UK votes on changing Parliamentary election rules

[brooklynite]

Source: MSNBC

British voters were deciding Thursday whether to change how members of Parliament are elected — an issue that has split the government but didn't appear to excite the public.

Voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were also electing members of regional government legislatures, and hundreds of local council seats were at stake around the country.

Polls ahead of Thursday's referendum indicated that most voters were content to keep the first-past-the-post system, in which the candidate with the most votes in a district wins a seat in the House of Commons.

Polls detected less support for a change to the Alternate Vote, where voters mark their ballots in order of preference. If no one wins a majority on the first count, votes of the lowest-ranked candidates would be distributed according to preferences.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42912153

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I've never thought that voting systems like this made "real-world" sense; it's very hard to explain how they work to average voters, and I think it calls upon voters to think a lot longer and harder about their political preferences than they're willing to do.

[T_i_B]

1. I've just voted

I've had town council elections, district council elections and the AV Referendum.

Visitors to the UK forum will be able to tell which side I prefer in the referendum. Opinion polls are showing the "No" side as the expected victors although I'll only believe that if and when "No" actually win.

[truebrit71]

2. So this toothless referendum is what Nick Clegg sold his (and the LibDems) soul for??

...what a tosser...

[T_i_B]

3. Nick Clegg once described AV as a "Miserable Little Compromise"

He then gave up a huge chunk of his parties best, most popular policies for a refererndum on AV and that phrase is now used on just about all No2AV election material.

[truebrit71]

4. He has single-handedly destroyed the LibDems for a generation at least...

..what an arsehole..

[Nihil]

5. Got it in one. (n/t)