Ceredigion County Council website

The responses to this consultation were considered by Councillors in a meeting of the Council on 14/11/2024.

Report on whether to adopt the Single Transferable Vote system for Ceredigion County Council.

Decision

In order to adopt the single transferable vote system, the number of Members who vote in favour must be at least two thirds of the number of seats on the Council, namely 26 out of 38.

As the threshold of 26 was not met, the recommendation did not pass. As such, the voting system will not change for the 2027 local government elections.

Original Consultation

We want to hear your views on the system for voting at Ceredigion County Council elections.

• The consultation will start on the 15.07.2024
• The closing date will be 06.09.2024 

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback.   

This document is also available in large print or easy read.  If you need this consultation in any other format, please contact us on 01545 570881 or via clic@ceredigion.gov.uk. 

Background 

All councillors in Wales are currently elected using a simple majority system, commonly known as first past the post (FPTP), which is also the system used for electing Members to the Town and Community Council, Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the UK Parliament. The Senedd currently has an additional member system, rather than being solely elected by FPTP. 

The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 gave powers to each Council to decide individually whether they wished to remain with the current FPTP system, or whether to change to a system known as the Single Transferable Vote (STV).  Any change would require a vote of support by 2 out of 3 of the Ceredigion County Council Members, following a public consultation. If a decision is made to change to a STV voting system, this would only affect the voting system for Ceredigion County Council Members.

The legislation does not contain any provision to change the voting system for all other elections managed by Ceredigion County Council including the Town and Community Councils, the Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the UK Government which will remain unaffected by this process.

During a meeting of the Council held on Thursday 21st March 2024, Ceredigion County Councillors resolved to undertake a public consultation on the possible change to the voting system for County Council elections to the Single Transferable Vote system. A decision will be made by the Council following the consultation.

The aim of this consultation therefore is to seek the views of our residents on their preferred voting system.

How does First Past The Post (FPTP) work? 

• In a poll which uses FPTP where one representative is to be elected, voters place a mark (usually a cross) on the ballot paper next to the name of the candidate they wish to vote for.
• In a two-member ward, voters are instructed at the top of the ballot paper to vote for up to two candidates.
• A candidate is elected if they receive at least one vote more than the other candidates. In a two member ward the two individuals who receive the most votes are elected
• Counting the votes for a FPTP contest is a simple process when there is only one candidate to be elected.
• Counting the votes for a two-member ward requires a system which records the votes given on each ballot paper – ballot papers are counted once.
• There are currently 4 Wards in Ceredigion that are multi-member Wards i.e. Aberporth and Y Ferwig, Aberystwyth Penparcau, Aberystwyth Morfa a Glais and Beulah and Llangoedmor.

How does Single Transferrable Vote (STV) work? 

• Multi-member wards - STV will require multi-member wards across the whole of the authority area. Welsh Government (WG) have stipulated that the number of councillors for each electoral ward is to be no less than three, but no more than 6. This will result in larger Wards geographically with an increased electorate, with between 3 and 6 Councillors representing each Ward. 
• STV rules – The system of STV that is detailed below is in accordance with guidance issued by Welsh Government. 
• Ballot paper design – candidates would appear on a STV ballot paper in alphabetical order according to surname, as is the case on the FPTP ballot paper. Voters are instructed at the top of the ballot paper to rank the candidates according to their order of preference. 
• Counting Votes – there is no provision for electronic counting in the draft rules. Therefore, it is accepted that counting STV elections will be a lengthy process, with counts using STV taking up to 2 days to complete. 
• Quota (method of calculation) – the method of counting is fundamental to any STV system. The method of counting provided for is the Droop quota (as used in elections in Northern Ireland and principal council elections in Scotland). 
  Votes needed to win seat = (number of valid ballot papers / ( Number of seats + 1)) + 1
• Surplus transfer – during the count, surplus ballots are transferred from the elected candidate pile to the next preference candidate, if the first choice candidate has votes in excess of the quota or has been eliminated. When a candidate exceeds the quota, the surplus votes are examined to see if the next available preference candidate is still in the race (neither elected or eliminated). Ballot papers are transferred to the next available preference at a value which is calculated by taking the candidate’s surplus and dividing it by the total number of ballot papers being transferred. This process continues until the appropriate number of candidates stand elected. There is an additional step to ensure that the value of transferred votes is not greater than the value of the vote on the ballot paper when it was received by the candidate from whom it is now being transferred. All calculations are done to 2 decimal places so are manageable for manual counting.
• Exclusion of candidates – if vacancies remain after the transfer process has taken place, the rules provide for the candidate with the lowest number of votes to be eliminated. The eliminated candidate’s votes are then redistributed in stages. The first stage involves the transfer of the excluded candidate’s first preference votes. The Returning Officer examines the votes given to see if a next preference has been given, which is still available. Each ballot expressing a next available preference is transferred to the candidate for whom the preference is given, at a transfer value of 1.
• Non-transferable ballot papers – a ballot paper becomes non-transferable at the stage where the Returning Officer is unclear which candidate is next in the order of preference.
• Last vacancies – the draft rules provide for the filling of last vacancies which is intended to ensure that the returning office is not required to continue counting when it would be pointless to do so. For example, the rule provides that where the number of candidates still in the race is equal to the number of vacancies remaining, those candidates are treated as elected.
• Recounts – a crucial difference between the FPTP rules and the draft STV rules is the provision made for candidates or election agents to request a recount. Having to recount the entirety of the vote, meaning repeating every single stage, would be unreasonable. Therefore, where an election is conducted using STV, the provision is for a recount of that stage of the count only.

Through the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, the Welsh Government has made provision for Councils to consider adopting an alternative voting system, however there is no financial provision for the additional costs that would arise if the Council decided to change to an STV voting system.

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How to respond to this consultation

Consultation Form

Paper copies of the consultation can be accessed at the following locations: 

• Aberystwyth Library  
• Lampeter Library 
• Lampeter Wellbeing Centre 
• Aberaeron Library 
• Cardigan Library 

Thank you for taking the time to complete this consultation. We value the information you have provided.  

What happens next?  

A report, communicating the findings from the consultation will be produced and presented to a Council Meeting for a final decision on the way forward. The report will be made available on the Council’s website on the Engagement and Consultation page.