Question

What are some alternatives to a “first past the post” system that might reduce the problem of voting cycles?

Short answer

Alternate Voting (Instant Run off) Voting method is used as an alternative solution to voting cycles, apart from First Past the Post.

Step-by-step solution

Basic Concept

Voting Cycle is the paradox of non transitivity, in attempt to determine majority. Here, the problem is : A beats B, B beats C, but C beats A.

So, 'first past the post' ie FPTP system includes voters just vote for a single option & don't rank other options.

But, this also has various issues of misrepresentation & majority analysis.

Detailed Explanation

Alternate Voting System is another option to solve voting cycle issue.

In this, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If any candidate gets more than 50% as first preference votes, it directly wins.

If no one gets this clear first preference majority : The candidate with least preference votes is eliminated, and its voters are again asked to preference rank among remaining (non eliminated) candidates.

This happens until a candidate gets clear majority (>50%) first preference votes. It is also called Instant Runoff Method.