Question

The United States currently uses a voting system called “first past the post” in elections, meaning that the candidate with the most votes wins. What are some of the problems with a “first past the post” system?

Short answer

'First Past the Post System' Problems : Larger parties majorities highlighted & smaller parties under represented, votes wasted, & preferences misrepresented.

Step-by-step solution

Meaning & Definition

First Past the post (FPTP) voting system means that, voters have to choose one voting rather than rank or score voting. It is also called Single member plurality voting.

Eg : Among 3 candidates, voters have to choose & vote for 1 single candidate rather than ranking all 3.

This helps solve the voting cycle problem, where paradox of determining majority choice arises.

Detailed Explanation

Problems of FPTP voting system are :

• Larger parties or parties with concentrated support gain uneven large share of seats. Smaller parties with dispersed shares gain disproportionate small share of seats.
• Many votes are wasted in case of two parties context.
• It doesn't accurately represent preferences of voters, and over representing majorities and minorities.