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Winner-take-all system

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A winner-take-all electoral system is one where a voting bloc can win all seats in a legislature or electoral district, denying representation to any political minorities. Such systems are used in many major democracies. Such systems are sometimes called "majoritarian representation", though this term is a misnomer, as most such systems do not always elect majority preferred candidates and can allow parties to take a majority of seats with a minority of the vote.

Any election with only a single seat is a winner-take-all system (as it is impossible for the winner to take less than one seat). As a result, legislatures elected by single-member districts are often described as using "winner-take-all". However, winner-take-all systems do not necessarily mean the majority of voters are represented properly. A minority of voters across the country may take all the seats; a minority of votes cast in a district may elect all the winners in a district. Conversely, a party with just a sliver of votes in a country-wide sense may have local dominance and take a seat in a particular constituency.

Definition and types

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Pie charts plurality (left) and majority (right)

Formally, a voting system is called winner-take-all if a majority of voters, by coordinating, can force all seats up for election in their district, denying representation to all minorities. By definition, all single-winner voting systems are winner-take-all. For multi-winner elections, the electorate can be divided into constituencies, such as single-member districts (SMDs), or the election can be held using block voting with at-large or multi-member districts.

Majoritarian representation does not mean the party with a plurality or majority always receive a majority of seats, which is not always guaranteed (see hung parliament). Sometimes the party receiving the most votes gets fewer seats than the party with the second most votes (see electoral inversion).

Popular vote and proportional representation
Party A B C D If the assembly were elected using an at-large (nationwide) party-list proportional representation, the number of seats won by each party would correspond to their share of the popular vote.
Popular vote 44% 40% 10% 6%
Seats 44 40 10 6
Winner-take-all systems
Electoral system Party Seat distribution Explanation of example
A B C D
Block voting 100 0 0 0 If the whole assembly is elected in a single (nationwide) constituency under party block voting using block FPP, the party with the highest number of votes always can win all the seats, as long as it does not run too many candidates who split the vote.
Single-member district 64 33 0 3 If the assembly is elected in single-member districts using the first-past-the-post (single-member plurality) method, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins (the only) seat in their district. Often, the party with the highest number of votes wins in a landslide as shown here, but electoral inversion is still possible, as well as the case where no party receives an outright majority of seats (called a hung parliament in the UK).

The principle of majoritarian democracy does not necessarily imply that a winner-take-all electoral system needs to be used, in fact, using proportional systems to elect legislature usually better serve this principle as such aims to ensures that the legislature accurately reflects the whole population, not just the winners of the election and the majority rule is then used within the legislature. The most widely accepted modern views of representative democracy no longer consider winner-take-all representation to be democratic. For this reason, nowadays winner-take-all representation is most often used in single-winner districts, which allows nationwide minorities to gain representation if they make up a plurality or majority in at least one district, but some also consider this anti-democratic because of the possibility of an electoral inversion (like in the case of some US presidential elections: 2000, 2016).

Winner-take-all and proportional systems are the most commonly used voting system worldwide, followed by mixed electoral systems, which usually combine winner-take-all and proportional representation, although there are mixed system that combine two winner-take-all systems as well. Winner-take-all representation is also contrasted with proportional representation, which provides for representation of political minorities according to their share of the popular vote and semi-proportional representation, which inherently provides for some representation of minorities (at least above a certain threshold). Within mixed systems, mixed-member majoritarian representation (also known as parallel voting) provides semi-proportional representation, as opposed to mixed-member proportional systems.

At-large winner-take-all representation

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Historically the first multi-winner electoral systems were winner-take-all elections held at-large, or more generally the multiple non-transferable vote.[citation needed]

Decline

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Until the first half of the 19th century, the classic winner-take-all system of block voting began to be more and more criticized. This introduced in two senses:

The version of block voting using electoral lists instead of individual candidates (general ticket or party block voting) was almost completely replaced by party-list proportional voting systems, which fully abandon the winner-take-all ideal in favor of equal representation. However, with the majority bonus or majority jackpot types of mixed system, this type of winner-take-most system has partially reappeared in certain electoral systems.

Winner-take-all districts

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Winner-take-all representation using single-winner districts is the most common form of pure winner-take-all systems today, with the most common being single-member plurality (SMP).

However, due to high disproportionalities, it is also considered undemocratic by many.[who?] In Europe only Belarus and the United Kingdom use FPTP/SMP to elect the primary (lower) chamber of their legislature and France uses a two-round system (TRS). All other European countries either use proportional representation or use winner-take-all representation as part of a mixed-member winner-take-all system (Andorra, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine) or a mixed-member proportional system (Germany). However, other European countries also occasionally use winner-take-all systems (apart from single-winner elections, like presidential or mayoral elections) for elections to the secondary chamber (upper house) of their legislature (Poland) and sub-national (local and regional) elections.

Winner-take-all system are much more common outside Europe, particularly in the countries of the former British Empire, like Australia (IRV), Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the United States (FPTP/SMP).

Nowadays, at-large winner-take-all representation is used for national elections only in the Senate of the Philippines, while it is sometimes still used for local elections organised on non-partisan bases. Residual usage in several multi-member constituencies is reduced to the election of the Electoral college of the President of the United States. Block voting is also used to elect a part of the assemblies in the regional elections in Italy and France.

Countries using winner-take-all rules

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Lower (or only) house of legislature chambers Upper house of legislature chambers (where applicable)
Single-member constituencies: Other
  First past the post (FPTP/SMP)
  Varies by federal states or constituencies
  No direct election
  No information
Multi-member constituencies:
  Block voting (BV) or mixed FPTP/SMP + BV
  Party block voting / General ticket (PBV) or mixed (FPTP/SMP + PBV) or (FPTP/SMP + majority jackpot)

Below is a table of winner-take-all systems currently used on a national level.[1][2] Single-winner elections (presidential elections) and mixed systems are not included, see List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.

Key:

  • Legislative body
    • Light blue background indicates upper houses of bicameral legislatures, in countries where such a chamber exists, the (usually more important) lower house might be elected with a winner-take-all system as well (in which case it is also in the list) or in might be elected with a different system, in which case (the lower house) is not included in the list. See List of electoral systems by country for full list of electoral systems.
    • Light turquoise background indicates an electoral college elected by a winner-take-all system, instead of a chamber of legislature.
  • Latest election (year), in most cases this election was held under the electoral system indicated, however if the next election is already scheduled to be held under a different system, the new system is indicated and the former system is listed under Notes.
  • Type of winner-take-all system may be
    • block voting at-large
    • block voting via multi-member districts or coexistence of multi-member districts and single-winner districts
    • single-winner districts
    • or varies by state if different states may set their own system in federal countries
  • Constituencies indicates if the electoral districts are equivalent to or based on other administrative divisions of the country

Current use

[edit]
Country Legislative body Latest election (year) System (Seats per

constituency)

Electoral system Total seats Constituencies Governmental system Notes
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 17[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Australia Australia and its external territories House of Representatives 2022 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) 151 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands 2021[citation needed] single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV)[citation needed] 7 electoral districts[citation needed]
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 125 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
The Bahamas Bahamas House of Assembly 2021[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 39[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Bahrain Bahrain Council of Representatives 2018 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 40 electoral districts[citation needed]
Bangladesh Bangladesh House of the Nation (Jatiyo Sangshad) 2018 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 350 (300 directly elected + 50 seats reserved for women) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Barbados Barbados House of Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 30 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Belarus Belarus House of Representatives 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 110 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system Belarus used a two-round system before the 2016 election.
Belize Belize National Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 31[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Bhutan Bhutan National Assembly 2018 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 47
National Council 2018 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 25 (20 directly elected + 5 appointed)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
Botswana Botswana National Assembly 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 63 (57 directly elected + 4 members appointed by the governing party + 2 members ex officio: the President and the Attorney General) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Brazil Brazil Senate 2022 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 or 2 (alternates each election) Plurality block voting (BV) and First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 81 States and the Federal district Presidential system
Cameroon Cameroon National Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-7 Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies,

party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise highest party gets half, rest distributed by largest remainder (Hare quota)

180 electoral districts[citation needed]
Canada Canada House of Commons 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 338 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Central African Republic Central African Republic National Assembly 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 140[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
Chad Chad National Assembly 2011 block voting via multi-winner districts ?[citation needed] Coexistence+conditional supermixed/hybrid:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) party with over 50% of vote gets all seats in multi-member constituencies (party block voting), otherwise List PR (largest remainder, closed list)[3]

188 electoral districts[citation needed]
Comoros Comoros Assembly of the Union 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 33 (24 directly elected + 9 elected by lsland assemblies) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 151[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
Ivory Coast Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and party block voting (PBV) in multi-member districts 255 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Cuba Cuba National Assembly of People's Power 2018 single-winner districts Two-round system (Endorsement of selected candidates) 605[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
Czech Republic Czech Republic Senate 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 27[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Djibouti Djibouti National Assembly 2023 mixed-member 3-28 Fusion / majority jackpot (MBS):

80% of seats (rounded to the nearest integer) in each constituency are awarded to the party receiving the most votes (party block voting), remaining seats are allocated proportionally to other parties receiving over 10% (closed list, D'Hondt method)

65 regions Presidential system
Dominica Dominica House of Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 32 (21 directly elected, 9 appointed + Speaker + 1 ex officio)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic Senate 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 32 31 provinces and the Distrito Nacional Presidential system
Eritrea Eritrea National Assembly never held (postponed since 2001) single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] [citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Eswatini Eswatini House of Assembly 2018 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)[citation needed] 70 (59 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Absolute monarchy
Ethiopia Ethiopia House of People's Representatives 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 547[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
France France and its overseas collectivities and territories France National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 577 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
French Polynesia French Polynesia Assembly 2023 mixed-member 4-17 Two-round majority bonus system (MBS) in multi-member constituencies 57 electoral districts
New Caledonia New Caledonia 2019 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] 54
Gabon Gabon National Assembly 2018 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 143[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
The Gambia Gambia National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 58 (53 directly elected)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Ghana Ghana Parliament 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 275[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Grenada Grenada House of Representatives 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 15 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Haiti Haiti Chamber of Deputies 2021 single-winner districts Modified two-round system (TRS), more than 50% result or more than 25% lead required to win in the first round 99[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
Senate 2021 single-winner districts 10 seats up for electionin each general election Two-round system (TRS) 30 Semi-presidential system
India India House of the People (Lok Sabha) 2024 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 543[4] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-30[citation needed] Modified two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, modified two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (25% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 290 (285 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Assembly of Experts block voting via multi-winner districts 1-16 Plurality block voting (BV) Presidential system
Jamaica Jamaica House of Representatives 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 63[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Kenya Kenya National Assembly 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 350 (337 directly elected + other seats appointed by parties proportional with seats already won or ex officio)[citation needed] 290 electoral districts,[citation needed] 47 seats reserved for women, elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47 counties of Kenya Presidential system
Kiribati Kiribati House of Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-3 Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 46 (44 directly elected + 1 delegate from Banaba Island and 1 ex officio) electoral districts[citation needed] [citation needed]
North Korea Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Supreme People's Assembly 2005 Two-round system (TRS) [citation needed] 687
Laos Laos National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 5-19 Plurality block voting (BV) 164 (149 directly elected)[citation needed] provinces
Liberia Liberia House of Representatives 2017 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 73 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Senate single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Presidential system
Malawi Malawi National Assembly 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 193[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Malaysia Malaysia House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 222 electoral districts within the states and federal territories of Malaysia Parliamentary system
Maldives Maldives People's Majlis 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 87[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Mali Mali National Assembly 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts Two-round block voting (BV) in multi-member districts, two-round system (TRS) in single-member districts (50% of votes required to win in 1st round in every constituency) 147[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed]
Marshall Islands Marshall Islands Legislature 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-5 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member constituencies (19 seats) and Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member constituencies (14 seats) 33 electoral districts[citation needed] [citation needed]
Mauritius Mauritius National Assembly 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts 2-3 Plurality block voting (BV) 70 (62 directly elected + 8 'best losers' appointed) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Federated States of Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia Congress 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Mongolia Mongolia State Great Assembly (Khural) 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-5 Two round plurality block voting (BV) candidates have to get at least 28% of the votes in a district to get elected. If there are unfilled seat, a runoff is held with twice the number of candidates as there are unfilled seats[5] 76 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
Myanmar Myanmar House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 440 (330 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw) 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 224 (168 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
New Zealand Realm of New Zealand (overseas territories) Cook Islands Cook Islands 2022 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 24 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Niue Niue Assembly 2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 (local districts), 6 (nationwide constituency) Parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 14 seats + Plurality block voting 6 seats

20 electoral districts[citation needed]
Tokelau Tokelau 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 22 electoral districts in the 3 villages
Nigeria Nigeria House of Representatives 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 360 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Senate 2023 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 109 3 electoral districts in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory Presidential system
Oman Oman Consultative Assembly 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-2 First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts and Plurality block voting (BV) in two-seat districts 86 electoral districts[citation needed]
Pakistan Pakistan National Assembly 2018 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 60 (seats reserved for women), 10 (seats reserved for religious minorities) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) for 272 seats + 70 members appointed by parties proportional with seats already won 342 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Palau Palau House of Delegates 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 16 single-member constituencies based Presidential system
Senate single-winner districts 13 Plurality block voting (BV) 13 single nationwide constituency Presidential system
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea National Parliament 2022 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) - modified (at most 3 preferences, two tiers) 111 89 elected from "open" seats and 22 from provincial seats based on the twenty provinces Parliamentary system
Philippines Philippines Senate 2022 block voting at-large 12 (alternating elections) Plurality block voting (BV) 24 single nationwide constituency Presidential system
Poland Poland Senate single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 100 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Qatar Qatar Consultative Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 45 (30 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed]
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis National Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 15 (11 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia House of Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 17 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 23 (15 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Samoa Samoa Legislative Assembly (Fono) 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 51 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
San Marino San Marino Grand and General Council 2019 majority jackpot 60 Majority jackpot system (35 seat jackpot) 60 single nationwide constituency Assembly-independent diarchic directorial republic
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Parliament 2018 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 146 (132 directly elected) electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Singapore Singapore Parliament 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts ? First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single member constituencies + party block voting group representation constituencies (PBV) 104 (93 directly elected) single member constituencies (SMCs) and a group representation constituencies (GRCs) Parliamentary system
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands National Parliament 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 50 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Switzerland Switzerland Council of States

All cantons, except:

2023 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-2 One-round (plurality) or two-round (majority) block voting[citation needed] 46 Cantons
Syria Syria People's Council 2020 block voting via multi-winner districts ?[citation needed] Party block voting (PBV) 250 electoral districts[citation needed] Semi-presidential system
Tonga Tonga Legislative Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 26 (17 directly elected) electoral districts in 5 islands and nobility Parliamentary system
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 41 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Assembly 2018 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS)[citation needed] 125 electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system
Tuvalu Tuvalu Parliament 2019 block voting via multi-winner districts 2 Plurality block voting (BV) 16 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Uganda Uganda Parliament 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 529 (499 directly elected) electoral districts, 146 seats reserved for women Presidential system
United Kingdom United Kingdom and its devolved assemblies, Crown Dependencies and British overseas territories United Kingdom House of Commons 2019 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 650 electoral districts Parliamentary system
Anguilla Anguilla House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in local constituencies+ plurality block voting (BV) nationwide 13 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Bermuda Bermuda House of Assembly 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 36 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Parliament 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 19 [citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system Block voting was used before the 2017 election
Falkland Islands Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 3-5 Plurality block voting (BV) 8 Stanley constituency and Camp constituency Parliamentary system
Bermuda Guernsey States of Deliberation 2020 block voting at-large 38 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 38 votes 40 (38 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Isle of Man Isle of Man House of Keys 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 2 Plurality block voting (BV) 24 electoral districts[citation needed] Parliamentary system
Jersey Jersey States Assembly 2018 block voting via multi-winner districts 1-4 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts, Plurality block voting (BV) in multi-member districts seats + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

49 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Montserrat Montserrat Legislative Assembly 2019 block voting at-large 9 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 9 votes 11 (9 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Saint Helena Saint Helena Legislative Council 2021 block voting at-large 12 Plurality block voting, each voter has up to 12 votes 15 (12 directly elected) single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts 1 (local districts), 5 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

21 (15 directly elected + 4 appointed + 2 ex officio) electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands House of Assembly 2019 single-winner districts 1 (local districts), 4 (nationwide constituency) Winner-take-all parallel voting / superposition:

First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in single-member districts + Plurality block voting (BV) nationwide

13 electoral districts[citation needed] and a single nationwide constituency Parliamentary system
United States United States and its territories United States House of Representatives 2020 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states 435 electoral districts within states (congressional districts) Presidential system
Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes)
Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine
United States Senate 2020 single-winner districts 1 (alternating elections) First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) in 45 states 100 states Presidential system
Runoff (RV/TRS) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas (in case, if required for majority votes)
Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) for Alaska (in the second half for its general election) and Maine
United States Electoral College 2020 varies by state 1-55 General ticket in 48 states based on the results of the first-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) and 2 states (Alaska and Maine) based on the results of the Instant-runoff (IRV/RCV) election(s)

Maine and Nebraska use the same method for 2 statewide electors, the remaining electors are chosen in congressional districts

538 states and Washington D.C.(except Maine and Nebraska, where the congressional districts also work as constituencies) Presidential system Alaska has used FPTP in the 2020 election, RCV/IRV will be used first in the next (2024) presidential election.
American Samoa American Samoa single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
Guam Guam single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Legislative Chamber 2020 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) 150 electoral districts[citation needed] second round is also held if turnout is lower than 33%
Vietnam Vietnam National Assembly 2021 block voting via multi-winner districts Two-round block voting system in multi-member constituencies (first round needs more than 50% to get elected, second round uses plurality) 500 electoral districts[citation needed]
Yemen Yemen House of Representatives 2003 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 301 electoral districts[citation needed]
Zambia Zambia National Assembly 2021 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) 167 (156 directly elected + 8 appointed by the President + 3 ex officio)[citation needed] electoral districts[citation needed] Presidential system

Former use

[edit]

Countries that replaced winner-take-all representation before 1990 are not (yet) included.

Country Legislative body Last use System Old System New System Governmental system Notes
Albania Albania 1991 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS)
Algeria Algeria 1991 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Cyprus Cyprus 1981[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Denmark Denmark 1920[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Fiji Fiji 2006 single-winner districts Instant runoff voting (IRV) Party-list proportional representation (List PR) Before 1999, plurality block voting and single member plurality were used
Hong Kong Hong Kong 1998[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP)
Lebanon Lebanon 2012 block voting Block voting[citation needed] Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Lesotho Lesotho 1998 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Mixed-member proportional / additional member system (MMP/AMS)
Malta Malta 1921[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Single transferable vote (STV)
Moldova Moldova 1994 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Morocco Morocco 1993 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Netherlands Netherlands 1917[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
New Zealand New Zealand 1993 single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP)
Portugal Portugal single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
South Africa South Africa 1997[citation needed] single-winner districts First-past-the-post (FPTP/SMP) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)
Togo Togo 2002 single-winner districts Two-round system (TRS) Party-list proportional representation (List PR)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Advanced search | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  2. ^ "Comparative Data —". aceproject.org. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  3. ^ "Le système électoral au Tchad - Comité de Suivi de l'Appel à la Paix et à la Réconciliation" (in French). 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Lok Sabha", Wikipedia, 2024-03-09, retrieved 2024-05-06
  5. ^ Law on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia
    Procedure for Observation and Reporting on the Election of the State Great Hural of Mongolia
    (PDF). 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
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