Second Ballot:How It Works

A Life: Downloaded presentation

“Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process.”

-Hillary Clinton

In this presentation...

●You will learn what the two round system called Second Ballot (occasionally Ballotage) means for the voter

●You will find information about the counting

The Voter

● Like First Past The Post, you only make a mark (e.g. a cross) next to the candidate you want to win.

● The ballot paper will normally say what mark you have to make and the candidates will typically be in alphabetical order.

● In the event of a second ballot being needed, your vote in the first will not count. You can make an entirely new choice.

● In the second ballot, you will only be able to choose from the top two candidates from the first round.

Candidate Choice

Alan B'Stard

Jim Hacker

Peter Mannion

Jo Porter X

Second Ballot is from the Plurality family of voting systems that includes AV and FPTP.

One of the more famous examples of it's use is in the French President elections.

The Counting Process● Counting is a simple process in both ballots

● In the first ballot the candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins automatically.

● If no candidate gets over 50%, then there's a second ballot.

● The two candidates with the most votes go to the second ballot.

● The second ballot also has the 'over 50% rule.

● In some situations, if one of the top two doesn't run in the second ballot (rare), then the candidate with the third highest vote total will have a second chance to win.

● In this example, Jo Porter wins.

Candidate Votes

Alan B'Stard 15,891

Jim Hacker 9,879

Peter Mannion 6,897

Jo Porter 17,652

Candidate Votes

Alan B'Stard 16,112

Jo Porter 18,232

You won't necessarily get the same vote total in the second ballot, e.g. some will not vote due to their preferred candidate not being a choice.

Summary

● You need a majority to automatically win in the first round.

● The second ballot system takes longer than many systems.

● There's the potential for increased apathy in the second ballot.

● The electorate's first choice in the first ballot isn't necessarily guaranteed the win.

Summary

● You need a majority to automatically win in the first round.

● The second ballot system takes longer than many systems.

● There's the potential for increased apathy in the second ballot.

● The electorate's first choice in the first ballot isn't necessarily guaranteed the win.