Single Transferable Vote
The single transferable vote (STV) is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting in multi-seat organizations or constituencies (voting districts). Under STV, an elector (voter) has a single vote that is initially allocated to their most preferred candidate. Votes are totalled and a quota (the number of votes required to win a seat) derived. If their candidate achieves quota, he/she is elected and in some STV systems any surplus vote is transferred to other candidates in proportion to the voters' stated preferences. If more candidates than seats remain, the bottom candidate is eliminated with his/her votes being transferred to other candidates as determined by the voters' stated preferences. These elections and eliminations, and vote transfers if applicable, continue until there are only as many candidates as there are unfilled seats. The specific method of transferring votes varies in different systems.[1]
The End of Gerrymandering: STV
by FrustratedProgressive Daily Kos December 29, 2015
Gerrymandering and so-called proportional Electoral College schemes work because single-member plurality voting treats the barest plurality and the largest majority in exactly the same way. You don't earn extra seats in Congress by winning a district with 80% instead of 51%, and you don't even have to earn 50% + 1 vote, just more than any other candidate. Democratic voters who find themselves in a suburban or rural district with a Republican majority are unrepresented, and they may as well stay home on Election Day. Likewise, Republican voters in Democratic districts need not bother to vote. Excess votes for sure winners and all votes for sure losers simply don't affect the outcome of the election; they are, in a quite literal sense, wasted.
