Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What happens when no candidate reaches the quota in a single transferable vote election?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
In a single transferable vote (STV) election, if no candidate reaches the quota to be elected, the process continues by eliminating the candidate with the fewest votes.1
Once this candidate is eliminated, all of their ballots are transferred to the remaining candidates based on the voters' next preferences indicated on those ballots. This cycle of counting, transferring surplus votes from successful candidates, and eliminating the lowest-polling candidates continues until all available seats are filled.1