Does choice voting help smaller parties like proportional representation?
Choice voting eliminates barriers such as strategic voting, but the standard choice voting model is not proportional. Parties still have to run candidates who can appeal to over half their community. However, choice voting can also work in combination with a “parity vote” or MMP, in which a voter lists a candidate as well as a party. Choice voting is still only used to elect local candidates, but they can be from any party that can win 50% of the votes in an area. A more advanced version of choice voting, fair choice (called a transferable vote by political scientists) can be used by city councils to elect more diverse slates or could be used in other levels of government, but it requires an investment in automated vote counting machines.
Related Questions
- Extremists Doesn’t proportional representation give rise to small extremist parties and allow them a platform for their unpleasant views?
- Does advocacy of proportional representation undercut voting rights strategies using single-seat districts?
- What is the difference between the plurality voting system and proportional representation?
