Winner-take-all system

(Redirected from Winner-takes-all voting)

A winner-take-all (or winner-takes-all) electoral system is one where a voting bloc can win all seats in a legislature or electoral district, denying representation to any political minorities. Such systems are used in many major democracies. Such systems are sometimes called "majoritarian representation", though this term is a misnomer, as most such systems do not always elect majority preferred candidates and do not always produce winners who received majority of votes cast in the district, and they allow parties to take a majority of seats in the chamber with just a minority of the vote.

Any election with only a single seat is a winner-take-all system (as it is impossible for the winner to take less than one seat). As a result, legislatures elected by single-member districts are often described as using "winner-take-all". However, winner-take-all systems do not necessarily mean the majority of voters are represented properly. A minority of voters across the country may take all the seats; a minority of votes cast in a district may elect all the winners in a district. Conversely, a party with just a sliver of votes in a country-wide sense may have local dominance and take a seat in a particular constituency, or such an extreme candidate can win even with just a plurality in the district, leaving the majority in the district unrepresented.

Definition and types

edit
 
Pie charts plurality (left) and majority (right)

Formally, a voting system is called winner-take-all if a majority of voters, by coordinating, can force all seats up for election in their district, denying representation to all minorities. By definition, all single-winner voting systems are winner-take-all. For multi-winner elections, the electorate can be divided into constituencies, such as single-member districts (SMDs), or the election can be held using block voting with at-large or multi-member districts.

Majoritarian representation does not mean the party with a plurality or majority always receive a majority of seats, which is not always guaranteed (see hung parliament). Sometimes the party receiving the most votes gets fewer seats than the party with the second most votes (see electoral inversion).

Popular vote and proportional representation
Party A B C D   If the assembly were elected using an at-large (nationwide) party-list proportional representation, the number of seats won by each party would correspond to their share of the popular vote.
Popular vote 44% 40% 10% 6%
Seats 44 40 10 6
Winner-take-all systems
Electoral system Party Seat distribution Explanation of example
A B C D
Block voting 100 0 0 0   If the whole assembly is elected in a single (nationwide) constituency under party block voting using block FPP, the party with the highest number of votes always can win all the seats, as long as it does not run too many candidates who split the vote.
Single-member district 64 33 0 3   If the assembly is elected in single-member districts using the first-past-the-post (single-member plurality) method, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins (the only) seat in their district. Often, the party with the highest number of votes wins in a landslide as shown here, but electoral inversion is still possible, as well as the case where no party receives an outright majority of seats (called a hung parliament in the UK).

The principle of majoritarian democracy does not necessarily imply that a winner-take-all electoral system needs to be used, in fact, using proportional systems to elect legislature usually better serve this principle as such aims to ensures that the legislature accurately reflects the whole population, not just the winners of the election and the majority rule is then used within the legislature. The most widely accepted modern views of representative democracy no longer consider winner-take-all representation to be democratic. For this reason, nowadays winner-take-all representation is most often used in single-winner districts, which allows nationwide minorities to gain representation if they make up a plurality or majority in at least one district, but some also consider this anti-democratic because of the possibility of an electoral inversion (like in the case of some US presidential elections: 2000, 2016).

Winner-take-all and proportional systems are the most commonly used voting system worldwide, followed by mixed electoral systems, which usually combine winner-take-all and proportional representation, although there are mixed system that combine two winner-take-all systems as well. Winner-take-all representation is also contrasted with proportional representation, which provides for representation of political minorities according to their share of the popular vote and semi-proportional representation, which inherently provides for some representation of minorities (at least above a certain threshold). Within mixed systems, mixed-member majoritarian representation (also known as parallel voting) provides semi-proportional representation, as opposed to mixed-member proportional systems.

At-large winner-take-all representation

edit

Historically the first multi-winner electoral systems were winner-take-all elections held at-large, or more generally the multiple non-transferable vote.[citation needed]

Decline

edit

Until the first half of the 19th century, the classic winner-take-all system of block voting began to be more and more criticized. This introduced in two senses:

The version of block voting using electoral lists instead of individual candidates (general ticket or party block voting) was almost completely replaced by party-list proportional voting systems, which fully abandon the winner-take-all ideal in favor of equal representation. However, with the majority bonus or majority jackpot types of mixed system, this type of winner-take-most system has partially reappeared in certain electoral systems.

Winner-take-all districts

edit

Winner-take-all representation using single-winner districts is the most common form of pure winner-take-all systems today, with the most common being single-member plurality (SMP).

However, due to high disproportionalities, it is also considered undemocratic by many.[who?] In Europe only Belarus and the United Kingdom use FPTP/SMP to elect the primary (lower) chamber of their legislature and France uses a two-round system (TRS). All other European countries either use proportional representation or use winner-take-all representation as part of a mixed-member winner-take-all system (Andorra, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine) or a mixed-member proportional system (Germany). However, other European countries also occasionally use winner-take-all systems (apart from single-winner elections, like presidential or mayoral elections) for elections to the secondary chamber (upper house) of their legislature (Poland) and sub-national (local and regional) elections.

Winner-take-all system are much more common outside Europe, particularly in the countries of the former British Empire, like Australia (IRV), Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the United States (FPTP/SMP).

Nowadays, at-large winner-take-all representation is used for national elections only in the Senate of the Philippines, while it is sometimes still used for local elections organised on non-partisan bases. Residual usage in several multi-member constituencies is reduced to the election of the Electoral college of the President of the United States. Block voting is also used to elect a part of the assemblies in the regional elections in Italy and France.

Countries using winner-take-all rules

edit
Lower (or only) house of legislature chambers Upper house of legislature chambers (where applicable)
 
 
Single-member constituencies: Other
  First past the post (FPTP/SMP)
  Varies by federal states or constituencies
  No direct election
  No information
Multi-member constituencies:
  Block voting (BV) or mixed FPTP/SMP + BV
  Party block voting / General ticket (PBV) or mixed (FPTP/SMP + PBV) or (FPTP/SMP + majority jackpot)

Below is a table of winner-take-all systems currently used on a national level.[1][2] Single-winner elections (presidential elections) and mixed systems are not included, see List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.

Key:

  • Legislative body
    • Light blue background indicates upper houses of bicameral legislatures, in countries where such a chamber exists, the (usually more important) lower house might be elected with a winner-take-all system as well (in which case it is also in the list) or in might be elected with a different system, in which case (the lower house) is not included in the list. See List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.
    • Light turquoise background indicates an electoral college elected by a winner-take-all system, instead of a chamber of legislature.
  • Latest election (year), in most cases this election was held under the electoral system indicated, however if the next election is already scheduled to be held under a different system, the new system is indicated and the former system is listed under Notes.
  • Type of winner-take-all system may be
    • block voting at-large
    • block voting via multi-member districts or coexistence of multi-member districts and single-winner districts
    • single-winner districts
    • or varies by state if different states may set their own system in federal countries
  • Constituencies indicates if the electoral districts are equivalent to or based on other administrative divisions of the country

Current use

edit
Country Legislative body Latest election (year) System (Seats per

constituency)

Electoral system Total seats Constituencies Governmental system Notes
  Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 17[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Australia and its external territories House of Representatives 2022 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) 151 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands 2021[citation needed] single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV)[citation needed] 7 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Azerbaijan National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 125 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Bahamas House of Assembly 2021[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 39[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Bahrain Council of Representatives 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 40 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Bangladesh House of the Nation (Jatiyo Sangshad) 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 350 (300 directly elected + 50 seats reserved for women) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Barbados House of Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 30 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Belarus House of Representatives 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 110 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system Belarus used a two-round system before the 2016 election.
  Belize National Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 31[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Bhutan National Assembly 2023–24 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 47
National Council 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 25 (20 directly elected + 5 appointed)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
  Botswana National Assembly 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 63 (57 directly elected + 4 members appointed by the governing party + 2 members ex officio: the President and the Attorney General) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Brazil Senate 2022 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 or 2 (alternates each election) Plurality block voting (BV) and First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 81 States and the Federal district Presidential system
  Cameroon National Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-7 Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies,

party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise highest party gets half, rest distributed by largest remainder (Hare quota)

180 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Canada House of Commons 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 338 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Central African Republic National Assembly 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 140[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
  Chad National Assembly 2024 block voting via multi-winner districts ?[citation needed] Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise List PR (largest remainder, closed list)[3]

188 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Comoros Assembly of the Union 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 33 (24 directly elected + 9 elected by lsland assemblies) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Republic of the Congo National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 151[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
  Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and party block voting (PBV) in multi-member districts 255 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Cuba National Assembly of People's Power 2023 single-winner districts Two-round system (Endorsement of selected candidates) 605[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
  Czech Republic Senate 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 27[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Djibouti National Assembly 2023 mixed-member 3-28 Fusion / majority jackpot (MBS):

80% of seats (rounded to the nearest integer) in each constituency are awarded to the party receiving the most votes (party block voting), remaining seats are allocated proportionally to other parties receiving over 10% (closed list, D'Hondt method)

65 regions Presidential system
  Dominica House of Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 32 (21 directly elected, 9 appointed + Speaker + 1 ex officio)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Dominican Republic Senate 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 32 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional Presidential system
  Eritrea National Assembly never held (postponed since 2001) single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] [citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Eswatini House of Assembly 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 70 (59 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Absolute monarchy
  Ethiopia House of People's Representatives 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 547[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  France and its overseas collectivities and territories   National Assembly 2024 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 577 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
  French Polynesia Assembly 2023 mixed-member 4-17 Two-round majority bonus system (MBS) in multi-member constituencies 57 electoral districts
  New Caledonia 2019 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] 54
  Gabon National Assembly 2018 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 143[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Gambia National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 58 (53 directly elected)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Ghana Parliament 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 275[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Grenada House of Representatives 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 15 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Haiti Chamber of Deputies 2021 single-winner districts Modified two-round system (TRS), more than 50% result or more than 25% lead required to win in the first round 99[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
Senate 2021 single-winner districts 10 seats up for electionin each general election Two-round system (TRS) 30 Semi-presidential system
  India House of the People (Lok Sabha) 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 543[4] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Islamic Republic of Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) 2024 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-30[citation needed] Modified two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, modified two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (25% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 290 (285 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Assembly of Experts block voting via multi-winner districts 1-16 Plurality block voting (BV) Presidential system
  Jamaica House of Representatives 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 63[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Kenya National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 350 (337 directly elected + other seats appointed by parties proportional with seats already won or ex officio)[citation needed] 290 electoral districts,[citation needed] 47 seats reserved for women, elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47 counties of Kenya Presidential system
  Kiribati House of Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-3 Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 46 (44 directly elected + 1 delegate from Banaba Island and 1 ex officio) electoral districts[citation needed] [citation needed]
  Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Supreme People's Assembly 2019 Two-round system (TRS) [citation needed] 687
  Laos National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 5-19 Plurality block voting (BV) 164 (149 directly elected)[citation needed] provinces
  Liberia House of Representatives 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 73 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Senate single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Presidential system
  Malawi National Assembly 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 193[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Malaysia House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 222 electoral districts within the states and federal territories of Malaysia Parliamentary system
  Maldives People's Majlis 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 87[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Mali National Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 147[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
  Marshall Islands Legislature 2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-5 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies (19 seats) and Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member constituencies (14 seats) 33 electoral districts[citation needed] [citation needed]
  Mauritius National Assembly 2024 block voting via multi-winner districts 2-3 Plurality block voting (BV) 70 (62 directly elected + 8 'best losers' appointed) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Federated States of Micronesia Congress 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Mongolia State Great Assembly (Khural) 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-5 Two round plurality block voting (BV) candidates have to get at least 28% of the votes in a district to get elected. If there are unfilled seat, a runoff is held with twice the number of candidates as there are unfilled seats[5] 76 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
  Myanmar House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 440 (330 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 224 (168 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
  Realm of New Zealand (overseas territories)   Cook Islands 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 24 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Niue Assembly 2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 (local districts), 6 (nationwide constituency) Parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 seats + Plurality block voting 6 seats

20 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Tokelau 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 22 electoral districts in the 3 villages
  Nigeria House of Representatives 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 360 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Senate 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 109 3 electoral districts in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory Presidential system
  Oman Consultative Assembly 2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-2 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and Plurality block voting (BV) in two-seat districts 86 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Pakistan National Assembly 2024 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 60 (seats reserved for women), 10 (seats reserved for religious minorities) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) for 272 seats + 70 members appointed by parties proportional with seats already won 342 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Palau House of Delegates 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 16 single-member constituencies based Presidential system
Senate single-winner districts 13 Plurality block voting (BV) 13 single nationwide constituency Presidential system
  Papua New Guinea National Parliament 2022 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) - modified (at most 3 preferences, two tiers) 111 89 elected from "open" seats and 22 from provincial seats based on the twenty provinces Parliamentary system
  Philippines Senate 2022 block voting at-large 12 (alternating elections) Plurality block voting (BV) 24 single nationwide constituency Presidential system
  Poland Senate single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 100 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Qatar Consultative Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 45 (30 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
  Saint Kitts and Nevis National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 15 (11 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Saint Lucia House of Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 17 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 23 (15 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Samoa Legislative Assembly (Fono) 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 51 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  San Marino Grand and General Council 2024 majority jackpot 60 Majority jackpot system (35 seat jackpot) 60 single nationwide constituency Assembly-independent diarchic directorial republic
  Sierra Leone Parliament 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 146 (132 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Singapore Parliament 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts ? First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single member constituencies + party block voting group representation constituencies (PBV) 104 (93 directly elected) single member constituencies (SMCs) and a group representation constituencies (GRCs) Parliamentary system
  Solomon Islands National Parliament 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 50 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Switzerland Council of States

All cantons, except:

2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-2 One-round (plurality) or two-round (majority) block voting[citation needed] 46 Cantons
  Syria People's Council 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts ?[citation needed] Party block voting (PBV) 250 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
  Tonga Legislative Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 26 (17 directly elected) electoral districts in 5 islands and nobility Parliamentary system
  Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 41 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Turkmenistan Assembly 2023 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] 125 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
  Tuvalu Parliament 2024 block voting via multi-winner districts 2 Plurality block voting (BV) 16 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Uganda Parliament 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 529 (499 directly elected) electoral districts, 146 seats reserved for women Presidential system
  United Kingdom and its devolved assemblies, Crown Dependencies and British overseas territories   House of Commons 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 650 electoral districts Parliamentary system
  Anguilla House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in local constituencies+ plurality block voting (BV) nationwide 13 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  Bermuda House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 36 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Cayman Islands Parliament 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 19 [citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system Block voting was used before the 2017 election
  Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 3-5 Plurality block voting (BV) 8 Stanley constituency and Camp constituency Parliamentary system
  Guernsey States of Deliberation 2020 block voting at-large 38 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 38 votes 40 (38 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  Isle of Man House of Keys 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 2 Plurality block voting (BV) 24 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
  Jersey States Assembly 2022 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-4 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts, Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member districts seats + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

49 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  Montserrat Legislative Assembly 2024 block voting at-large 9 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 9 votes 11 (9 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  Saint Helena Legislative Council 2021 block voting at-large 12 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 12 votes 15 (12 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 (local districts), 5 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

21 (15 directly elected + 4 appointed + 2 ex officio) electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  British Virgin Islands House of Assembly 2023 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

13 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
  United States and its territories   House of Representatives 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states 435 electoral districts within states (congressional districts) Presidential system
Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes)
Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine
  Senate 2024 single-winner districts 1 (alternating elections) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states 100 states Presidential system
Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes)
Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine
  Electoral College 2024 varies by state 1-55 General ticket in 48 states based on the results of the first-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) and 2 states (Alaska and Maine) based on the results of the Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) election(s)

Maine and Nebraska use the same method for 2 statewide electors, the remaining electors are chosen in congressional districts

538 states and Washington D.C.(except Maine and Nebraska, where the congressional districts also work as constituencies) Presidential system Alaska has used FPTP in the 2020 election, RCV/IRV will be used first in the next (2024) presidential election.
  American Samoa single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
  Guam single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
  Uzbekistan Legislative Chamber 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 150 electoral districts[citation needed] second round is also held if turnout is lower than 33%
  Vietnam National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts Two-round block voting system in multi-member constituencies (first round needs more than 50% to get elected, second round uses plurality) 500 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Yemen House of Representatives 2003 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 301 electoral districts[citation needed]
  Zambia National Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 167 (156 directly elected + 8 appointed by the President + 3 ex officio)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system

Former use

edit

Countries that replaced winner-take-all representation before 1990 are not (yet) included.

Country Legislative body Last use System Old System New System Governmental system Notes
  Albania 1991 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS)
  Algeria 1991 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Cyprus 1981[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Denmark 1920[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Fiji 2006 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) Party-list proportional representation (List PR) Before 1999, plurality block voting and single member plurality were used
  Hong Kong 1998[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
  Lebanon 2012 block voting Block voting[citation needed] Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Lesotho 1998 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS)
  Malta 1921[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Single transferable vote (STV)
  Moldova 1994 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Morocco 1993 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Netherlands 1917[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  New Zealand 1993 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP)
  Portugal single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  South Africa 1997[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
  Togo 2002 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Advanced search | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  2. ^ "Comparative Data —". aceproject.org. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  3. ^ "Le système électoral au Tchad - Comité de Suivi de l'Appel à la Paix et à la Réconciliation" (in French). 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Lok Sabha", Wikipedia, 2024-03-09, retrieved 2024-05-06
  5. ^ Law on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia
    Procedure for Observation and Reporting on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia
    (PDF). 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
edit