The population of the constituency determines how many seats in the legislature are available (in Ireland, 2, 3, 4 or 5) and a 'quota' is set, which is the target number of 'No.1' votes a candidate must reach to be elected. Once a candidate reaches the quota, his/her surplus votes are redistributed according to the preferences expressed on the ballot papers. This process is repeated until all the available seats are filled. Candidates who are found to be mathematically incapable of reaching the quota during each redistribution are eliminated. The system is known as 'Proportional Representation with the Single Transferrable Vote' or PR-STV. | The population of the constituency determines how many seats in the legislature are available (in Ireland, 2, 3, 4 or 5) and a 'quota' is set, which is the target number of 'No.1' votes a candidate must reach to be elected. Once a candidate reaches the quota, his/her surplus votes are redistributed according to the preferences expressed on the ballot papers. This process is repeated until all the available seats are filled. Candidates who are found to be mathematically incapable of reaching the quota during each redistribution are eliminated. The system is known as 'Proportional Representation with the Single Transferrable Vote' or PR-STV. |