Counting Votes (multi-seat election)

For multiple seat elections, the basic process is the same as for a single seat election, but the counting involves a few more steps.  The difference is that when a candidate exceeds the number of votes required to be elected, the excess portion of each vote for that candidate is transferred to the next ranked candidate on each ballot (hard to do by hand, but easy for computers).

This method ensures that no votes are "wasted" and that voters win representation in proportion to their voting strength or their fair share of representation.  It is ideal for nonpartisan elections. 

We'll look at a simplified example of an election with 4 candidates running for 2 seats on a board.  Note that the ballot is no different from a single-seat election:

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