First past the post

A first-past-the-post (abbreviated FPTP, 1stP, 1PTP or FPP) voting system is one in which voters are required to indicate on the ballot the candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate wins. The first-past-the-post voting method is one of the several plurality voting systems. It is a common, but not universal, feature of voting systems with single-member electoral divisions. The system is widely used in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and India, most of their current and former colonies and protectorates, and a few other countries.

There is some confusion between highest vote, majority vote and plurality voting systems. 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 system 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 first number of candidates – in order of highest vote, corresponding to the number of positions to be filled – are elected. If there are six vacancies, then the first six candidates with the highest vote 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 system (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 systems in the world.

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