Plurality voting

Plurality voting is a method for choosing the winner of an election. According to this method, which is also called "first-past-the post" or "winner-take-all," the winner of an election is the candidate who secured the highest percentage of the vote, regardless of how high or low that percentage may have been. In elections with many candidates, plurality voting can result in election winners carrying only a small percentage of the vote. Plurality voting is typically contrasted with majority voting, in which the candidate who secures at least fifty-one percent of the vote is declared the winner. In the United States, plurality voting is the most common electoral system.

Plurality voting holds several advantages over other forms of voting. It is simple for voters to understand, can be carried out quickly, removes the need for follow-up elections, and allows election staff to quickly declare the results of an election. However, if an election has many candidates, most voters may be dissatisfied with the election results. In some cases, plurality voting may also encourage insincere voting.

Background

Democracy is the practice of allowing a nation’s citizens to govern, rather than a small number of aristocrats or a powerful monarch. Democracy first became popular in Ancient Greece, where it was used to govern some Ancient Greek city-states. After this, democracy was used by various governments throughout history. However, the method by which democracy has been implemented has continually changed.

When forming a democratic government, founders are forced to make several important decisions. One of the first is to decide how the government will function. Though democracy refers to a government controlled by the people, many governments choose only a certain subset of a population to make important decisions. For example, many historic western governments allowed only White, adult men to vote. Other governments allowed only landowners to vote, limiting governmental participation to the wealthy.

A government in which every voter in a region has an equal say on decisions is called a direct democracy. In this style of democracy, each person who meets the requirements to vote is typically allowed a single vote. When faced with an important decision, the government polls the population, then follows the course of action with the most support among the people.

Instead of a direct democracy, many modern governments, such as the United States, practice representative democracy. With this type of democracy, each person votes on a regional representative within a larger democratic body. This representative is then directly involved in decision-making. Representative democracies allow governments to make decisions more quickly. They also enable full-time politicians who are more familiar with important issues and governmental tasks to make decisions on behalf of the people. The problem with representative governments is that they limit the power of voters, who may be disappointed with their decisions.

Many governments combine elements of both direct and representative democracies. Smaller governments, such as those for towns, cities, and boroughs, may use more elements of a direct democracy because it allows the people to have a greater say in regional issues. However, larger governments, such as nations, often implement more elements of a representative democracy because it enables decisions to be made more quickly than they would be in a direct democracy.

Overview

Democracies also differ in how the winner of an election is chosen. The simplest method of determining the winner of an election is through plurality voting. A candidate secures a plurality by gaining the largest percentage of votes out of all candidates. For example, if Candidate A receives 20 percent of the votes, Candidate B receives 30 percent of the votes, Candidate C receives 15 percent of the votes, and Candidate D receives 35 percent of the votes, Candidate D wins the election even though none of the candidates received a percentage of 50 percent or higher.

Plurality voting is often contrasted with majority voting, the second-simplest method for selecting the winner of an election. In majority voting, the candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the votes is declared the winner. To win a majority vote, a candidate must also win the plurality. However, in elections with more than two parties running for a position, no one candidate may secure 51 percent of the vote. In majority voting, this would potentially trigger another election. However, plurality voting avoids the need for another election by simply deciding the election in favor of the most successful candidate.

Plurality voting is sometimes criticized as an unfair method for selecting a winner. If enough candidates enter an election, a winner may be selected while securing only a comparatively small portion of the vote. Because most of the population may have preferred a different candidate (but not the same candidate), they may be unhappy with the results of the election. However, proponents of the plurality method argue that the winning candidate would have beaten the other candidates in a head-to-head vote. They argue that the only relevant statistic is which candidate secured the most votes during the election.

Plurality voting is also criticized for its potential to incentivize insincere voting. In these instances, voters do not cast their vote for their preferred candidate if they believe he or she is unlikely to win the election. Instead, they vote for a secondary choice whom they believe has a better chance of winning. On a large scale, insincere voting can result in significant changes to the outcome of an election. These changes are likely to result in a winner that displeases most voters.

Plurality elections have several advantages over more complicated methods of voting. They are simple, requiring minimal explanation for voters. They are easy to carry out, allowing voters to participate in an election expediently. They also make selecting a winner a smooth process, allowing election officials to declare a winner as soon as votes are counted. For these reasons, plurality voting is typically used in governmental elections, company elections, and trade union elections.

Bibliography

Annan, Kofi.“Democracy.” Council of Europe, www.coe.int/en/web/compass/democracy. Accessed 21 July 2022.

Cole, Daniel. “Plurality vs. Majority Voting.” Study.com, May 12, 2022, study.com/learn/lesson/plurality-voting-vs-majority-voting-summaries-differences-uses.html. Accessed 21 July 2022.

“Electoral Systems.” FairVote, 24 Aug. 2022, fairvote.org/resources/electoral-systems/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“Plurality Voting System.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Plurality‗voting‗system. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

“Plurality. vs. Majority Voting.” ElectionBuddy, 27 Jan. 2022, electionbuddy.com/blog/2022/01/27/plurality-vs-majority-voting/. Accessed 21 July 2022.

“Understanding Plurality Voting and Ballots During a Candidate Election.” ElectionBuddy, 2022, electionbuddy.com/features/voting-systems/plurality-voting/. Accessed 21 July 2022.