Changes

Alternative forms of PR, such as the one used in Ireland, allow voters to vote for the individual candidates in their constituency according to preference. Rather than ticking the box next to the desired candidate and ignoring the others, Irish voters can technically vote for every candidate on the ballot in order of preference - 1 to 10, or more, according to how many candidates there are. According to their resources, parties field as many candidates in as many constituencies as possible.

Alternative forms of PR, such as the one used in Ireland, allow voters to vote for the individual candidates in their constituency according to preference. Rather than ticking the box next to the desired candidate and ignoring the others, Irish voters can technically vote for every candidate on the ballot in order of preference - 1 to 10, or more, according to how many candidates there are. According to their resources, parties field as many candidates in as many constituencies as possible.

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 No.1 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.

Parties attempt to use this system to maximise their representation in each constituency - bigger parties run several candidates in each constituency, and a 'superstar' candidate who knows s/he'll get large support will encourage her/his supporters to give their second, third etc preference to colleagues on the party ticket. For example, this contributor's constituency, the 5-seat Dublin South East, is represented in the following way: 2 Fianna Fáil, 1 Fine Gael, 1 Labour and 1 Sinn Féin.

Parties attempt to use this system to maximise their representation in each constituency - bigger parties run several candidates in each constituency, and a 'superstar' candidate who knows s/he'll get large support will encourage her/his supporters to give their second, third etc preference to colleagues on the party ticket. For example, this contributor's constituency, the 5-seat Dublin South East, is represented in the following way: 2 Fianna Fáil, 1 Fine Gael, 1 Labour and 1 Sinn Féin.