User:RodCrosby/QPR2

Quota proportional representation squared (QPR2), also known simply as PR squared or PR^2, is an electoral system designed to produce semi-proportional election results across a region by electing two representatives in each of the region’s districts. The 1st seat in every district is awarded to the party or candidate which receives the most votes, similar to first-past-the-post voting (FPTP). The 2nd seat is awarded to one of the remaining district parties or candidates so that squared proportionality is achieved across the region, using a calculation that aims to award parties their seats in the districts where they had their strongest performances, relative to the Droop quota.

Origin

The first suggestion for squaring votes before assigning seats in proportion to these squares appears to have been made by Julian Wiseman in 2000, proposing the system to elect the UK Westminster parliament. In May 2010, Rod Stringer offered improvements that would make the system more practical and politically acceptable, and this version of the system was later simplified.

Objectives and rationale

Stringer believes that a combination of political vested interest and inability to agree on one of the various true proportional systems means that it is unlikely that the UK will ever abandon FPTP for Westminster. PR squared is a system that is a relatively small change from the perspective of voters and the major parties, has some benefits for almost all parties, and accordingly may stand a higher chance of achieving consensus for its adoption. While not closely proportional, PR squared can be shown to be about half as disproportional as FPTP, according to certain common measures, in particular treating third and fourth parties which compete UK-wide more fairly. The prospect of majority government on a minority of votes remains quite possible, and in large part PR squared is advocated for pragmatic reasons.

Constituency structure

The current single-member seats would be amalgamated into ideally units of two, although accommodation could be made to retain three island seats as single-member and, exceptionally, a few three-member seats could also exist, mostly in the cities or where a county currently has an odd number of seats. This constituency structure would mimic the constituency structure that in fact existed from 1265 to 1885 and did not finally disappear in some places in the UK until 1950.

Ballot structure

Major parties would most likely run two candidates in each constituency, although it is not a requirement. If two, candidates for a party could run together as primary and secondary in an effectively closed list, similarly as in the Dual Member Proportional system, or they could run separately. Parties might choose the later option in an open seat or in a hopeless seat, to effectively combine a primary with the general election.

It is recommended that voters employ a preferential 1,2,3, etc vote, for reasons discussed below, although an "X" would also be deemed a valid vote.

National vote count

Counting would proceed in a constituency similarly to FPTP, except where candidates from the same party were running separately, in which case they would first have their combined vote total aggregated and assigned to their party. The party vote totals and those for any individual independent candidates in the constituency would then be forwarded to the national counting centre, one for each of the four UK constituent nations.

Upon receipt, these totals would be aggregated party-wise and the squares of the totals computed, ultimately producing,in each nation, party percentages relative to the sum of these squares. The normal vote percentages would naturally also be calculated and published, just as now.

National seat computation

In each nation, the squared percentages calculated above would be applied to the national seat total to estimate the number of seats won by each party. Largest remainder would be used to assign fractional seats. Note that the ultimate result may vary slightly from these figures, for reasons outlined later.

First members elected

Again, similarly to FPTP, the candidate who tops the poll will be declared elected. In the case of two running on a closed list the primary candidate will be elected. Additionally, any other candidate (or list) that exceeds the Droop quota will also be declared elected. In a few cases, mostly inner-city Labour seats, a party may obtain two Droop quotas - more than 66.67% - in which case both candidates of that party are elected, and the seat closed. A little over half the MPs should be elected in this manner, and election night coverage by TV networks would not look too different to what it does under FPTP.

In the case where two party candidates are running separately, and their combined party vote either wins a plurality over all other party votes, or it exceeds the quota, a further STV style count must be employed later, once the full complexion of the constituency is discerned, to distinguish the winning candidate(s). Such instances should be relatively rare.

Subsequent members elected

The novel part of the process really begins here. At the national count centre, the ordinary party vote totals in each constituency for the first and second ranked parties are then normalised relative to the Droop quota, disregarding any integer part. For example, if Party A obtained 45% and Party B obtained 25%, these would translate to approximately 0.35 and 0.75 "remainder" quotas respectively.

The national count centre and TV networks would rank these remainders separately for each party from highest to lowest, including the constituency name, as results become available. As election night develops these rankings become indicative of those parties which will win the available second seats,and where they will win them.