New Voting System for the Stirling Council Elections 2007

The May 2007 Local Government vote will be carried out using a new system called the Single Transferable Vote (STV).

Rather than placing the traditional ‘X’ on the ballot paper, voters will record their preference for one or more candidates – placing a ‘1’ in the column next to their preferred candidate, and a ‘2’ beside their second choice and so on until the voter no longer wishes to express a preference.

STV is a system of proportional representation that aims to give the voter the widest choice possible between candidates, and ensure that the councillors elected reflect the support proportionally from voters.

Voters can choose candidates from the same party, vote across parties or for independents.

For further information on STV, view an excellent presentation on Stirling Council's website and a good resource from the Electoral Reform Society Website.