PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

New Zealand Tablet, 7 February 1918, Page 9

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

/ 'WHATSIT IS AND HOW IT WORKS. ; (By "John H. Humphreys,’ Secretary of the Proportional Representation Society, in Everyman.) What is Proportional Representation —The representation of all classes of citizens on elected bodies in proportion to their voting strength. . ,\ T ■' ’

How Can This be Attained ?—By the method of election known as the Single Transferable Vote. t What is the Single Transferable Vote ?—The Single Transferable Vote [ requires—(1) That constituencies shall be large enough, to return several members each. (2) That, although there are several members to elect, each elector %hall have only one vote which he will give to the candidate he likes best. (3) That this single vote shall, in certain contingencies, be transferable from one candidate to another, the transfer being controlled by the elector. '..,•:. . Why Constituencies Returning Several members ? —When a constituency returns only one member, the representation cannot be divided. It necessarily falls to a single party. The other citizens cannot have representation. But with constituencies returning several members it is possible to give representation within each electoral area to more than one party.' • Why a Single Vote —The single vote enables a coherent body of electors of reasonable size to obtain representation. Suppose that in a constituency which returns five members 10,000 electors go to the poll. As each elector has only one vote, only 10,000 votes can be recorded, and if a group consisting of 2000 electors all vote for one and the same candidate they can secure his return. For" only five, candidates can each obtain 2000 votes out of a total of 10,000. In other words, with the single vote, one-fifth of the electors can get one-fifth of the representation. Why is the Vote Made Transferable?—The vote is made transferable in order to secure proportional representation. The single vote by itself does not do this, it does not do • more than allow minorities to secure some representation. The single transferable vote, however, ensures that the majority and the minority parties shall each receive their fair share of the representation .

For consider the conditions under which the elector will record his vote. The elector when entering the polling booth will not know whether his favorite will receive more support than he requires. He will not know whether he will receive so little as to have no chance of election. In these circumstances a popular candidate of any party may receive, say, 3000 votes when he needs only 2000. The votes given in excess would be lost to his party. Or again, a party may have scattered its "votes over too many candidates and might lose the representation which it otherwise would gain. .■ \ ■•-_ The transferable vote provides against both these contingencies. It enables the elector to indicate his second choice (and even further choices), to whom his vote can be transferred(l) when his first choice has more votes than he requires; or (2) when, after all surplus votes have been transferred, the elector's first choice is at the bottom of the poll. Thus the transferable vote, whilst preserving the secrecy of the ballot, allows the electors to combine ijjrto groups of equal size. If a party contains three such groups it will win three seats; if a party contains only two such groups it will obtain two seats. Proportional representation is secured.What has the Elector to do —The elector votes by placing the figure 1 against the name of the candidate he likes best. He need .do no more; his ballot paper will be valid. He is advised, however, to indicate his further preferences by placing r the figures -3, etc., against the names of ■•" the other candidates whom she would also desire to see elected. ;i marking of preferences will ensure . the vote being used. v" Nothing is

gained by “plumping,” as " the nexts paragraph, will eHovfj r -n> How are the Successful' : Candidates Chosen ?—The elector’s vote is credited 'by. the returning officer to the - candidate whom the elector has marked with the figure lEvery candidate, who obtains a certain proportion of votes (this proportion is called the Quota) is elected. If a candidate has obtained more than a quota of votes the Returning Officer carries forward the surplus votes to those candidates marked on the ballot papers by the voters as their next preference. If a second-choice candidate does not need the vote the Returning Officer transfers it to the third choice and so on, The votes transferred to a candidate are added to the votes originally obtained by him, and whenever a candidate’s total reaches the quota he is elected. After all surplus votes have been transferred there may still remain vacancies to be filled* In that case the candidate at the bottom of the poll is declared defeated, and his votes, instead of being wasted, are transferred to those candidates who are marked on his ballot papers as the voters’ next choice. Again the votes transferred to candidates are added to the votes already obtained by them, and whenever a candidate’s total is equal to the quota he is declared elected. In this way each quota of electors obtains one representative. In building up these quotas the Returning Officer is guided always by the wishes expressed by the electors on their ballot papers. The first choice has first claim on the vote and retains it if he can make use of it; "plumping” does not benefit him.

How is the "Quota" Ascertained?—The "Quota" is that portion of the votes which for a certainty secures the election of a candidate. If there is only one candidate to be elected, it is quite clear that the quota is one more than half of the votes, for no other candidate can obtain this number. For instance, the candidate who obtains 51 out of 100 votes in a single-member constituency is sure of election. Similarly, in a twomember constituency any candidate who obtains more than one-third of the votes must be elected. The quota in this case would be one more than a third. Tf there are 100 votes, only two candidates can poll as many as 34 each. Together they will have 68 votes, leaving only 32 votes for all their competitors. Similarly in a three-member constituency, the candidate who obtains more than one-fourth (26 out of 100) is sure of election ; in a four-member constituency, one more than a fifth, and so on. In general terms, the quota is found by dividing the total number of votes polled by one more than the number of seats and by adding one to the result so obtained.

How are Surplus Votes Transferred ?Every transfer of surplus votes' is carried out in such a way as to do even justice to all candidates who are marked as the' next preferences on the papers of the successful candidate.

Suppose in an election a popular candidate A obtains 3000 papers when he only requires 2000 papers. He will be able to spare 1000 or one-third of the whole of the papers on which he has been marked with the figure "1." The Returning Officer re-sorts all the 3000 papers according to the names marked "2." Suppose the result is that

Candidate B is marked "2" on 2,400 papers, and Candidate Cis marked "2" on 600 papers. Candidate A can spare one-third of all-his 3000 votes. He can therefore spare to B one-third of the 2400 of his papers on which B is marked as second preferencei.e., 800. He can similarly spare to «C one-third of the 600 on which C is second preference i.e., 200. . ',— -

Accordingly, 800 votes are transferred to B and 200 to C; each gets his fair share of the surplus. Does the Scheme Work Easily and Fairly in Practice ?—There have been no practical difficulties in applying proportional representation in any of the many parts of the world in r which it is in operation." The elector's task is quite simple. Returning Officers have always made a ; point of executing their duties with accuracy v and dispatch, ? As soon as the principle is

carried into law it 1 becomes the duty of the press, candidates, agents, returning officers, ': to set forth simply : and: clearly 'what is required ',■) and t practical experience shows that this is The results are always fair. Every quota of voters elects a representative.' Proportional.. Representation;, gives freedom of choice to electors, it does justice to all parties, and t will / : } yield a House of Commons which will be a true expression of public opinion on the main issues of a '■;''■■ General Election. It encourages leadership, it calls forth clear statements of policy.