid ballot. Preferential voting is used for most state and local elections in Australia, but sometimes with optional preferential voting where voters are allowed to limit their number of rankings.In 2007, the Australian Labor Party won a majority of seats and a majority of votes in the final round of counting. Every House race had at least four candidates, and the average number of candidates was seven, yet every race was still won with a majority of the vote in the final instant runoff. The number of candidates who depended on preferences to win was 76 – more than half of the 150 winners.
Canada
Under the name 'preferential' or 'elimination ballot', IRV was used in the British Columbia's general elections of 1952British Columbia general election, 1952
The British Columbia general election, 1952 was the 23rd general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the...
and 1953
British Columbia general election, 1953
The British Columbia general election of 1953 was the 24th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 10, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953...
. IRV was initially brought in by the governing coalition consisting of the Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
and Conservative
British Columbia Conservative Party
The British Columbia Conservative Party is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1903, the party went into decline after 1933...
Parties to try to prevent a left-wing government under the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
as voters could then choose one of the governing parties as their first choice and the other as their second choice. However, IRV backfired on the Liberals and Conservatives when many CCF supporters chose the relatively unknown Social Credit Party
British Columbia Social Credit Party
The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing political party of British Columbia, Canada, for more than 30 years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election...
, a minor party that had never held any seats in the British Columbia legislature, as their second choice. The Social Credit Party achieved a spectacular upset victory in the 1952 election
British Columbia general election, 1952
The British Columbia general election, 1952 was the 23rd general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 10, 1952, and held on June 12, 1952. The new legislature met for the...
, winning a plurality of 19 seats in the 48-member legislature to 18 for the CCF, 6 for the Liberals and 4 for the Conservatives. The Soc Creds formed a short-lived minority government until the 1953 election
British Columbia general election, 1953
The British Columbia general election of 1953 was the 24th general election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 10, 1953, and held on June 9, 1953...
, in which they won a majority of seats (28 of 48). After the 1953 election, the Liberal and renamed Progressive Conservative Parties were reduced to third parties in the province, and first-past-the-post was reinstated by the government.
Today IRV is used for certain party and private elections in Canada, including such large-scale elections at the Canadian Wheat Board
Canadian Wheat Board
The Canadian Wheat Board was established by the Parliament of Canada on 5 July 1935 as a mandatory producer marketing system for wheat and barley in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and a small part of British Columbia...
, the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election, 2006, where it has generated high turnout, and the British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2011
British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2011
The British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election of 2011 was prompted by Gordon Campbell's announcement on November 3, 2010 that he would be resigning as Premier of British Columbia and had asked the BC Liberal Party to hold a leadership convention "at the earliest possible date." The...
. The Liberal Party of Canada had adopted IRV with a national primary for its leadership elections.
Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
IRV is used for presidential elections and for by-elections to the Dáil
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
(the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of parliament). Most elections in the Republic use the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
. This system was first introduced for a national election when the abortive Parliament of Southern Ireland
Parliament of Southern Ireland
The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a home rule legislature set up by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Fourth Home Rule Bill...
was elected in 1921. It was provided, at the same time, that by-elections for the body would occur under IRV. When what is now the Republic seceded from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1922 STV was adopted for ordinary elections to Dáil Éireann and IRV for by-elections, and this combination has been used ever since. STV is also used for local and European elections, but in these cases by-elections do not occur. Instead local council vacancies are filled by co-option
Co-option
A co-opting or less frequently co-optation most commonly refers to action performed in a number of fields whereby an opponent is nullified or neutralized by absorption but there are other distinct senses as well....
and European vacancies by an individual from a list of replacements nominated by the MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
at the time of his election.
The office of President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
has existed since the adoption of the current Constitution of Ireland
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
in 1937, which provided that the President would be elected by IRV. However the first election did not occur until 1945. This is because the constitution also allows that, where there is agreement among political parties, a consensus candidate can come to office without the occurrence of an election. The President occupies a largely ceremonial position, as real power is exercised by the Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
(prime minister) and Dáil.
On the island of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
IRV is not referred to as 'instant-runoff voting' and only rarely as the 'Alternative Vote', the name popular in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Instead it is usually called the 'Single Transferable Vote' or, sometimes, incorrectly, 'proportional representation'. The name Single Transferable Vote is used because when the rules of STV are applied to a single-winner election, such as a presidential election or by-election, STV becomes one and the same as IRV. However this can be confusing because there are many important differences between the use of STV for multi-seat elections and IRV. For this reason many scholars regard STV as a separate system from IRV, and that is the convention followed in this article. It is incorrect to refer to IRV as 'proportional representation' because the term proportional representation can only meaningfully be applied to an election in which more than a single candidate is returned.
India
The President of IndiaPresident of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
is chosen by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of the Parliament and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha). The election is held with IRV, which in the Indian Constitution (Article 55) is called single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
.
United Kingdom
IRV is currently used in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for by-elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
and to local assemblies in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, both of which use the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
method of proportional representation in regularly scheduled elections. It is used in its contingent vote form (also called the supplementary vote), for all direct elections for mayor in England, including in London. It is used to fill vacancies within the House of Lords, to elect the leaders of the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party and for many private elections, including for Chancellor of Oxford University and rectorial elections at the University of Edinbrugh.
AV or IRV was the electoral method available to select a replacement MEP by election for the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
constituency of the European parliament, however now a party can co-opt a replacement without the need for a by-election.
The voting method has been debated vigorously in the country since the early 20th century. In 1917, for example, the Speaker's Conference advocated the adoption of instant-runoff for 358 of the 569 constituencies in the UK, and STV for the rest. The intention was that STV would be used in densely populated urban areas but, in order to keep constituencies from being too large, IRV would be used in more sparsely populated rural areas. Although the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
voted in favour of the proposals five times, the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
continually rejected it until the nationwide effort was ultimately abandoned in parliament.
In 1921 the Government of Ireland Act established two home rule parliaments in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
–the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
and the Parliament of Southern Ireland
Parliament of Southern Ireland
The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a home rule legislature set up by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Fourth Home Rule Bill...
–and while STV was used for regular elections to these bodies IRV was used for by-elections. This combination of IRV and STV has been used in what is now the Republic of Ireland ever since. The Northern Ireland Parliament continued to use the combination until the late 1920s when it switched to the 'first past the post
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
' plurality system. However STV for regular elections, and IRV for by-elections, has been reintroduced and used there to elect devolved assemblies since the 1970s.
IRV is usually referred to in the UK as the 'Alternative Vote' or 'AV'. In 1998 the Jenkins Commission
Jenkins Commission (UK)
The Independent Commission on the Voting System, popularly known as the Jenkins Commission after its chairman Roy Jenkins, was a commission into possible reform of the United Kingdom electoral system.-The commission:...
, charged by the government with suggesting an alternative system to plurality, devised a new system called the Alternative Vote Plus
Alternative Vote Top-up
The Alternative Vote Plus , or Alternative Vote Top-up, is a semi-proportional voting system. AV+ was invented by the 1998 Jenkins Commission which first proposed the idea as a system that could be used for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.As the name suggests, AV+ is an additional...
(AV+) for elections to the British Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. This involved a combination of party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
and single seat constituencies elected under IRV. However no action has been taken on the Commission's report. Most electoral reformers in the UK favour one or other form of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. However the Labour Party minister Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
has written a number of articles advocating IRV for elections to the British Parliament. Electoral scientists have shown that, because of the current distribution of voters across constituencies, had IRV been used in recent British general elections it would have greatly benefited Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the expense of the Conservative Party.
In March 2009 the government announced that it would run an inquiry into the use of the Alternative Vote system at future general elections, and in February 2010 the House of Commons voted to hold a national referendum on AV. The government's term expired before this legislation was approved, but in July 2010, new Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced a referendum on AV.. On May 5, 2011, the referendum was defeated by 68% to 32%, as detailed in United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011.
New Zealand
Starting in 2004, several New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
cities and local authorities converted from plurality voting to the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
(stv) for their elections—including the nation's second largest city and capital Wellington and fifth largest city Dunedin Where electing a mayor directly, these cities used instant runoff voting - for instance, in 2007 Wellington's mayor Kerry Prendergast defeated her 10 rivals on the 9th round of counting.. Other contested IRV races include the Dunedin mayoral election, 2010
Dunedin mayoral election, 2010
The Dunedin mayoral election, 2010 occurred on Saturday, 9 October 2010 and was conducted under the Single Transferable Voting system.The candidates for mayor included Peter Chin, the incumbent who contested for a third consecutive term. He faced six other candidates...
and Wellington City mayoral election, 2010
Wellington City mayoral election, 2010
The Wellington City mayoral election, 2010 is part of the New Zealand local elections, 2010. On 9 October 2010, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government roles...
.
As of September 2008, eight authorities are elected with single transferable vote: Chatham Islands Council, Dunedin City Council, Kaipara District Council, Kapiti Coast District Council, Marlborough District Council, Porirua City Council, Thames-Coromandel District Council and Wellington City Council. Wellington upheld STV in a ballot measure in September 2008.
United States
IRV has been used on-and-off in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in various jurisdictions since 1917. Since 2002, IRV has been adopted in a number of American cities, with several of these adoptions pending implementation. It was used in a statewide election in North Carolina in 2010 to fill a judicial vacancy. As of August 2011, American cities using IRV for least one of their elections include: San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
; Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
; Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
; St. Paul, Minnesota; Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
; San Leandro, California
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
; Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, USA, southeast of Asheville. In 1900, 1,917 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2,818; and in 1940, 5,381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,223, up fivefold in one century. It is the county...
; Telluride, Colorado
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
; Basalt, Colorado
Basalt, Colorado
Basalt is a Statutory Town in Eagle and Pitkin counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 2,681 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
; and Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
.