Voting system
This article is part of the
Politics series
Electoral methods
Single-winner
• Plurality (first-past-the-post)
• Multiple-round systems
• Two round
• Exhaustive ballot
• Preferential systems
• Condorcet criterion
• Condorcet method
• Copeland’s method
• Kemeny-Young method
• Minimax
• Nanson’s method
• Ranked Pairs
• Schulze method
• Bucklin voting
• Coombs’ method
• Instant-runoff
• Contingent vote
• Borda count
• Non-ranking methods
• Approval voting
• Range voting
Multiple-winner
• Proportional representation
• Mixed-member
• Party-list (open · closed)
• D’Hondt method
• Highest averages
• Largest remainder
• Sainte-Laguë method
• Single transferable vote
• CPO-STV
• Schulze STV
• Semi-proportional representation
• Cumulative voting
• Limited voting
• Single non-transferable vote
• Parallel voting
• Non-proportional representation
• Plurality-at-large
• Preferential block voting
Random selection
• Sortition
• Random ballot
Politics portal
A voting system (also referred to as an
electoral system) allows voters to choose
between options, often in an election where
candidates are selected for public office. Vot-
ing can be also used to award prizes, to se-
lect between different plans of action, or by a
computer program to find a solution to a
problem. Voting can be contrasted with con-
sensus decision making and hierarchical or
authoritarian systems.
A voting system contains rules for valid
voting, and how votes are aggregated to yield
a final result. The study of formally defined
voting systems is called voting theory, a
subfield of political science, economics or
mathematics. Voting theory began formally in
the 18th century and many proposals for vot-
ing systems have been made.
Voting systems are either majority rule,
proportional representation or plurality vot-
ing. Given the simplicity of majority rule,
those who are unfamiliar with voting theory
are often surprised that another voting sys-
tem exists, or that "majority rule" systems
can produce results not supported by a ma-
jority. If every