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Simple English definitions for legal terms
preferential vote
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A quick definition of preferential vote:
A preferential vote is when a person ranks their choices in order of preference. This type of vote can be transferable or weighted. In transferable voting, a candidate wins if they reach the number of votes needed to win. If no candidate reaches this number, the least-preferred candidate is dropped, and their votes transfer to the next-preferred candidate on each ballot. This process continues until enough candidates reach the threshold or the number of surviving candidates equals the number of representatives still to be elected. A weighted vote is a nontransferable preferential vote whose strength is allocated among the ranked preferences either by the voter or according to a series of fixed weights.
A more thorough explanation:
A preferential vote is a type of vote where the voter ranks the choices in order of preference. This type of vote can be transferable or weighted. In transferable voting, a candidate wins if their first-choice votes reach the number needed to win, or the "threshold." If no candidate reaches the threshold, the least-preferred candidate is dropped and their votes transfer to the next-preferred candidate on each ballot. This process continues until enough candidates reach the threshold or the number of surviving candidates equals the number of representatives still to be elected.
For example, in an election for student council president, a voter may rank the candidates in order of preference: 1) John, 2) Sarah, 3) Michael. If John receives the most first-choice votes but not enough to reach the threshold, then Michael, the least-preferred candidate, is dropped and his votes transfer to the next-preferred candidate on each ballot. If Sarah receives enough transferred votes to reach the threshold, she wins the election.