The Role of ‘Delegated Transferable Vote' for Supporting Tactical Voting in First-Past-the-Post Elections

Abstract

This chapter investigates a method of counting votes called ‘Delegated Transferable Vote' (DTV) as a means to ensure that every vote counts by enabling voters to be able to vote for the candidate they want in the knowledge that their vote will be tactically allocated by the candidate they vote for if they get less than 50% of the vote. The theory is that if a voter trusts someone enough to vote for them then they should trust them to allocate their vote to a candidate with similar policies or political philosophies to them. The chapter finds that in elections where the candidates want to keep out a particular candidate or party, such as because they have a hegemony, then DTV can be effective in changing the outcome. However, in election where tactical voting has already taken place, such as where people vote on issues instead of party lines, then the outcome of counting votes using DTV is on the whole not different from the one presently used in the United Kingdom, which is First-Past-the-Post (FPTP).