Proportional representation: Difference between revisions

There is an intermediate system in Uruguay ("[[Wikipedia:Ley de Lemas|intermediateLey systemde Lemas]] in Uruguay"), where each party presents several closed lists, each representing a faction. Seats are distributed between parties according to the number of votes, and then between the factions within each party.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In effect, the method produces groups of voters of equal size that reflect the diversity of the electorate, each group having a representative the group voted for. Some 90% of voters have a representative to whom they gave their first preference. Voters can choose candidates using any criteria they wish, the proportionality is implicit.<ref name=DMstvPdf/> Political parties are not necessary; all other prominent PR electoral systems presume that parties reflect voters wishes, which many believe gives power to parties.<ref name=tidemanSTV/> STV satisfies the [[Comparison of electoral systems|electoral system criterion]] ''[[Proportionality for Solid Coalitions|proportionality for solid coalitions]]'' – a solid coalition for a set of candidates is the group of voters that rank all those candidates above all others – and is therefore considered a system of proportional representation.<ref name=tidemanSTV/> However, the small district magnitude used in STV elections has been criticized as impairing proportionality, especially when more parties compete than there are seats available,<ref name=forder/>{{rp|50}} and STV has, for this reason, sometimes been labelled "quasi proportional".<ref name=AusOVC/>{{rp|83}} While this may be true when considering districts in isolation, results {{em|overall}} are proportional. In Ireland, with particularly small magnitudes, results are "highly proportional".<ref name=ideaEsd/>{{rp|73}}<ref name=ideaGallagher/> In the [[Wikipedia:1997 Irish general election|1997 Irish general election]], the average magnitude was 4.0 but eight parties gained representation, four of them with less than 3% of first preference votes nationally. Six independent candidates also won election.<ref name=laver/> STV has also been described as the {{em|most}} proportional system.<ref name=AusOVC/>{{rp|83}} The system tends to handicap extreme candidates because, to gain preferences and so improve their chance of election, candidates need to canvass voters beyond their own circle of supporters, and so need to moderate their views.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Referendum 2011: A look at the STV system |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10762976 |publisher=The New Zealand Herald |date=1 Nov 2011 |access-date=21 Nov 2014 |location=Auckland|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Change the Way We Elect? Round Two of the Debate |url=https://thetyee.ca/Views/2009/04/30/STV2/ |magazine=The Tyee |date=30 Apr 2009 |access-date=21 Nov 2014 |location=Vancouver}}</ref> Conversely, widely respected candidates can win election with relatively few first preferences by benefitting from strong subordinate preference support.<ref name=DMstvPdf/>

The term ''STV'' in Australia refers to the Senate electoral system, a variant of ''Hare-Clark'' characterized by the "above the line" [[group voting ticket]], a party list option. It is used in the Australian upper house, the [[Wikipedia:Australian Senate|Australian Senate]], most state upper houses, the [[Tasmania|Tasmanian]] lower house and the Capital Territory assembly. Due to the number of preferences that are compulsory if a vote for candidates (below-the-line) is to be valid – for the Senate a minimum of 90% of candidates must be scored, in 2013 in [[New South Wales]] that meant writing 99 preferences on the ballot<ref name=prsaHC/> – 95% and more of voters use the above-the-line option, making the system, in all but name, a party list system.<ref name=uwaAbove>{{cite web|title=Above the line voting |url=http://elections.uwa.edu.au/glossaryc.lasso?CondensedGlossary=abovethelinevoting |publisher=University of Western Australia |access-date=21 Nov 2014|location=Perth}}</ref><ref name=abcGlossaryGVT>{{cite web |title=Glossary of Election Terms |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/guide/glossary.htm#group_voting_ticket |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=21 Nov 2014|location=Sydney}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hill|first1=I.D.|date=November 2000 |title=How to ruin STV |journal=Voting Matters |issue=12 |url = http://www.votingmatters.org.uk/ISSUE12/P7.htm |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref> Parties determine the order in which candidates are elected and also control transfers to other lists and this has led to anomalies: preference deals between parties, and "micro parties" which rely entirely on these deals. Additionally, independent candidates are unelectable unless they form, or join, a group above-the-line.<ref name=anthonyGreen04>{{cite web|last=Green|first=Anthony|title=Above or below the line? Managing preference votes|url=http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3359&page=0 |publisher=On Line Opinion|date=20 April 2005|access-date=21 Nov 2014 |location=Australia}}</ref><ref name=ersDog>{{cite web|last=Terry|first=Chris|title=Serving up a dog's breakfast|url=http://devers2.speedster-it.com/blog/serving-up-a-dogs-breakfast|publisher=[[Electoral Reform Society]]|date=5 April 2012|access-date=21 Nov 2014|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007220903/http://devers2.speedster-it.com/blog/serving-up-a-dogs-breakfast|archive-date=7 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Concerning the development of STV in Australia researchers have observed: "... we see real evidence of the extent to which Australian politicians, particularly at national levels, are prone to fiddle with the electoral system".<ref name=AusOVC>{{cite book|title=The Australian Electoral System: Origins, Variations, and Consequences |date=2006|publisher=[[UNSW Press]] |location=Sydney |isbn=978-0868408583 |author=David M. Farrell |author2=Ian McAllister}}</ref>{{rp|86}}

As a result of a parliamentary commission investigating the 2013 election, from 2016 the system has been considerably reformed (see [[Wikipedia:2016 Australian federal election|2016 Australian federal election]]), with group voting tickets (GVTs) abolished and voters no longer required to fill all boxes.