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'''First past the post''' (FPTP) voting, also known as ''single member district plurality'' (SMDP), is an electoral system in which voters cast a single vote for a candidate in a single district, with the winner being the candidate who gains more votes than any other candidate. FPTP is one of the oldest and simplest electoral systems and is common in countries which adopted the [[Westminster system]] of government.
'''First past the post''' (FPTP) voting, also known as ''single member district plurality'' (SMDP), is an electoral system in which voters cast a single vote for a candidate in a single district, with the winner being the candidate who gains more votes than any other candidate. It is not required for the candidate to gain a majority, a plurality of votes is sufficient.
FPTP is one of the oldest and simplest electoral systems and is common in countries which adopted the [[Westminster system]] of government, but it is also the most common in the United States.
==Advantages of First Past the Post==
==Advantages of First Past the Post==
*It is particularly vulnerable to certain types of tactical manipulation, such as ''compromising'' (when a voter thinks their preferred candidate has no chance of winning they may vote for a less preferred candidate so that their vote has a chance of affecting the outcome) and ''vote splitting'' (where two similar candidates share the votes that either would have got alone, allowing a less popular candidate to top the poll).
*It is particularly vulnerable to certain types of tactical manipulation, such as ''compromising'' (when a voter thinks their preferred candidate has no chance of winning they may vote for a less preferred candidate so that their vote has a chance of affecting the outcome) and ''vote splitting'' (where two similar candidates share the votes that either would have got alone, allowing a less popular candidate to top the poll).
*Smaller parties can only get representation if they concentrate their support in particular areas, so encouraging nationalist or separatist parties such as the [[Scottish National Party]] and [[Bloc Québécois]].
*Smaller parties can only get representation if they concentrate their support in particular areas, so encouraging nationalist or separatist parties such as the [[Scottish National Party]] and [[Bloc Québécois]].
*A candidate can win by a mere plurality (which means that a majority of voters actually ''opposed'' the candidate). A notable example involved the 2006 gubernatorial election in [[Texas]]: incumbent [[Rick Perry]] faced a Democrat candidate (former Congressman Chris Bell), a former Republican turned independent (former Texas Comptroller Carole Keaton Strayhorn, a political enemy of Perry), a popular musician (Kinky Friedman), a Libertarian candidate (sales consultant James Werner) and a write-in candidate (James "Patriot" Dillon) but even though he only received 39% of votes he had more than any of the others and therefore won re-election.
[[Category:Election Terms]]
[[Category:Election Terms]]