Voting systems made simple
Voting Systems made simple
Know your AMS from your AV+
Voting systems made simple
Voting systems are the way we elect our politicians. The type of system we use decides whether our government truly represent us and whether we can hold them to account if they let us down.
In Britain today there are several voting systems currently used in different levels of government, and each one has radically different implications for voters, for parties, for Parliament and for government.
Use this section to find out more about the different voting systems, how they work, where they're used and the pros and cons of each system.
The Three Families of Voting Systems
| Proportional Representation | Mixed Systems | Majoritarian Systems |
|---|---|---|
| More representative as seats are distributed according to vote share. | Combines the features of majoritarian-style systems and Proportional Representation. | Systems, like FPTP, that tend to be simple but are highly disproportional. |
| Party List PR | Additional Member System | Alternative Vote |
| Single Transferable Vote | Alternative Vote Plus | Block Vote |
| Borda Count | ||
| First Past the Post | ||
| Limited Vote | ||
| Supplementary Vote | ||
| Two-Round System |