Q 1.
Q. Why is proportional representation better for electing a representative board than common winner-take-all elections?

A. Proportional representation refers to voting systems in which groups of voters win representation in proportion to their numbers. For example, 10% of the voters will elect approximately 10% of the seats, 20% of voters will elect 20% of the seats, and so forth. The majority wins a majority, but not all of the seats, while minority viewpoints also win their fair share of the seats. The Choice Voting form of proportional representation is a system in which voters rank candidates in order of choice. The method of tallying votes is designed to facilitate each voter having someone elected to the board that is acceptable to him/her. Under winner-take-all voting systems the majority has the potential to elect every single seat on the board, which leaves minority viewpoints unrepresented.

Instead of one dominant group of voters choosing all 18 Listener-Delegates, and all smaller losing groups having no representation, with Proportional Representation, eighteen sub-constituencies of around 6% of the electorate each will elect their favored representative. By voting for your favorite candidate (as well as alternate choices), you determine which candidate will represent you. By ranking candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc.) if your favorite candidate has more than enough votes to win a seat, your vote will not be wasted, but will instead automatically count for your next favorite candidate. Likewise, if your favorite candidate has so little support that she or he cannot win a seat, your vote will also not be wasted, but will instead count for your next choice who is still in the running.

[top]

Q 2.
Q. How does Choice Voting (STV) work?

A. The details are spelled out in Article 15, Section 1 of the Bylaws. But here is a summary of how the winners are determined…

First a ‘winning threshold’ needs to be calculated, which is the minimum number of votes a candidate needs to get elected. To calculate the winning threshold the total number of valid ballots cast is divided by one more than the number of seats to be filled, plus one vote.

Each voter has a single vote, but that vote may end up being divided into fractions of a vote that help elect more than one candidate.

Any candidates who have enough votes (first preferences) to reach the winning threshold are declared elected. If a candidate receives more votes than needed to win a seat, the “surplus” portion of each vote in a winning candidate’s pile will be transferred to each of those voters’ next preference candidate so that each vote can be fully used.

If there are still unfilled places after the first preferences have been dealt with and any surpluses transferred, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and voters who favored that candidate have their votes transferred to the voters’ second preferences. Any candidate who now has more than the winning threshold is declared elected.

This process continues until all of the seats are filled.

[top]

Q 3.
Q. Is this a standard voting method? Where else is it used?

A. Choice Voting (STV) has been used for over a hundred years in thousands of elections for both governments and private associations. For example, it is used to elect the national legislature in Ireland, and the Senate in Australia, and was used by over 20 cities in the United States, including New York City at the time of Mayor LaGuardia. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only U.S. city that uses it today.

[top]

Q 4.
Q. Why did most U.S. cities that adopted it discontinue using it?

A. While each case was unique, as a general rule proportional representation was repealed because it worked exactly as intended. It allowed full diversity on city councils, including racial minorities and third party candidates. The dominant groups in these cities were eventually convinced to repeal proportional representation so that the majority could again exclude minorities.

[top]

Q 5.
Q. What does Choice Voting accomplish?

A. The actual casting of a vote is quite simple, though different than most voters are accustomed to. Instead of entering a number of “check marks,” electors simply enter the numbers 1, 2, 3, ... etc. next to their preferred candidates, in order of choice. Indeed, they need only express as many preferences, or contingency choices, as they desire, i.e. from just one, up to as many as there are candidates running for election.

a. Each elector’s single vote is used to help elect the candidate who is his or her first preference. If that candidate is so popular that he or she does not need all the first preference votes received, the surplus portions of each of those votes are transferred to non-excluded candidates, according to the next available preferences indicated;

b. It can be seen that later preferences are contingency choices only. Because these contingency choices are used only if an earlier preference has a surplus above the winning threshold required for election, or has been excluded because of insufficient support, under no circumstances can they count against an earlier preference;

c. The sorting of voting ballots according to first preferences in effect arranges the electors who voted into groups, each group supporting a single candidate. The transfers of surpluses and exclusions reduce the groups in number according to the number of places to be filled and make the initially unequal groups each approximately equal to the winning threshold. The electorate is thus arranged into the desired number of nearly equal opinion groups, each group with its own representative;

d. Nearly every voter is effective in helping to secure the election of a chosen candidate. The percentage of effective votes in an election is a measure of voter satisfaction, and thus of the validity of an election method. Nearly every voter has an equal effect on the result and is directly represented by someone whom he or she has helped to elect.

In voting, different electors may attach different weight to several criteria simultaneously. The single transferable vote gives proportional representation of this opinion structure of the electorate with an accuracy dependent only on the number of representatives simultaneously elected. The single transferable vote gives freedom of choice to electors and ensures, as far as possible, that that choice is satisfied and not distorted or frustrated.

Using STV, there are fewer wasted votes. Votes cast for candidates who have no chance of winning can still count by a transfer to another candidate. There is also little tactical voting (voting for a less favored candidate because they have more chance of winning) because STV allows electors to vote for their preferred candidates knowing that their vote will transfer if that candidate cannot win.

[top]

Q 6.
Q. What if I only like one or a few candidates?

A. You are only required to rank a single candidate, but you run the risk of not maximizing your vote by doing so. If your favorite candidate already has enough support to win a seat, a portion of your vote can be transferred to your next choice but only if you have indicated a next choice. Likewise, if your favorite candidate has so little support that she or he cannot win a seat, if you have not indicated an alternate choice your vote cannot be transferred to a next choice. The best strategy is always to rank as many candidates as you have an opinion about.

[top]

Q 7.
Q. Does ranking alternate candidates hurt the chances of my favorite candidate?

A. No. Ranking additional choices cannot hurt your favorite candidate. These are just contingency choices, in case your favorite candidate already has enough support to win a seat or has no chance of winning.

[top]

Q 8.
Q. Can I give the same ranking to several candidates if I like them equally well?

A. Yes. If you give the same ranking several candidates your vote will simply be divided equally among those candidates.

[top]

Q 9.
Q. Does a first choice vote count twice as much as a second choice, or what?

A. Choice voting doesn’t work like that at all. Each voter has a single vote, and initially it only counts for the voter’s first choice, with nothing going to any of the later preferences. Only if that first-choice candidate has more than enough votes to win, or if that candidate has so little support that he or she gets defeated, can a ballot count towards the election of a later preference. A voter’s alternate rankings are a contingency vote to make sure a member’s vote isn’t wasted on a sure winner who has a surplus of votes, or a sure loser, who can’t possibly win.

[top]

Q 10.
Q. What if I didn’t rank any more candidates after all of my ranked candidates were out of the running?

A. Voters who rank only one, or a few, candidates run some risk of having a fraction, or their entire ballot becoming “exhausted.” An “exhausted” ballot is one that still has at least a fraction of a vote available to be transferred, but has no more candidates who are still in the running ranked on it. However, it is generally true that one or more of that voter’s favorite candidates has already been elected by that point.

[top]

Q 11.
Q. How were the ballots actually be tallied?

A. The Bylaws require that the National Elections Supervisor designate where, when, and by whom the ballots will be counted. To avoid any risk of accidental or intentional errors, the ballots were opened, verified and counted by teams appointed by the neutral Local Election Supervisor. The ballots were entered into a simple computer program (the same used for elections in Cambridge, Massachusetts), and the ballots were secured in case of any legal challenges or recounts, and will be retained by the Foundation for three years.

[top]