Full preferential voting and proportional representation

How does full preferential voting work?

• At the close of voting, election officials count all of the number "1" votes (first preferences) for each candidate. If a candidate gets more than half the total first preference votes, that candidate is elected. This is known as an absolute majority.
• If none of the candidates has an absolute majority, the candidate with the smallest number of first preference votes is excluded. That candidate's ballot papers are then transferred to the remaining candidates according to the second preferences marked on them.
• If still no candidate has an absolute majority, then the candidate who now has the fewest votes is excluded and that candidate's votes are transferred to the remaining candidates according to the preferences marked on them. This process continues until one candidate has an absolute majority.
• The candidate who gets an absolute majority is then declared elected.

View a slideshow illustrating the preferential count method.

How does proportional representation voting work?

• The quota is worked out by dividing the total number of formal ballot papers by one more than the number of vacancies to be filled and by adding 1 to the result.

  number of formal votes
  	+ 1 = quota
  number of vacancies + 1

• A candidate who achieves the required quota is elected.
• When a candidate receives more votes than the quota, the candidate's surplus votes are transferred to the remaining candidates according to the preferences on them. Because it is not possible to tell which votes elected the candidate and which are surplus, all the candidate's votes are transferred, but at a value less than 1. The value of the transferred votes is worked out by dividing the surplus by the total number of ballot papers for the candidate. Each ballot paper transferred to another candidate has this value.
• Any candidate who has gained the quota once the surplus votes have been transferred is elected.
• If there are still vacancies to fill once the surplus votes have been distributed, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is excluded. The excluded candidate's ballot papers are then transferred to the remaining candidates (at the value they were received) according to the preferences on them.
• This process of transferring surpluses from elected candidates and distributing preferences from excluded candidates continues until all positions have been filled.

View a slideshow illustrating the proportional representation count method.

Download information for candidates on the Proportional Representation Voting System as PDF (30 KB) or DOC (43 KB). You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files or Microsoft word for DOC files. If you would prefer a hard copy, please contact the VEC.