The Alternative Vote
The nutshell
With the Alternative Vote, each voter ranks the candidates in order of choice. If nobody wins more than half at first, the last-placed candidate drops out and those votes move on. This keeps going until one candidate has more than half.
Everything on this page comes from official election rules and counts. Every source tag — like EC — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
How it works
The Alternative Vote, or AV, is a way of voting by ranking. Instead of one X, each voter numbers the candidates in order of choice. A 1 goes by the favourite, a 2 by the next choice, and on down the list.ERS
Counting the votes
First, the count adds up every first choice. If one candidate has more than half of these votes, that candidate wins the seat at once.
If no candidate has more than half, the candidate in last place drops out. Each of those ballots then moves to its next choice still in the race. The count runs again. This carries on, round after round, until one candidate passes half the votes.ERS
One MP per area
Like First Past the Post, AV fills one seat at a time. Each constituency — the local area an MP represents — still sends just one MP to Parliament.ECBecause seats are won one by one, AV is not a proportional system. The share of seats a party wins need not match its share of votes.ERS
The 2011 referendum
In 2011 the UK held a referendum — a public vote on a single question — on switching from First Past the Post to AV for general elections. About 68% voted No, so First Past the Post stayed. Turnout was about 42%.HoC
- The winner needs more than half the votes
- Voters rank the field, not just pick one
- Fewer votes feel wasted
- Counting takes longer than one X
- Each area still gets only one MP
- It is not proportional, so seats need not match votes
The deep end6 min
The mechanism in full
AV is a ranked, single-winner system. A voter can rank every candidate or just a few. A candidate who holds more than half of first-preference votes is elected at once. Where no candidate reaches that mark, the lowest-placed candidate is excluded and each of those ballots transfers to its highest remaining preference. The rounds repeat until one candidate holds more than half of the votes still in play.ERSAn official guide published before the 2011 referendum set out this method next to First Past the Post.GOV
Not a proportional system
AV keeps single-member constituencies, so each seat still returns one MP.EC That makes AV a majoritarian system rather than a proportional one. The Electoral Reform Society, which campaigns to change the voting system, states that AV is not a form of proportional representation. The mechanics here were checked against neutral guides and match.ERS
The 2011 referendum
The referendum on 5 May 2011 asked whether to replace First Past the Post with AV for elections to the House of Commons. The result was 67.9% No and 32.1% Yes, on a turnout of about 42%. The No side led in every region of the UK. The House of Commons Library recorded the figures.HoC
Where ranked voting is used
Ranked, preferential voting like AV is used in some other elections. Examples include certain party leadership contests and single-winner elections in other countries. Any comparison depends on the exact rules each contest uses.ERS