ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

Electoral systems are generally grouped in three categories:

Plurality or majority systems: The winning candidate is the one who receives the most votes in an electoral district. The winner may need to receive a plurality (more votes than the other candidates) or a majority (over 50 per cent of the votes cast).

First past the post (FPTP): Under FPTP (the system currently used in Canada), a voter casts a single vote for a candidate to represent the electoral district. The candidate who wins the most votes is elected. A party has as many seats in the legislature as it has candidates elected.

Alternative vote: On the ballot, voters rank the candidates running in their electoral district in order of their preference. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority (more than 50 per cent) of the votes cast. If no one receives a majority on the first count, additional counts take place until a candidate wins.

Proportional representation systems: These seek to closely match a political party’s seat allocation in the legislature with its vote share.

Single transferable vote: Citizens in multi-member electoral districts rank candidates on the ballot. They may rank as few or as many candidates as they wish. Candidates get elected based on how well they rank overall. Unlike the Alternative Vote, which also uses ranking, the result in STV is proportional because each district is represented by a number of MPs who together represent the overall vote.

Mixed electoral systems: Mixed electoral systems combine elements of a plurality or majority system with proportional representation.

Mixed member proportional: Voters in a district cast two votes: one to elect a member to serve as their representative, and a second for a party or parties to fill seats in the legislature according to their share of the vote. Seats are held by a combination of directly elected MPs and candidates from parties’ lists.