Resource material › STV Information › STV Voting Form
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This is how a voting form might look for a local authority election held under the Single Transferable Vote method.
There are three vacancies in this ward. Instead of a tick you rank candidates in the order you prefer - '1' beside your first choice, '2' beside your second choice, '3' beside your third choice and so on. You can rank as few or as many candidates as you wish.
Here's how STV works
Candidates must reach a set number (quota) of votes in order to be elected. By numbering your preferences you are saying:
"The candidate I most want to represent me on the council is Sam Jones. He's my number one choice - but if he gets more votes than the quota, then part of my vote is to be transferred to my second choice, Ngaire Smith, and maybe this will help to get her elected. On the other hand, if Sam has so little support that he can't possibly be elected, transfer my vote to Ngaire..."
