Newcombe is a tiny constituency with just 15 people.

The election for Newcombe’s MP has 3 candidates.

It will be held using the Alternative Vote system.

How the Alternative Vote System Works

Usually, people in Newcombe vote for one candidate with an X.

But in the Alternative Vote system, voters rank candidates.

(“1” for their favourite down to “3” for their least favourite).

<< 1st preference

<< 2nd preference

<< 3rd preference

The Ballot Paper

4 votes 6 votes 5 votes(27%) (40%) (33%)

When voting is over, the 1st preferences are all added together.

Mary leads with 6 votes and would win under the previous system.

But you need more than 50% to win in the Alternative Vote system.

Round One

X6 votes 5 votes

(40%) (33%)

So it goes to Round Two. This means that the candidate

in last place (John) is eliminated. His 4 votes will now be

shared between Mary and Sean using 2nd preferences.

4 votes??

Round Two

It works like this. 4 people voted for John. Of these, 1

chose Mary as their second favourite and 3 chose Sean.

These 2nd preferences then get added to the original totals.

2nd preference

2nd preference

2nd preferences

7 votes 8 votes(47%) (53%)

6 + 1 =

When the 2nd preferences are added, Sean now has 8 votes.

As this is more than 50%, Sean is elected MP for Newcombe.

So Sean wins even though he was second after Round One.

5 + 3 =

The Final Result

And that’s how the Alternative Vote system works.

In real elections there are usually more candidates and more rounds. See my real world example at http://slidesha.re/dMTH5k.

And let me know what you think on @myddelton.