GLOSSARY

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Absolute majority see majority.
AMS (additional member system) a partially proportional electoral system based on one single preference vote and two counts, the first count is under FPP, the second is by PR-list; see also MMP.
Anti-plurality Instead of voters casting one vote (of one preference) for their most favoured option or candidate, as in plurality voting and FPP, they cast one vote for their least favoured. In plurality voting, the winner is that which gets the highest score; in anti-plurality voting, it is the other way round.
Approval voting a voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election. The voter votes for as many options/candidates as he/she wishes; each 'approval' has the same value, and the option/candidate with the most wins.
AV (alternative vote) A preferential voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election. The voters vote 1, 2, 3... for their 1st/2nd/3rd... preferences; if in the count no option/candidate gets (50% + 1) 1st preferences, the least popular option/candidate is eliminated and its votes are transferred according to its voters' 2nd preferences. The process continues until an option/candidate gets or exceeds 50% + 1. See also PR-STV.
Average preference rating When all concerned submit a full ballot, an option's/candidate's average preference is the average of all the preferences cast in its favour. If 50% of the voters give option B their 3rd preference while the other 50% give B their 4th preference, then B will get an average preference rating of 3½.
BC, Borda count The Borda count, points or rankings system, is a preferential voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a non-PR election, though it is more suitable in the former mode; (for its application to PR electoral systems, see QBS).

Where there is a choice of n-options/candidates, the voters vote 1, 2, 3... for their 1st/2nd/3rd... preferences. A 1st preferences gets n points, a 2nd preference gets n-1 points, a 3rd preference gets n-2 points, and so on. The winner is the option/candidate with the most points. See also MBC.
Binary decision-making is where every decision is based on a two-option, for-or-against choice, or a series of such majority votes.
Citizens' initiative a mechanism whereby a minimum number of citizens can demand a referendum on a topic of their own choosing.
Coalition, majority a coming together of some parliamentary parties to form a government which then commands a simple majority in that parliament.
all-party a power-sharing government involving all the main parliamentary parties.
grand a majority coalition involving the two biggest parties.
Composite A composite policy is an amalgam based on two or more policies.
Condorcet A Condorcet count or pairings vote is a preferential voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election. The voter casts his/her preference on all options/candidates; in the count, pairs are examined separately and, in let us say a three-option contest, if A is more popular than B and if A is more popular than C then A shall be the Condorcet winner. See also paradox of voting.
Consensor In consensus decision-making, the chair or facilitator is assisted by a team of impartial consensors who recommend which voting mechanisms if any are to be used, and which options are to be included on any relevant ballot paper.
Consensus coefficient

If SA is the MBC score of option A, if V is the valid vote, and if n is the number of options/candidates to be voted on, the consensus coefficient CA is defined as SA/V.n. In other words, the consensus coefficient is the MBC score divided by the maximum possible score; and it varies from good to bad, from 1 to zero.

Consensus, verbal an agreement, usually taken after lengthy discussions and after all concerned have agreed to a compromise;
votal an agreement, usually taken when all concerned (a) accept the principle of compromise and (b) identify that compromise via a suitable multi-option vote such as an MBC.
Consociationalism a form of government where majority votes are taken by two or more electorates voting simultaneously, and where decisions are taken if majorities in both or all communities give their assent: from both unionist and nationalist (Northern Ireland); from both Fleming and Walloon (Belgium); from all three Catholic, Moslem and Orthodox (Bosnia), and so on.
Constituency A non-PR electoral system is used in a single-seat constituency, a geographical area represented by just one elected representative. In a multi-member constituency, a PR (or even a non-PR) electoral system may be used to elect two or more representatives. The word 'constituency' may also be used in a non-geographical sense, to describe a particular group of people who, inter alia, relate to one or more representative.
Cycle see paradox of voting.
Democracy in theory, rule by the people, demos. It can be direct, as it was, for some, in ancient Greece; or it can be indirect, via a parliament of elected representatives.
consensual non-majoritarian; rule by as many representatives, of all political parties and none, as is feasible;
consociational rule by an 'inter-ethnic' and/or 'cross-community' majority coalition;
majoritarian rule by a group which has the support of a majority.
d'Hondt see divisor system.
Divisor system a rule of thumb for allocating seats according to party strengths; (see also quotas). Every party's vote total is divided by a prescribed set of divisors to give a series of descending scores. Seats are awarded to the parties with the highest resulting scores.
Different sets of divisors give marginally different results:
d'Hondt 1 2 3 4 ......
St. Laguë 1 3 5 7 ......
modified St. Laguë 1.4 3 5 7 ......
Droop see quota.
Electorate All those eligible to vote.
FPP (first-past-the-post) a non-preferential non-PR electoral system where the voter casts one 'x' only. FPP elections with just two candidates are majority votes, with three or more candidates they are plurality votes.
Franchise or suffrage: the right to vote in public elections.
Hare see quota.
Irrelevant alternative An option, B, is said to be ‘irrelevant’ if all the voters prefer at least one other named option. In other words, if literally everyone thinks option D, say, is better than option B, then B may be regarded as irrelevant.
Majoritarianism the belief in and/or practice of majority rule.
Majority (see also coalition)
absolute 50% or more,
consociational see consociationalism,
qualified this is used in the EU, where different countries have different numbers of votes and where the result depends on a certain weighting,
relative/simple may be only the biggest minority,
weighted 2/3rds or some such other ratio greater than ½.
Majority rule a form of democracy based on decision-making by majority vote.
Majority vote Majority voting can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election if there are only two options/candidates, the option/candidate with the majority of the votes is the winner. See also plurality and FPP.
Matrix vote a PR electoral system by which an electorate can elect a fixed number of persons to form a team - a government or an executive committee, for example - consisting of persons with different positions or portfolios.
MBC, (modified Borda count) a preferential voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election. It differs from the Borda points system in that it allows for partial voting, as follows: if someone casts preferences for all n options/candidates, points are awarded as in a Borda points system: n, n-1, n-2 etc.; if, however, the voter votes for only m options/candidates, points awarded will be m, m-1, m-2, etc.

Accordingly, in a 5-option ballot, he who votes for only 1 option gives his favourite only 1 point; she who votes for 2 options gives her favourite 2 points and her second choice 1 point; and so on; so he who votes for all 5 options gives his favourite the full 5 points, his second choice 4 points, and so on.

See also consensus coefficient.

MMP (multiple-member proportional) a non-preferential PR electoral system based on two votes and two counts, the first under FPP, the second, PR-list; see also AMS.
modified St. Laguë See divisors.
multi-member See constituency.
Nanson's method Aware of the weaknesses of both a BC (the irrelevant alternative) and of a Condorcet count (the paradox of voting), Nanson proposed a series of BC votes, with all options below the average Borda score being eliminated, before a further BC is initiated. The eventual winner will be the Condorcet winner, if indeed one exists.
pairings See Condorcet.
paradox of voting (also known as a cycle) the situation which can occur in binary or Condorcet voting on more than two options/candidates, when there are more than two voters with more than two opinions and in which, for example, A is found to be more popular than B, B more popular than C, and C more popular than A. This can be written either as:
A > B, B > C and C > A
or as
A > B > C > A > ...
The same sort of thing can happen in sport, which can also be a binary decision-making process. If Wales beats England, England beats Scotland, and Scotland beats Wales, then no-one knows who is the champion... except the Irish.
partial vote See MBC.
patronage The word applies to those instances when a Party leadership appoints persons to positions of power and/or prestige, often in return for ‘loyalty' or other ‘favours'.
plebiscite is usually a referendum on the topic of national sovereignty.
plural society one in which there are two or more ethnic or religious groups.
plurality the largest minority.
plurality voting

Plurality voting may be used in decision-making and/or a (non-PR) election, if and when there are three or more (a plurality of) options/candidates.

As in majority voting, the voter casts an 'x' for one option/candidate only. The option/candidate with the most votes wins, even if it does not receive an absolute majority of the votes but only the largest minority, a plurality. See majority vote and FPP; see also Borda.

positional voting procedure a vote involving a single preference only.
PR (proportional representation) An electoral system which tries to ensure party candidates (and sometimes independents) are elected in proportion to the number of votes gained. PR electoral systems are used in multi-member constituencies.
preference rating see average preference rating.
preference voting a term used to describe those electoral and decision-making voting procedures in which the voter expresses a 1st preference and may also express a 2nd and subsequent preferences.
preferendum (Borda) A modified Borda count or MBC.
PR-list In PR-list elections, each party "lists" its candidates in its own order of priority. Seats are awarded to parties on the basis of a divisor or quota system and, if party X wins n seats, then either the first n names from the top of the list (closed list) and/or the n most popular candidates (open list), are deemed elected.
closed a non-preferential electoral system in which voters vote for one party only.
open in the three main types of open non-preferential PR-list electoral systems, the electorate chooses:
i) either one party or one candidate of that party,
ii) one or more candidates of one party only,
iii) one or more candidates of one or more parties.
profile a voter's profile is their particular set of 1st and subsequent preferences cast.
PR-STV (PR - single transferable vote)

a preferential electoral system based on AV, though instead of being set at 50% + 1, the quota is smaller, and transfers take place, not only from candidates eliminated, but also from those elected with a surplus over and above the quota. PR-STV constituencies usually have from 3 to 6 elected representatives.

As a rough guide,

in a 2-seater constituency, the quota is 33% + 1;
in a 3-seater constituency, the quota is 25% + 1;
and in a 4-seater constituency, the quota is 20% + 1.
QBS (Quota Borda system) a preferential PR electoral system which is based on both a quota and an MBC. In a multi-member constituency electing four representatives, for example, then, in Part I of the count any candidate gaining the quota is elected; and any pair of candidates getting two quotas is elected. (Any candidate elected in Part I is not counted in any further calculations.)

Next, in Part II of the count: any pair of candidates gaining one quota is also 'elected', the seat going to the candidate with the higher MBC score; and if seats are still to be filled, they are awarded to those candidates with the highest MBC scores.

Qualified majority see majority.
Quorum a minimum number or percentage required for a sitting to be valid.
Quota a specified number of votes which, if attained, ensures the election of the candidate concerned; the most common quotas are the Hare (which is defined as the valid vote divided by the number of seats), and the Droop (which divides the valid vote by the number of seats plus one). (See also divisor systems.)
Rankings see Borda count.
Referendum usually a two-option majority but sometimes a multi-option plurality or two-round vote by which the electorate may ‘decide’ a matter of policy. See also plebiscite.
St. Laguë see divisors.
Serial voting a decision-making voting mechanism in which options are placed in order, from, let us say, left-wing to right-wing; a majority vote is taken between the two extremes and the loser is eliminated; a second vote is taken between the winner and its new extreme opposite; and the process continues until there is just one overall winner.
Sincere voting In any voting procedure, a voter is said to vote sincerely when s/he votes for those options/candidates she considers to be the best, without taking any tactical considerations into account.
Single-peaked preferences A voter's preferences are said to be single-peaked when the options are laid out on, say, a left-right axis and when his/her second and subsequent preferences lie in descending order to one side and/or the other of the first preference.
STV (single transferable vote) another name for AV (alternative vote); see also PR-STV.
Suffrage See franchise.
Tabular voting A tabular voting procedure enables the voter to express his/her preferences according to two criteria simultaneously. The relevant ballot paper, a table, consists of two axes and, in a matrix vote, while one axis indicates ministerial positions, the other relates to the candidates and the voter's order of preferences.
Tactical voting In any voting procedure, a voter is said to vote tactically (as opposed to sincerely) when, instead of voting for his/her preferred option or candidate, he chooses the option or candidate that may result in what he judges in the circumstances to be his best possible outcome.
Threshold The threshold of an electoral system is the minimum percentage of votes required for a candidate to be elected; this is usually the logical consequence of the specific mathematics of the electoral system concerned, but there can also be a laid-down minimum of, say, 5%, as in Germany.
Top-up A top-up is the second part of an election count, applicable to some electoral systems like AMS, in which votes are counted in a different way and/or in a bigger constituency, to ensure a greater degree of overall proportionality.
Turnout the number of people who, literally, turn out to vote; it is normally expressed as a percentage of the total electorate.
Two-round voting a voting mechanism which can be used in decision-making or in a (non-PR) election. The first round is a plurality vote, and the second round is a majority vote between the two leading options/candidates from the first round.
Two-tier electoral systems These consist of two parts, with one election (which may be PR) in small constituency, and a second election or top-up (which must be PR) in larger regional or national constituencies.
Valid vote the number of voters deemed to have handed in a proper, valid vote; this figure equals the turnout minus the invalid vote.
Veto the power to prevent legislation, as in a presidential veto, or to render a majority vote inoperable; in 2/3rds weighted majority voting, a substantial minority of over 33% may also exercise a veto
Weighted voting see majority.
Whip A party whip is an instruction from the leadership to its elected representatives to vote in a certain way. The term ‘whip' may also apply to the party functionary who issues such orders. And those who fail to obey may, as a result, lose the party whip... and thus their careers!
Win-win decision A win-win decision is one in which (nearly) everybody wins something but nobody wins everything. It is the opposite of a zero-sum decision.
Zero-sum decision In a zero-sum decision, voters are in a win-or-lose situation: some win everything they want, and others lose everything.