Electoral Reform and Party Adaptation: The Introduction of the Single Transferable Vote in Scotland

Debates about electoral reform revolve around giving voters more choice. Consequently, reformers often favor adopting the single transferable vote, a candidate-based system that allows voters to rank order candidates. Nonetheless, studies about whether lower preferences (transfers) influence STV election outcomes remain scant. To address this gap, our comparative multivariate approach tests transfers’ impact on election results in Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. We find that, on average, transfers are pivotal in the election of about one in 10 elected candidates. Hence, their impact is the exception rather than the norm. We show that when lower preferences are decisive at the candidate level, they benefit smaller and moderate parties and non-incumbents and, in Malta and Ireland, female candidates. Our results have implications for understanding the extent to which multiple preferences influence election outcomes and for debates on electoral reform.

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Alberta’s forgotten experiment with electoral reform: the hybrid single transferable vote/alternative vote and the quasi-party system

Political Science Undergraduate Review ◽

10.29173/psur192 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 22-32

Author(s):

Darren C Choi

Keyword(s):

Hybrid System ◽

Party System ◽

Electoral System ◽

Electoral Reform ◽

Single Transferable Vote ◽

Social Credit ◽

Alternative Vote ◽

Potential Case

A persistent yet understudied aspect of Alberta’s “quasi-party system” is the role of the electoral system. While many authors have rightly pointed out that a majoritarian single-member plurality system has helped Alberta’s ruling parties produce disproportionate majorities, the province has not always operated under this electoral arrangement. From 1926 until 1955, Alberta had a “hybrid” system, consisting of the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies in Edmonton and Calgary and the Alternative Vote in single-member constituencies in the rest of Alberta. This unusual attempt at electoral reform played an important role in the dominance of the United Farmers of Alberta and the early Social Credit Party (until 1955). AV acted as an essentially majoritarian system in rural Alberta, producing statistically indistinguishable results from FPTP. This contrasts the Albertan case with other attempts at implementing the Alternative Vote. On the other hand, STV benefited the UFA and Social Credit in two distinct ways. STV increasing proportionality in Edmonton and Calgary, as it has in many other jurisdictions. However, due the hybrid system, the urban opposition in Edmonton and Calgary to the UFA was fragmented by a proportional system like STV. Social Credit, with its larger urban base, used STV to maximize its urban vote through a process of voter transfers. Finally, rural malapportionment is a key feature in both the hybrid system and the subsequent return to single-member plurality. Rural seats, operating under both AV and FPTP, have been the electoral bedrock for Alberta’s long lived political dynasties. The unique case of Alberta’s hybrid electoral system serves as an important potential case study in debates surrounding electoral reform in Canada and around the world. Please be aware that a revision to this article was submitted on April 30, 2021. Therefore, there may be some differences between the online version of this submission and the print version.

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A simply transformative view of the single-transferable vote: Looking through a gendered lens at electoral reform in British Columbia

The Arbutus Review ◽

10.18357/tar0120103258 ◽

1969 ◽

pp. 15-29

Author(s):

Annabel Kristin Rixen

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Electoral System ◽

Electoral Reform ◽

Feminist Studies ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Research Attention ◽

Staff Members ◽

Gender Parity ◽

Single Transferable Vote ◽

Legislative Assembly

In 2009, British Columbians voted for the second time on the adoption of a new electoral system, the single-transferable vote (STV), as proposed by the Province's own Citizens' Assembly on electoral reform. The failure of the BC-STV to pass in this referendum generated much discussion on electoral reform, yet little research attention has been devoted to the role of gender in this process. This paper highlights the connections that can be drawn between the BC-STV and feminist studies, analyzing how electoral reform may influence gender parity in the Province's legislative assembly and how gender, in turn, influenced BC's electoral reform deliberations. The first section argues that electoral reform would have significantly improved gender parity in BC's legislative assembly. This conclusion is based upon an analysis of BC’s political culture in connection with three theoretical advantages of the STV system: its use of multi-member districts, its compatibility with affirmative action initiatives, and its susceptibility to the so-called “contagion effect.” The second section of this paper explores how gender dynamics influenced the ability of various “gendered actors” to influence the BC Citizens’ Assembly (BCCA). Female participants, feminist activists, and male staff members each enjoyed differing levels of influence that can be traced back to pre-existing gender inequalities. This work thereby demonstrates that an application of feminist theory can significantly enrich the study of electoral reform movements, both in British Columbia and elsewhere.

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Electoral Distortion under STV Random Sampling Procedures: A Comment

British Journal of Political Science ◽

10.1017/s0007123400005007 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 142-143 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. J. Fischer

Keyword(s):

Random Sampling ◽

Electoral Reform ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Previous Attempt ◽

National Elections ◽

Single Transferable Vote ◽

Sampling Procedures ◽

Work Done

In a recent Note in this Journal by Gallagher and Unwin, it was stated that the element of randomness due to sampling surplus votes in single transferable vote (STV) elections ‘has long been recognized, but no previous attempt has been made to assess its impact’. This is incorrect. Work done in Australia (and reported in the leading Australian journals in their respective fields) has comprehensively dealt with this problem both in theory and practice. Since STV is practised in national elections in only three countries (Australia, Ireland and Malta, the most populous being Australia) it is surprising that contributors to, and referees of, this Journal should be unaware of such material. It was largely because of the evidence contained in these articles that the Joint Committee on Electoral Reform recommended to the Australian Parliament an amendment to the Electoral Act, to avoid the problems caused by sampling votes, by using the Gregory method of counting them. The Act was amended in this way in 1983.

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