Preferential voting is a fairer way to choose a winner – it’s not just about who gets the most first-choice votes, but who has the most overall support. Instead of picking just one candidate, you rank them in order of preference.

Here’s how it works:

• You rank the candidates in order of who you like best.
• All first-choice votes are counted.
• If a candidate gets more than half the votes, they win.
• If no one hits 50%, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
• Anyone who voted for that candidate has their vote transferred to their next choice.
• This process repeats until one candidate passes the 50% mark and wins.

This system makes sure the winner is someone who has the broadest support, not just the most first-choice votes. So even if your top pick doesn’t win, your vote still matters!

Make sense? Have a go at ranking the candidates in the boxes, left.