Example
The threshold needed to win is 3334 votes (10,000/3 + 1 vote)
| Round 1 | The first choice votes are counted. Candidate A has reached the threshold and so is declared the first winner. There is still one more seat to be filled. |
| Round 2 | Candidate A has more votes than the threshold – a surplus of 666 votes. The ballots that have Candidate A as their first choice are redistributed to the second choice candidate on each of those ballots. All 4,000 ballots are transferred, but at a fraction of a vote (666/4000 or .1665) so that only the 666 surplus votes are transferred in total.
Candidate C is the second choice on 3,000 of the 4,000 ballots and so 499.5 votes are transferred to Candidate C. Candidate D is the second choice on 1,000 of the 4,000 ballots and so 166.5 votes are transferred to Candidate D. |
| Round 3 | No other candidate has yet reached the threshold and so another round of transfers occurs. Candidate D is the candidate with the fewest votes and is eliminated.
The votes for Candidate D are redistributed to the two remaining candidates based on the next preferences indicated on the voters’ ballots – 116.5 go to Candidate B and 950 to Candidate C. A total of 100 voters did not mark a next preference and those ballots are ‘exhausted’. Candidate C has reached the threshold and is declared the second winner. |