How your ballots are counted

This guide explains how each method works — yes/no, FPTP, preference (ranked choice), score, and cumulative — so you can run fair elections with confidence.

Standard binary voting for resolutions and approvals.

  • Yes/No: Direct support or opposition.
  • Abstain: Records your presence without taking a side.
  • Calculation: Results are calculated as percentages of the total votes cast for each option.

A system used for choosing a single individual from a list.

  • Choice: Voters select exactly one candidate.
  • Winner: The candidate with the highest number of individual votes is elected.
Handling Tie Votes

If multiple candidates receive the exact same highest number of votes, the election is considered a draw. In this event, the Admin is encouraged to create a new "First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)" motion consisting only of the tied candidates and run a secondary runoff election to determine a clear winner.

Uses the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system with the Droop quota so multiple winners can be elected in one count.

Setup:
  • Valid ballot: Must include a first preference (rank 1). Partial rankings are allowed. Duplicate ranks or missing rank 1 make a ballot informal.
  • Quota: floor(N ÷ (n + 1)) + 1, where N = valid ballots and n = seats.
  • Weighted votes: Each ballot starts at transfer value 1.0. Tallies are sums of transfer values, not simple head counts.
The Round-by-Round Process:
  1. Initial Count: Distribute all valid ballots to first preferences.
  2. Election: Any continuing candidate with tally ≥ quota is elected. Multiple candidates can be elected in the same round.
  3. Surplus transfer: For each elected candidate with surplus votes, redistribute ballots at a reduced transfer value: current value × (surplus ÷ tally). Process the largest surplus first, then re-check for further elections.
  4. Elimination: If no one reaches the quota, eliminate the lowest tally and transfer ballots at unchanged transfer value.
  5. Exhausted ballots: If no further continuing preferences remain, the ballot is set aside.
Tie-Break Logic:
  • Elimination tie: Compare earlier-round tallies; if still tied at every round, decide by lot.
  • Surplus order tie: Prefer the candidate with the larger tally at election; if still tied, decide by lot.
When counting stops:

All seats are filled, or the number of continuing candidates equals unfilled seats (all remaining are elected), or no further transfers are possible.

Voters assign a numerical value to each candidate (e.g., 0–10), allowing for highly expressive preferences.

The Process:
  • Scoring: Assign a score to each option; higher numbers indicate stronger support.
  • The Tally: The system calculates the total score for each candidate.
  • Winner: The candidate with the highest total score is declared the winner.
Detailed Tie-Break Logic:

If two or more candidates have the same total score, the system performs an individual vote audit:

  1. High-Point Priority: The system identifies the highest possible score on the scale and compares how many votes each tied candidate received at that specific level.
  2. Step-Down Comparison: If the number of votes at the maximum level is equal, the system proceeds to compare counts for the next highest point level (e.g., if the max is 10, it checks 10s, then 9s, then 8s, and so on).
  3. Determination: The first candidate found to have a higher count of votes at a specific point level wins the tie-break.
Absolute Deadlock

If candidates have identical scores across all point levels, the Admin is encouraged to run a new election (using First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) or Preference Voting) specifically for the remaining tied candidates to ensure a final decision.

Voters are given a fixed "budget" of points (e.g., 10 points) to distribute among candidates however they choose.

The Process:
  • Point Allocation: Voters can give all their points to one candidate ("bullet voting") or split them (e.g., 5 to one, 3 to another, 2 to a third).
  • The Tally: The system sums all points received by each candidate across all ballots.
  • Winners: The candidates with the highest total point counts are elected, based on the number of seats available.
Tie-Break Logic:

In the event of a tie for the final seat, the system follows the same individual vote audit as Score Voting:

  1. High-Point Priority: The system identifies the maximum points a single voter assigned to a candidate and compares who received more of those high-value "concentrated" votes.
  2. Step-Down Comparison: If still tied, the system checks lower point values sequentially until the tie is broken.
Absolute Deadlock

If candidates have identical point distributions, the Admin is encouraged to run a new election (using First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) or Preference Voting) for the remaining candidates.