Voting Systems

At the moment the Westminster system generally uses the First Past the Post voting:

How does it work?
Voters choose their local MP. In each constituency the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they have the majority (more than 50%) of votes cast.
Pros
FPTP is simple to understand – voters know exactly what they are voting for and it maintains a link between MPs and their local constituency. Supporters say it usually produces a decisive result.
Cons
Critics of FPTP say it can lead to unbalanced national results. Typically in the UK, the Lib Dems won 23% of the votes, but ended up with less than 9% of the seats in Parliament. Many constituencies, MPs are supported by fewer than half of voters. No way of registering a protest vote.

Perhaps its time for a different voting system what do you think?

What Else is on Offer

Single Transferable Vote
How does it work?
The purest form of proportional representation. Several MPs would represent larger constituencies – perhaps consisting of 350,000 voters who would rank their preferred candidates 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. A quota is then set by dividing the total votes cast by the number of MPs to be elected. If a candidate passes that quota they become an MP. Their surplus votes are then passed on to others in order of the preference specified by voters. If this doesn’t provide enough winners then the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and their votes redistributed until all the MPs are chosen.
Pros
Far fewer wasted votes. If your first choice has no chance of being elected or has enough votes already, your vote is transferred to your next preference and so on, until all seats are filled. More than one candidate from each party would stand in each enlarged constituency, encouraging competition on local issues. And voters are likely to get at least one MP for the party they support in their area.
Cons
Greater chance of a hung parliament, meaning coalitions and deals at national level become more common and votes would take much longer to count.
Who else uses it?
The Republic of Ireland; Assembly, European and local government elections in Northern Ireland; local elections in Scotland, Malta and the Australian Senate.A

Alternative Vote
How does it work?
Constituencies stay the same but voters rank their candidates 1, 2, 3 etc. If one candidate gets more than 50% of votes they become the MP. If not, the candidate with the fewest first votes is eliminated and their second votes are distributed among other candidates. The process continues until one candidate has more than half the vote.
Pros
All MPs are supported by the majority of their constituents. It keeps existing constituency boundaries and maintains a strong link between MPs and the area they represent. Extremist parties are unlikely to gain a foothold as there is little chance of them picking up second and third preferences. There are fewer wasted votes compared with FPTP
Cons
So-called “donkey voting” can occur, in which voters rank their preferences at random if they don’t know much about each candidate’s policies.
Who else uses it?
Australian House of Representatives, Irish presidential election, Fiji, Student Union elections.

Alternative Vote Plus
How does it work?
Five-hundred MPs are elected using the alternative vote system, as detailed above. But as well as voting for their local MP, voters also choose a second county-level MP. These 150 seats are allocated to parties whose seat total doesn’t accurately reflect their share of the vote. For example, the Lib Dems, with 9% of seats from 23% of the vote would benefit from these “top-up” seats.
Pros
Maintains a local link between MPs and voters, but also provides a more proportional system at national level.
Cons
Ballot papers are more confusing, and there could be confusion with two different classes of MP in the House of Commons.
Who else uses it?
Nowhere yet. It was first proposed by the Jenkins Commission in 1998.

Additional Member System
How does it work?
A hybrid system. Everyone gets two votes – one for the person they want as their local MP and one for their favourite party. Local MPs are chosen on an FPTP basis, and the party votes are used to allocate MPs from a party list to make sure the complexion of Parliament reflects the popular vote.
Pros
AMS offers the best of both worlds – it is simple to understand, provides a local link to MPs and offers a degree of proportional representation.
Cons
Some MPs have no link to local voters – instead they are picked from a list by party bosses. Two different classes of MP, and it can be complicated to get final results.
Who else uses it?
The German Bundestag, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, is split equally between FPTP MPs and top-up members, asis the New Zealand parliament; also the Scottish Parliament, London Assembly and Silvio Berlusconi’s. Italian parliament.