2013 USyd SRC Elections: How STV & Quota-Preferential Counting Work

Welcome to the geekLections 2013 University of Sydney SRC Election analysis! Four separate elections are run concurrently—SRC President, Honi Soit Editors, SRC Councillors, and NUS Delegates—and each uses preferential counting rules that reward careful analysis of booth-by-booth swings across campus (Fisher, Manning, Jane Foss Russell, Cumberland, SCA, Engineering, and Conservatorium).

Honi Soit & SRC President: Single Transferable Vote (IRV)

Every candidate or ticket has the total number of ballots marked 1 (first preferences) tallied. When no candidate reaches a majority (>50% of formal votes) on first preferences, the lowest-polling candidate is excluded and their ballots are transferred at full value to the next available preference marked on each ballot until a candidate exceeds 50%.

In the 2013 Presidential count across campus booths, you can explore the booth-by-booth breakdown in the Historic 2013 USyd SRC Tracker.

SRC Councillors & NUS Delegates: Quota-Preferential Proportional Representation

For multi-member elections (SRC Council and NUS Delegates), a candidate or ticket is elected once they reach a Quota:

$$\text{Quota} = \left\lfloor \frac{\text{Total Formal Votes}}{\text{Number of Positions} + 1} \right\rfloor + 1$$

When a ticket's primary vote exceeds one or more quotas, the top candidates on that ticket are declared elected and the surplus votes above the quota are transferred down the ticket (and to subsequent preferences) at a reduced transfer value:

$$\text{Transfer Value} = \frac{\text{Surplus Votes Above Quota}}{\text{Total Votes Held by Elected Candidate}}$$

Once all surpluses are distributed, the lowest-polling remaining candidates are excluded one by one until all positions are filled.