Why reform?

How STV works

To ensure representation is fairly shared, several councillors must be elected together. The Kerley Report recommended wards should return three to five councillors each, with two-member wards in the sparsely populated areas. Each party would field a team of candidates in each ward. As at present, independents would stand as individual candidates.

With STV, electors have one vote each. Electors number the candidates on the ballot paper in the order of their own preferences: 1, 2, 3, and so on. Electors can choose freely among all the candidates and can number as many or as few preferences as they wish.

If a candidate has more than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected in a ward, his or her surplus votes are transferred to second preferences as marked on the ballot papers. Candidates with least support are excluded and their votes transferred to next preferences as marked on the ballot papers. These transfers are continued until all the seats in the ward are filled, making maximum use of the voters’ preferences.