Consultation launched on changing voting system for council elections

A consultation has been launched to consider the possible introduction of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system for local county council elections in Powys.

All councillors in Wales are currently elected using a simple majority system, commonly known as first past the post (FPTP), as used in general elections.

The Single Transferable Vote system is a form of proportional representation designed to allow voters more choice than selecting just one candidate and is the voting system currently used in Scottish council elections as well as the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Rather than one person representing everyone in a small area, larger wards would be created electing a number of councillors.

On election day, voters rank the candidates on their ballot paper. Their favourite as number one, their second favourite number two, and so on.

Voters can rank as many candidates as they like and parties will often stand more than one candidate in each area.

Quota

To get elected, a candidate needs a set amount of votes, known as the quota. The people counting the votes work out the quota based on the number of vacancies and the number of votes cast.

Once the counting has finished, any candidate who has more number ones than the quota is elected. But, rather than ignore extra votes a candidate received after the amount they need to win, these votes move to each voter’s second favourite candidate.

If no one reaches the quota, the least popular candidate is removed and votes allocated to them are moved to their second favourite candidate. This process continues until every seat is filled.

Cllr James Gibson-Watt, Leader and Cabinet Member for an Open and Transparent Powys, said: “In order for the council to consider the change to our voting system, a public consultation on the matter was agreed and the results will help us as a council decide whether or not we introduce the Single Transferable Vote system for our future local elections.

“I urge everybody to have your say, you don’t need to be registered to vote in order to give us your feedback.

“We will use the information from this consultation to decide whether or not to adopt the Single Transferable Vote system for our local elections, from 2027 onwards, by the deadline set out by Welsh Government of 15 November 2024”.

For more details and to take part in the consultation, click here.

Paper copies of the consultation are available to download from the link above or can be picked up from your local library. Please return completed forms to library staff, or scan and email them to [email protected].

The closing date for responses is Monday 30 September 2024.