Easdale People

The Single Transferable Vote system is something of a puzzle, so here’s a brief description of how it works, taken from a leaflet produced by the Electoral Reform Society:

1. The ballot paper lists the names of the candidates from each party. Voters vote by putting a ‘1’ next to the name of their favoured candidate, a ‘2’ next to the name of their next favoured candidate and so on. They stop allocating preferences when they cannot decide between the candidates – they do not need to vote for them all.

 2. At the count, the number of votes which candidates need in order to be elected (the ‘quota’) is calculated by dividing the total number of valid ballot papers by the number of people to be elected plus one. For example, with 100 valid ballot papers and 3 places to be filled, the quota would be 25.

 3. The ballot papers are sorted into piles according to the first preferences – the ‘1’s. If any candidate has more first preference votes than the quota, they are immediately elected.

 4. The next stage is to transfer any surplus votes for these elected candidates, i.e. the difference between their vote and the quota needed to be elected. To avoid the problem of deciding which of the votes are surplus, all ballot papers are transferred but at a reduced value so that the total adds up to the number of surplus votes.

 5. After all the surpluses have been transferred, we look to see whether all the places to be elected have been filled. If they have not, then the candidate with the fewest votes is excluded and his or her votes are transferred to the voters’ second preferences.

 6.This process of transferring surpluses and excluding candidates continues until enough candidates have reached the quota to fill all the places to be elected.

You can download the full leaflet HERE, though it’s a little disconcerting because it’s a pdf of a folded leaflet, so the middle bit’s upside down!

Much more information is given in the ”Detailed Description of an STV Count in accordance with the Rules in the Scottish Local Government Elections Order 2011″, which you can view by clicking HERE. It’s about as jolly a read as its snappy title suggests, but it does go through the process in full, and explains the method of transferring papers “at a reduced value” as mentioned in paragraph 4 above. Read it armed with a large pot of strong coffee or tea!

After working through it we feel much clearer, but are left with an unanswered question. What happens if none of the candidates has a sufficient quota of votes to be elected after all the “first preferences” have been counted? Any ideas?

If you’ve got a boat you’ll already be familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, recognised in all languages and used to spell out words in such a way that there’s no possibility of misunderstanding. Particularly handy, of course, if you need to convey the name of your craft to folks who can save you from sinking, but it also comes in very useful when you’ve been telling – then bellowing – your name and address over the ‘phone to someone who still persists in mangling it. So, for your convenience, interest and entertainment, here’s how it goes:

A         Alpha

B         Bravo

C         Charlie

D         Delta

E          Echo

F          Foxtrot

G         Golf

H         Hotel

I           India

J           Juliet

K         Kilo

L          Lima

M         Mike

N         November

O         Oscar

P          Papa

Q         Quebec

R         Romeo

S          Sierra

T          Tango

U         Uniform

V         Victor

W        Whisky

X         X-ray

Y         Yankee

Z          Zulu

Now you can tell someone to “Foxtrot Oscar” and still sound polite.

Echo, November, Juliet, Oscar, Yankee!