Faversham Stoa

Voting Reform – Do we need it?

The referrendum on voting reform is set for May 2011. Do you have any idea what's proposed and what the arguments are – for and against? Here's a chance to find out. At our March meeting we will be looking at the proposed system and discussing why voting reform is needed at all and what the likely political consequences will be.

The system being voted on is called AV or the 'Alternative Vote'. In the USA it's called 'Instant Runoff'. It allows voters to express preferences instead of simply having to back one party to win. It is therefore claimed that it discourages tactical voting and voting for minority parties is not seen as wasting a vote. However, parliamentary constituencies are left unchanged and the system while reflecting voter choice better, is not fully proportional.

Video clips

Start here with some simple video clips that explain how the proposed AV or Alternative Vote system works.

Articles

• Alternative Vote referendum - Q&A
• Alternative Vote supported by the Electoral Reform Society
• The Alternative Vote explained
• The Alternative Vote, AV plus and Single Transferable Vote explained
• Referendum on the voting system for the UK Parliament
• The current party positions
• Where the parties stand
• Alternative Vote Plus system
• Alternative Vote Top-up sytem
• Single Transferable Vote

Electoral Reform Society material

The Electoral Reform Society is supporting AV and has produced a number of handy explanatory leaflets in PDF format that are available for download here.

• What is AV?
• Why AV?
• A FAQ on the Alternative Vote system
• AV-plus – a slightly more 'proportional' version of AV. The system originally recommended by the Labour Party commission on the subject.
• The Single Transferable vote explained.
• What is STV?