First-past-the-post system

A first-past-the-post (abbreviated as FPTP, 1stP, 1PTP or FPP) voting method is one in which voters indicate on a ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins, this is explained as winner takes all. First-past-the-post voting is one of several plurality voting methods. It is a common, but not universal, feature of electoral systems with single-member electoral divisions; in fact, first-past-the-post voting is widely practiced in close to one third of the world's countries. Some notable examples include the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Pakistan, India and most of the colonies and protectorates either currently or formerly belonging to these countries.

There is some confusion between highest vote, majority vote and plurality voting methods. All three use a first-past-the-post voting method, but there are subtle differences in the method of execution. First-past-the-post voting is also used in two-round systems and some exhaustive ballots.

First-past-the-post voting methods can be used for single- and multiple-member electoral divisions. In a single-member election, the candidate with the highest number—not necessarily a majority—of votes is elected. The two-round ("runoff") voting method uses a first-past-the-post voting method in each of the two rounds. The first round determines which two candidates will progress to the second, final-round ballot.

In a multiple-member, first-past-the-post ballot, the highest-placed candidates—in order of highest vote, corresponding to the number of positions to be filled—are elected. If there are six vacancies, then the six candidates with the greatest numbers of votes are elected. A multiple-selection ballot, where more than one candidate can be voted for, is also a form of first-past-the-post voting, in which voters are allowed to cast a vote for as many candidates as there are vacant positions; the candidates with the highest number of votes are elected.

The Electoral Reform Society is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which advocates abolishing the first-past-the-post method (FPTP) for all national and local elections. It argues FPTP is "bad for voters, bad for government and bad for democracy". It is the oldest organisation concerned with electoral methods in the world.

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