First Past the Post electoral system: Difference between revisions

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{{Wikipedia|First-past-the-post voting}}A '''first-past-the-post''' ('''FPTP'''; sometimes '''FPP''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Resource-material-STV-Information-More-about-FPP?OpenDocument|title=More about FPP|author=The Department of Internal Affairs, Government of New Zealand|website=dia.govt.nz|language=en-NZ|access-date=2019-02-17}}</ref> [[electoral system]] is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This is sometimes described as ''winner takes all''. First-past-the-post voting is a [[plurality voting]] method. FPTP is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with [[w:Single-member district|single-member electoral divisions]], and is practised in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include the [[w:United States|United States]], the [[w:United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], as well as some of the latter's former [[w:colony|colonies]] and [[w:protectorate|protectorate]]s, such as [[w:Canada|Canada]] or [[w:India|India]].
{{Wikipedia|First-past-the-post voting}}A '''first-past-the-post''' ('''FPTP'''; sometimes '''FPP''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Resource-material-STV-Information-More-about-FPP?OpenDocument|title=More about FPP|author=The Department of Internal Affairs, Government of New Zealand|website=dia.govt.nz|language=en-NZ|access-date=2019-02-17}}</ref> [[electoral system]] is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins.


First-past-the-post elections only require winning candidates to receive a [[plurality]] of the total number of votes. FPTP is a common feature of electoral systems with [[w:Single-member district|single-member electoral divisions]], and is practised in close to one third of countries. Notable examples include the [[w:United States|United States]], the [[w:United Kingdom|United Kingdom]], as well as some of the latter's former [[w:colony|colonies]] and [[w:protectorate|protectorate]]s, such as [[w:Canada|Canada]] or [[w:India|India]].
Fist-past-the-post is often referred to as '''winner-take-all''', '''[[plurality]] voting''', '''relative majority''', and '''choose-one voting'''. In political science, it is known as '''Single-Member Plurality''' or '''SMP'''.

Fist-past-the-post is often referred to with the following terms:

* winner-take-all
* plurality voting
* relative majority
* choose-one voting
* single-member plurality (SMP).


The term "first past the post" refers to a now seldom-used analogy with horse racing, where the winner is the first to pass a particular point (in this case a plurality of votes), upon which all other runners automatically and completely lose ("winner take all").
The term "first past the post" refers to a now seldom-used analogy with horse racing, where the winner is the first to pass a particular point (in this case a plurality of votes), upon which all other runners automatically and completely lose ("winner take all").


== Activism around FPTP ==
{{fromwikipedia}}
Much electoral activism has centered around providing alternatives to FPTP voting.{{fromwikipedia}}


[[Category:Single-winner voting methods]]
[[Category:Single-winner voting methods]]
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