Legal Definitions - West Australian plan

The West Australian plan is an electoral system also widely known as instant-runoff voting (IRV) or ranked-choice voting. It is designed to ensure that the winning candidate in an election secures the support of a majority of voters, rather than simply winning with a plurality (less than 50% of the vote).

Under this system, voters do not simply choose one candidate. Instead, they rank candidates in order of preference (e.g., 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on). If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-preference votes in the initial count, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. The votes from the eliminated candidate are then redistributed to the voters' next-ranked choices. This process of elimination and redistribution continues in rounds until one candidate achieves a majority of the remaining votes, thereby ensuring the winner has broad support.

• Example 1: Local City Council Election

  Imagine a city holding an election for a new city council member. There are four candidates: Ms. Anya, Mr. Ben, Dr. Carla, and Mr. David. The city uses the West Australian plan for its elections. On election day, voters rank the candidates from 1st to 4th preference. After the initial count of first-preference votes, no candidate has achieved over 50%. Mr. David received the fewest first-preference votes and is therefore eliminated. The ballots that ranked Mr. David as the first choice are then reviewed, and those votes are transferred to the candidates ranked as second choice on those specific ballots. This process continues, potentially eliminating more candidates and redistributing their votes, until one candidate, for instance, Ms. Anya, secures more than 50% of the total votes, ensuring she has majority support from the electorate.

• Example 2: University Department Head Selection

  A university department is selecting a new department head from three internal candidates: Professor Evans, Professor Foster, and Professor Green. To ensure the chosen leader has strong faculty backing, they decide to use the West Australian plan. Faculty members cast their ballots, ranking the candidates from 1st to 3rd. In the first round, Professor Foster receives the most first-preference votes, but not a majority of all votes. Professor Green has the fewest first-preference votes and is eliminated. The votes from faculty members who ranked Professor Green first are then transferred to their second-choice candidate (either Professor Evans or Professor Foster). In the subsequent round, Professor Foster might then achieve over 50% of the total votes, becoming the new department head with clear majority support from the faculty.

• Example 3: National Sports League MVP Award

  A national sports league is deciding its Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, with five top athletes nominated: Player A, Player B, Player C, Player D, and Player E. To ensure the MVP truly represents the collective preference of the voters (coaches, media, and players), they adopt a voting system similar to the West Australian plan. Voters rank all five players on their ballots. In the initial tally, no player receives a majority of the first-place votes. Player E receives the lowest number of first-place votes and is eliminated. Their votes are then redistributed to the second-choice players on those ballots. This elimination and redistribution process continues through several rounds. Eventually, Player C emerges as the MVP after several candidates have been eliminated and their votes reallocated, demonstrating that Player C has the strongest overall support and consensus among the voters.