2 systems of voting : Plurality and Proportional representation systems

1. 2 systems of voting : Plurality and Proportional representation systems BY: Destiny Cook, Jordan Burke

2. Plurality consists of four types of voting: • Single-member district plurality voting • At-large voting • Two-round runoff voting • instant runoff voting

3. Plurality/major systems • This is the system most used among the United States legislation and what most people think of when they hear the word Voting. • The way it works is the winner doesn't need a majority of the votes to win just the biggest percentage in comparison to the other candidates.

4. Single -member District Plurality voting • Rather than a single person getting a vote the voting occurs in grouped blocks of people get the one vote that a single person gets elsewhere.

5. Single type Math example • Ex: 100 people are voting for prom Queen there are 3 candidates to vote for. 27 people voted for candidate 1. 36 people voted for candidate 2 and 37 voted for candidate 3. The vote was split more then two ways so its highly unlikely any candidate could get the majority of the vote. Candidate three had a lot less then the majority voting for him but he still won because he got the biggest amount of votes.

6. 2) At Large Voting • Each person gets his or her own vote. • The candidates must have at least a 5 to 15 percent majority in order to win or there will be a second round of voting. • The candidates who got the least percentage of voting will be eliminated after the first round in order for the second round to be a proper round.

7. 3) Two-Round Runoff Voting Each person gets his or her own vote. The candidates must have at least a 5 to 15 percent majority in order to win or there will be a second round of voting. The candidates who got the least percentage of voting will be eliminated after the first round in order for the second round to be a proper round.

8. Two-Round Runoff voting mathematic example • Candidate 1 gets 2 percent of the vote; candidate 2 gets 33 percent of the vote; candidate 3 gets 25 percent; candidate 4 gets 19 percent; and candidate 5 gets 21 percent of the vote. This would be an example of how two-round runoff voting comes in handy. None of the candidates got enough of the vote to legitimately become president so another round must be had. In the second round candidate one will be botted and the voting will happen again hopefully this time ending with a candidate with more than the majority.

9. 4) Instant Runoff Voting • With instant runoff voting the voter ranks the candidates in the order they would chose them for the position. • the voters first choice is their initial vote but if no one gets the majority of the votes then the system eliminates the lowest voted candidate and relies on the lists that people made. • this process keeps repeating until one person has the majority of the vote.

10. Instant Runoff Voting Example • With instant runoff voting the voter ranks the candidates in the order they would chose them for the position. the voter's first choice is their initial vote but if no one gets the majority of the vote then the system eliminates the lowest voted candidate and relies on the lists that people made. this process keeps repeating until one person has the majority of the vote.

11. The 2nd system of voting we will be looking at includes: • ~Party list • ~Mixed member proportional • ~Single Transferable vote

12. Proportional representation voting systems • 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 if 40% of voters support a particular party then about 40% of seats will be won by that party

13. Party List • Party list voting is a system where there isa family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected through preferentially-ranked allocations to an electoral list.

14. Mixed member proportional • Mixed Member Proportional or MMP In most models the voter casts two votes. One for a constituency representative and one for a party. If a candidate is on the party list, but wins a constituency seat, they do not receive two seats; they are instead crossed off the party list and replaced with the next candidate down.

15. mixed member proportional mathematic example • MMP is similar to other forms of proportional representation in that the overall total of party members in the elected body is intended to mirror the overall proportion of votes received; it differs by including a set of members elected by geographic constituency who are deducted from the party totals so as to maintain overall proportionality.

16. 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 unused votes are transferred according to the voter's stated preferences

17. Single transferable vote • Single Transferable Vote video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yV9buU8_bw In an STV election, a candidate requires a certain minimum number of votes (quota, threshold) to be elected. A number of different quotas can be used, the most common is the Droop quota and the given formula is: Votes needed to win = [(votes cast/seats to fill + 1)] + 1 When the quota is not an integer it is rounded down. The Droop quota is an extension of requiring a 50% + 1 majority in single winner elections. For example, at most 3 people can have 25% + 1 in 3 winner elections, 9 can have 10% + 1 in 9 winner elections, etc.

18. Citations • http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/BeginnningReading/types.htm • http://www.instantrunoff.com/

19. THE END …and that’s what math has to do with voting