This article was originally written between 9th-11th July 2024, with additions in 28th July 2024, 6th December 2024 and 18th March 2025 and final release on 18th March
Voting Systems Summary #
| System | One Vote or Multiple? | Single or Multi-Member Constituencies? | Preferential or Non-Preferential system? | Is this a form of Proportional Representation? | Notes |
| STV (Single Transferable Vote) | One | Multi | Preferential | Yes | |
| Closed Party List | One | Multi | Non-Preferential | Yes | Voters can only vote for a party, not a person, winners decided by lists the party prepared in advance |
| Open Party List | Varies | Multi | Non-Preferential | Yes | Voters can vote for individual candidates, allowing candidates lower on the list to get elected when they otherwise wouldn’t have been |
| Mixed Party List | Varies | Multi | Non-Preferential | Yes | Some parties use an open list, others use a closed list |
| FPTP (First Past the Post) | One | Single | Non-Preferential | No | |
| AV (Alternative Vote) | One | Single | Preferential | No | |
| SNTV (Single Non-Transferable Vote) | One | Multi | Non-Preferential | No | |
| MBS (Majority Bonus System) | One | Multi | Non-Preferential | No | Works the same as a party list system but extra seats are given to the winner |
| Block Vote | Multiple | Multi | Non-Preferential | No | |
| Borda Count | Multiple | Multi | Preferential | No | Votes for lower preferences are worth less |
| AMS (Additional Member System) | Multiple | Multi | Non-Preferential | Partially | This is a mix of First Past the Post and a Party List system, some MPs are elected to constituencies by FPTP while others are elected by the lists, the list element is proportional while the constituency element is not |
| TRS (Two Round System) | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies | Can be used with any voting system as a base but FPTP and Block Voting are most common After the initial election (the first round) a new election is held between the top candidates (the second round), the winner of round 2 is elected In some variants if a candidate gets a high enough % of the vote in the first round they can be elected without needing to go to a second (20-25% in Iran, 50% in France) |
STV (Single Transferable Vote) #
Other Names: None
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect several representatives.
Voters can vote by numbering the candidates in order of preference (1 being their first preference, 2 being their second preference and so on), this gives them a single vote that can be transferred in certain circumstances.
If a voter’s first preference fails to be elected or receives enough votes to be elected before their vote is counted, their vote will pass to their second place candidate, this process continues until all representatives are elected.
Variants:
Party Based #
In Australia voters have the choice of either giving their preferences to individual candidates (known as voting “below the line”) or to political parties (known as voting “above the line”)
Ballot Examples:
Closed Party List #
Other Names: None
How it works: The election is held in either multiple large constituencies or a single constituency that covers the entire country, with political parties standing a list of candidates.
Voters have a single vote they can cast for a party, the number of the party’s candidates that get elected is based on the percentage of the vote they receive, the party’s candidates are chosen based on the order they have been placed on the list.
For example if a constituency is worth 50 seats and a party gets 5% of the vote, the first 5 candidates on their list are elected.
Ballot Examples:
In the former UK European Elections and the East Timor elections the voter votes by placing a cross in the box on the ballot paper next to their preferred party, in the UK the names on the party list were displayed alongside the party name and logo while in East Timor they are not
In Israel each party has its own ballot paper, the voter votes by placing the paper of their chosen party into an envelope and casting that envelope as their vote
Open Party List #
Other Names: None
How it works: The same as the Closed Party List, but voters also have the option to vote for individual candidates from their chosen party as well as the party itself, if a candidate receives enough votes they can increase their place on the list.
Variants:
Panachange #
Voters can vote for candidates across multiple parties
Ballot Examples:
Fiji,
Austria,
Italy (European Elections),
Luxembourg,
Netherlands
Netherlands image under CC-BY 2.5 NL Licence, Author J.M. Luijt
In Fiji each candidate is represented by a number and the voter votes by circling, ticking or crossing that number, the names, parties and numbers of the candidates would be listed in the polling station
In Austria the voter votes by either colouring in the circle of their chosen party or by colouring in the circle of a candidate from that party
In Italy the voter votes by crossing out the logo of their chosen party, with the option of voting for up to 3 individual candidates by writing their names above the lines next to the logos, the names and parties of the candidates would be listed in the polling station
In Luxembourg the voter votes either for a specific party by placing a cross on the circle that represents them at the top of the ballot, or by voting for individual candidates by placing a cross in one of the two boxes next to their names, the voter has as many votes as there are available seats and can vote for a single candidate twice if they wish, this system allows Panachange so the voter can also distribute their votes across different lists
In the Netherlands the voter votes by placing a cross on one of the candidates on the lists, voting for a candidate also counts as a vote for their party
Mixed Party List #
Other Names: None
How it works: The same as the Closed and Open Party List, but parties have the right to choose whether their list will be open or closed.
Ballot Examples:
The parties that allow preferential voting (open list) have numbers representing their individual candidates in a box next to the party logo, parties that don’t allow preferential voting (closed list) have an empty box
To vote for an open list candidate a voter places a cross on their numbered box, to vote for a closed list party (or vote for an open list party without voting for an individual candidate) the voter places a cross on the party logo
First Past the Post #
Other Names: Plurality Voting, Single-Member Plurality (SMP)
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect one representative.
Voters have a single vote they can cast for a candidate, the candidate which receives the most votes is elected.
Ballot Examples:
In the UK voters vote by marking their chosen candidate with a cross in a box, in India voters vote using a machine, pressing a button to select their chosen candidate
AV (Alternative Vote) #
Other Names: Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect one representative.
Voters can vote by numbering the candidates in order of preference (1 being their first preference, 2 being their second preference and so on), this gives them a single vote that can be transferred in certain circumstances.
If a voter’s first preference fails to be elected or receives enough votes to be elected before their vote is counted, their vote will pass to their second place candidate, this process continues until a candidate receives at least 50% of the vote or the most votes when all but the last 2 candidates have been eliminated.
Ballot Examples:
TRS (Two Round System) #
Other Names: Runoff voting, Second Ballot
How it works: A variant of certain election systems (such as FPTP) where the election is held on multiple “rounds” based on the result
If no candidate fails to achieve a minimum percentage of the vote (for example, 50%) in the initial election (the first round), the election will be held again with the lowest scoring candidates excluded (the second round), the candidate which receives the most votes in the second round is the winner of the election.
SNTV (Single Non-Transferable Vote) #
Other Names: None
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect multiple representatives.
Voters have a single vote they can cast for a candidate, the candidates which receive the most votes are elected.
MBS (Majority Bonus System) #
Other Names: None
How it works: A variant of the Party List system (can be Open, Closed or Mixed) where extra seats are given to the winning party.
Block Vote #
Other Names: Bloc Voting, Multiple Non-Transferable Vote
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect multiple representatives.
Voters have a multiple vote they can cast for the candidates, the candidates which receive the most votes are elected.
Ballot Examples:
Borda Count #
Other Names:
How it works: The election is held in multiple constituencies which each elect a single representative.
Voters can vote by numbering the candidates in order of preference (1 being their first preference, 2 being their second preference and so on), and all of these votes are counted, the higher the preference the higher the value of the vote.
For example, a first preference might be worth a full vote, a second preference worth half, a third preference worth a quarter, and so on.
Variants:
Multi-Seat #
The Borda Count can also be used in a system where constituencies elect multiple representatives, this is the system used in Nauru (known as the Dowdall System) Nauru is the only country to use the Borda Count on a national level.
Ballot Examples:
AMS (Additional Member System) #
Other Names: Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
How it works: A mix of First Past the Post voting and Party List voting, voters are given two votes, one for a single candidate in a smaller constituency, one for a party list in a larger constituency.
Ballot Examples:
In New Zealand the List Vote is on the left while the FPTP vote is on the right, in Germany its the other way around, in Scotland the 2 votes have separate ballot papers
In New Zealand voters vote with a tick while in Germany and Scotland they vote by placing a cross