Two voting
systems are used to elect local councillors and mayors: FPP and STV.
In FPP, voters tick the candidate of their choice, or candidates if one or more councillors are elected from that ward/constituency. It’s what is used in the general election, and by 54 of the 66 councils in New Zealand.
The other 14 councils use STV. Instead
of picking just one candidate, voters rank candidates in order of preference
(1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc.).
To win in the STV system, a
candidate needs to reach a specific number of first preference (#1) votes,
called the "quota."
The quota is calculated based
on the number of votes cast and the number of seats available. In the case of
the mayoralty, there is only one seat available, so the “quota” is half the
votes + 1. In a ward where two candidates are elected, the quota would be a
third of the votes (2 seats available +1).
If five candidates are to be elected, as is the case in the Urban ward, the
quota is 1/6th of the votes cast (5 +1)
The first preference votes are
critical because only the “1”t votes are counted, well, sort of. This
is how the counting works.
Let’s assume five candidates
are contesting one seat (as is the case for the WDC mayoralty).
At the first count (called the
first “iteration”), the “1” preferences are counted for each of the candidates.
If one of the candidates gains more than half of the #1 votes cast (the “quota”
in this example), then, congratulations, they win.
However, with so many candidates
contesting the election, the #1 votes are likely to be shared around, making a
clear winner after the first count very unlikely.
So after the first count, the
candidate with the least number of “1” votes is removed from the race. But
their votes are not thrown in the bin. Instead, their ballot papers are adjusted
to reflect their preferences for the candidates that remain in the race. Because
their 1st preference is now out, their 2nd preference now
becomes their 1st preference, their 3rd preference now becomes
their 2nd preference, 4 becomes 3, and 5 becomes 4.
That done, all of the #1 votes
are counted again (the second iteration) to see if any candidate remaining in
the race reaches the quota. If not, the tail-ender is again removed and the reallocation
and recount is repeated until one candidate reaches the threshold.
This is a simplified example, but it will give you the general idea.
Do I have to rank all
candidates?
No. In the STV system, voters
are not required to rank every candidate on the ballot. You can choose to rank
as many or as few candidates as you want, typically starting with your top
choice (marked as 1) and continuing with 2, 3, and so on for your next
preferences. You could rank only 1 candidate if you choose, but to be valid, it
would have to be a “1”, not a tick.
Your vote will still count for
the candidates you have selected. Some people don’t rank candidates they don’t
want elected.
What
happens if only two candidates are standing?
Ironically,
in the Mangakahi – Maungatapere ward, there are only two candidates standing, so
it is in effect a FPP election with the 1 being used instead of the tick
(putting the second preference is pointless because the candidates with the
most 1s after the first count will be the winner).
Does STV favour any type of
candidate?
STV is preferred by left-wing politicians because the second
preference is thought to favour “diverse groups” promoted by Labour, the Greens
and the Maori Party.
That’s because minority candidates may get a second, third,
or fourth opportunity to be elected if they do not gain enough votes in the
first count to beat candidates who may have more popular appeal and win under an
FPP system. In 2022, the WDC mayoralty was contested by seven candidates, with
the winner receiving just 29% of the vote. The result may have been very
different under STV.
It also tends to favour candidates who attract first, second and third preferences and disadvantage love-them-or-hate-them candidates who polarise an electorate and receive a predominance of 1st and last (or no) preferences.
The change from FPP to STV was controversial. On 23 August 2023, seven councillors reversed a staff recommendation and voted in
favour of a motion moved by Cr Carol Peters to change the voting system to STV.
They did so without giving any advance notice to the other
councillors and without seeking any public input. They were: Crs Nicholas
Connop, Ken Couper, Deborah Harding, Patrick Holmes, Scott McKenzie, Phoenix
Ruka, and Carol Peters. These councillors have been described by another
councillor as the “woke seven”.
Other councillors thought the woke seven had hijacked the
meeting, so a motion to overturn the change and instead give the public the
final say on the matter was put by Cr Marie Olsen. That motion was supported by
Mayor Cocurullo, and Crs Jayne Golightly, Phil Halse, Simon Reid, and Paul
Yovich, but they were again outvoted by the “woke seven”.
Not all councillors are as arrogant as Cr Peters and so. At
last year’s local elections, the Hutt City Council held a referendum which
asked the public whether they preferred STV or FPP.
FPP came out a clear winner with 69% in
favour of FPP and 31% preferring STV. There is nothing to suggest the result
would be any different here in Whangarei, had the council asked the public how
they want to elect their representatives.