British Columbia STV Rules

These rules have been copied from the British Columbia Citizens' Council Technical Report. The Report is available at

http://www.citizensassembly.bc.ca/resources/TechReport(full).pdf

General

BC-STV is a system of proportional representation by the single transferable vote (STV) method.
The members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia will be elected from multimember electoral districts.
The number of members in each district will vary from two (2) to seven (7). Given that achieving proportional electoral outcomes is a primary reason for recommending BC-STV, using larger rather than smaller numbers of members per district should always be preferred when drawing district boundaries. While some very sparsely populated areas may require districts with as few as two members, the principle of proportionality dictates that, in the most densely populated urban areas, districts should be created at the upper end of the range.
The "Droop quota" will be the formula for calculating the number of votes required by a candidate for election in a district. The quota formula is:
```
     total number of valid 
  ballots cast in the district
-------------------------------- + 1
     1 + number of members 
         to be elected
```
Fractions are ignored.
The method of distributing surplus votes from those candidates with more than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected will be the "Weighted Inclusive Gregory method" (see below, as well as Appendix: Glossary).

The ballot paper

The ballot paper will display the names of all the candidates contesting seats for a district. The names will be grouped according to party affiliation.
Candidates who do not indicate a party affiliation, and candidates who do not indicate that they are running as an independent, will be grouped together.
Parties with only one candidate, and each candidate running as an independent, will each have their own group.
Groupings with more than one candidate in a district will have the rank order of the candidates’ names rotated at random so that each candidate has an equal chance of being placed in every position within the grouping.
The rank order of groupings appearing on the ballot will be rotated at random so that each grouping has an equal chance of being placed in every position on the ballot paper.
The ballot paper will not provide the option of voting for all the candidates of one group by marking a party box (this is the so called "above the line" option used in some Australian elections).

Valid ballots

Voters will indicate their preference for the candidates listed on the ballot paper by putting the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. next to candidates’ names.
A ballot paper must include a first preference for the ballot to be counted as a valid ballot. The number of subsequent preferences marked on the ballot is at the discretion of the voter.
In the case of a ballot paper with gaps or repetitions in the sequence of numbers beyond a first preference, the preferences are valid up to the break in the sequence.
If a voter puts a mark next to only one candidate’s name, and that mark makes the voter’s intention clear, the mark will be accepted as the expression of a single preference for that candidate and the ballot will be counted as a valid ballot.

Counting procedure rules

Once the total number of valid ballots is established in each multi-member district, the minimum number of votes required for a candidate to be elected is calculated using the Droop quota formula.
All ballots are counted and each ballot is allocated as a vote to the candidate against whose name a first preference (i.e., "1") is shown on the ballot.
If a candidate(s) on the first count has a number of first preference votes exactly equal to the minimum number of votes needed to be elected, then that candidate(s) is declared elected and the counted ballot papers indicating that candidate(s) as a first preference are put aside and the other preferences recorded on the ballots are not examined.
If a candidate on the first count gains more than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected, the candidate is declared elected, and the number of votes in excess of the number of votes needed to be elected (the surplus) is recorded. All of the elected candidate’s ballots are then re-examined and assigned to candidates not yet elected according to the second preferences marked on the ballots of those who gave a first preference vote to the elected candidate. These votes are allocated according to a "transfer value." The formula for the transfer value is:
```
      surplus votes cast for 
      the elected candidate
----------------------------------
  total number of votes received
     by the elected candidate
```
If two or more candidates on the first count gain more than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected, all of those candidates are declared elected. The ballots of the candidate with the largest number of first preference votes will be re-examined first and assigned (at the transfer value) to candidates not yet elected according to the second preferences marked on that candidate’s ballots, or the next available preference, if the second preference candidate has already been elected. The ballots of the other elected candidate(s) will then be re-examined and their surpluses distributed in order according to the number of first preference votes each candidate received.
If a candidate reaches more than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected as the consequence of a transfer of votes from an elected candidate, the number of votes in excess of the number of votes needed to be elected (the surplus) will be transferred to other candidates. This transfer will be to the next available preference shown on all of this candidate’s ballots. These ballots now include 1) the candidate’s first preference ballots, and 2) the parcel(s) of ballots transferred to the candidate from one or more elected candidates. The transfer value for the candidate’s first preference ballots is:
```
      surplus votes cast for 
      the elected candidate
----------------------------------
  total number of votes received
     by the elected candidate
```
The transfer value for each parcel of ballots transferred to the candidate from one or more elected candidates is:
```
      surplus votes cast for          the transfer value
      the elected candidate            of the parcel of
---------------------------------- X   ballots received
  total number of votes received       by the candidate
     by the elected candidate
```
If no candidate has a number of votes equal to or greater than the minimum number of votes needed to be elected, the candidate with the smallest number of votes is excluded. All of that candidate’s ballots--both first preference ballots and any parcel or parcels of ballots transferred from other candidates--are transferred to candidates who have not been elected or excluded according to the next available preference shown on the excluded candidate’s ballots. The excluded candidate’s first preference ballots are transferred to the second (or next available) preferences at full value. Ballots received from previously-elected (or excluded) candidates are transferred at the transfer value at which the ballots were received.
Counting continues in the described sequence: the surplus of elected candidates is assigned until no more candidates are elected, then the ballots of excluded candidates are assigned until another candidate is elected. When all but one of the candidates to be elected from the district have been elected, and only two candidates remain in the count, the candidate with the most votes is declared elected, even though the candidate may not have reached the minimum number of votes (the quota) needed to be elected.
If, during the transfer of preferences, a ballot paper does not indicate an available preference, the ballot is put aside as "exhausted." This can occur because:
- the voter only indicated one, or a small number of preferences;
- all the preferred candidates have already been elected or excluded; or
- there are gaps or repetitions on the ballot in the sequence of numbering preferences.

Provisions for tied votes

Where two or more candidates have the same number of first preference votes at the end of the first count, and this number is more than the minimum number of votes necessary for election, then the candidate whose surplus is distributed first will be decided by lot.
Where no candidate has a number of first preference votes equal to or greater than the number of votes necessary for election at the end of the first count, and two or more candidates have the same number of first preference votes, this number being the smallest number of first preference votes gained by any candidate, then the candidate who is excluded first will be decided by lot.
If, at any stage of the count other than during the first count, two candidates have the same number of votes, the candidate who is declared elected first, or who is not excluded will be:
1. the candidate with the larger number of votes in the previous or immediately next preceding count where there is a difference in the votes between the two candidates; or
2. the candidate whose name is drawn by lot, where there is no difference in the number of votes between the candidates at any preceding count.

By-elections

The single transferable vote method (preferential voting) is to be used for by-elections where a candidate is to be elected to fill a single casual vacancy in a district. The BC-STV method is to be used where candidates are to be elected to fill two or more casual vacancies in a district.