Alternative Vote Election Rules

REGULATIONS FOR THE ELECTION OF ONE PERSON BY MEANS OF THE SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE This method of filling a single vacancy is commonly called the Alternative Vote. It also known as Preferential Voting or Instant Run-off Voting. These election rules describe the procedure in terms of handling ballot papers but the same principles are applied when the votes are counted electronically. l. METHOD OF VOTING a. Each voter shall have one transferable vote. b. A voter in recording his/her vote on a printed voting paper: i. must place on his/her voting paper the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate for whom he/she votes; ii. may indicate the order of his/her preference for as many other candidates as he/she pleases by placing against their respective names the figures 2, 3, 4 and so on. c. A voter in recording his vote on a plain voting paper: i. must write on his/her voting paper the name of the candidate for whom he/she votes; ii. may indicate the order of his/her preference for as many other candidates as he/she pleases by writing their names in order of preference. 2. SORTING THE PAPERS The returning officer shall examine the papers and shall sort them into parcels according to the first preference recorded for each candidate, rejecting any that are invalid. 3. COUNTING THE PAPERS a. The returning officer shall count the papers in each such parcel and shall credit each candidate with a number of votes equal to the number of valid papers on which a first preference has been recorded for that candidate. b. If the vote for any one candidate equals or exceeds the votes of all the other candidates combined, that candidate shall be declared elected. page 1 of 2 c. i. If not, the returning officer shall exclude together the two or more candidates with the least votes if the total vote of such two or more candidates does not exceed the vote of the candidate next above, otherwise he/she shall exclude the candidate having the fewest votes. ii. The papers of the excluded candidates shall be transferred to whichever of the continuing candidates is marked by that voter as his/her next available preference, and the votes thus transferred shall be added to the first preference votes of those candidates. iii. Any paper on which no further preference is marked shall be set aside as non-transferable and the total of such papers shall be recorded. 4. TIES a. If when a candidate has to be excluded, two or more candidates have each the same number of votes and are lowest on the poll, the candidate with the lowest number of votes at the earliest stage in the count, at which the candidates in question had an unequal number of votes, shall be excluded. b. If two or more candidates are still equal and lowest, the returning officer shall decide which shall be excluded. 5. DEFINITIONS a. The expression 'first preference' means the figure 1 standing alone opposite the name of a candidate or the name of the candidate given first in the list of order of preference by the voter. b. The expression 'valid voting paper' means a voting paper on which a first or only preference is unambiguously expressed. c. The expression 'invalid voting paper' means a voting paper on which no first or only preference is expressed, or on which any first preference is void for uncertainty. d. The expression 'continuing candidate' means any candidate not yet excluded. e. The expression 'next available preference' means a second or subsequent preference recorded in consecutive numerical order for a continuing candidate, passing over earlier preferences for candidates already excluded. f. The expression 'transferable paper' means a voting paper on which a next available preference is unambiguously expressed. g. The expression 'non-transferable paper' means a voting paper on which no next available preference for a continuing candidate is expressed, or on which any next available preference is void for uncertainty. page 2 of 2