Single Transferable Vote: How do you use it?

Zubeneschamali

In this election, we'll have a choice of 7 candidates for President, the most ever.

So, do you plan to vote for just your favourite? 1,2 and stop? Vote all the way 1-7? Or do you plan to vote against someone you dislike #7, and work your way back up to the least unacceptable?

I always vote all the way to the bottom, in this case, 1-7, putting my favourites at the top, the parties/candidates I hate at the bottom, and then the no hopers in the middle to seperate them.

mikemac

Number one, that's it

HalloweenJack

I only vote for people I have an interest or slight interest in seeing elected.

I don't fill it all the way in just for the sake of it and can never understand why people do.

force eleven

I always fill it out fully, that's the only way it works 100% efficiently IMO.

It will be easy with 7 candidates, as opposed to about 25 we had in the last General election...you can lose track of where your vote is going with a big field and as such, that is certainly a drawback.

anymore

If i vote, it will be on the basis of the least objectionable combined with ommitting the most objectionable.

FoxT

I always vote, and I always fill out the ballot fully - though tbh by the time I get down to my 10th or so preference it doesnt make any real difference to the outcome.

It makes a difference to ME though - I get as much pleasure placing the #1 as I do placing the #25 (or whatever)....

dvpower

HalloweenJack wrote: »

I only vote for people I have an interest or slight interest in seeing elected.

I don't fill it all the way in just for the sake of it and can never understand why people do.

Voting all the way down helps to keep out those you DONT want to see elected.

thebman

I only fill in the ones I can stomach to put a number beside.

Guramoogah

In this election, I'm gonna be impartial. They're all getting my number twos. The way they're littering the countryside with posters, 'tis all they deserve.

hotmail.com

force eleven wrote: »

I always fill it out fully, that's the only way it works 100% efficiently IMO.

It will be easy with 7 candidates, as opposed to about 25 we had in the last General election...you can lose track of where your vote is going with a big field and as such, that is certainly a drawback.

So in a general election with about 20 candidates, you give all of them a preference? Sure that's laughable, they only count the first preference and the second one. The third preference is rarely used and the rest are virtually never used.

Plus giving a preference to all candidates suggests you like all of them.

ArmaniJeanss

hotmail.com wrote: »

The third preference is rarely used and the rest are virtually never used.

Think the above is wrong.
Say your second preference for is for CandidateX and they are eliminated in CountY. Your 3rd and 4th preferences are already elected, and your 5th,6th,7th have been already eliminated. Fairly sure your vote for Candidate X is now transferred to your 8th preference. So your lower preferences can count quite regularly as a full vote.

View

hotmail.com wrote: »

Plus giving a preference to all candidates suggests you like all of them.

No it doesn't. It is a preferential voting system hence you are expressing your preferences about the candidates.

You could regard all the candidates as being idiots but use your vote to express your preference for them on the "basically harmless" to the "homicidally crazy" idiot scale.

It is perfectly legitimate to try and ensure that the person elected will be the one who'll do the least damage if elected!

Bannasidhe

Vote in order of preference but some candidates I just can't vote for - not even if it was #123.

Skid

hotmail.com wrote: »

So in a general election with about 20 candidates, you give all of them a preference? Sure that's laughable, they only count the first preference and the second one. The third preference is rarely used and the rest are virtually never used.

Plus giving a preference to all candidates suggests you like all of them.

That is complete nonsense, you clearly have no idea how PR voting works.

Field of 20 Candidates for 5 seats

Your 1-5 preferences could be eliminated early, your number 6 elected with a surplus, then your no.7 prefererence comes into play etc.

Look at the General Election Counts to understand it better,



Vote all the way down the list until you have no preference between the remaining candidates.


In the Presidential Election, it could come down to say, Norris and McGuinness in the last count.

If you don't have a preference listed for either of these, your vote won't count.

hotmail.com

Skid wrote: »

That is complete nonsense, you clearly have no idea how PR voting works.

Field of 20 Candidates for 5 seats

Your 1-5 preferences could be eliminated early, your number 6 elected with a surplus, then your no.7 prefererence comes into play etc.

Look at the General Election Counts to understand it better,



Vote all the way down the list until you have no preference between the remaining candidates.


In the Presidential Election, it could come down to say, Norris and McGuinness in the last count.

If you don't have a preference listed for either of these, your vote won't count.

I don't understand the PR system fully, but I do recognise that the first and second preference are basically the most important. The rest only come into play in rare instances in general elections. Only 12 candidates were elected to the Dail in Feb that did not finish in the top 3,4 or 5 (depending on the size of the constituency) out 166 people. So the first preference is essential. It might be different for this election.

force eleven

hotmail.com wrote: »

So in a general election with about 20 candidates, you give all of them a preference? Sure that's laughable, they only count the first preference and the second one. The third preference is rarely used and the rest are virtually never used.

Plus giving a preference to all candidates suggests you like all of them.

No, it doesn't. It ensures my vote works fully and to my preference. If you just want to put a 1 against a candidate and nothing else ,then there is no point in the PR system we have here.

Zubeneschamali

hotmail.com wrote: »

Plus giving a preference to all candidates suggests you like all of them.

Fortunately, it's a secret ballot, so no-one will ever know you voted for the terrorist slightly above the man-boy sex candidate.