Members of Dáil Éireann are elected under the PR-STV electoral system. At the 2020 general election, 160 members were elected from 39 constituencies, each constituency thus returning on average just over 4 TDs. The Electoral Commission, in its August 2023 report, decided on a scheme for the next general election that would entail 174 TDs being elected from 43 constituencies, the average district magnitude thus remaining virtually unchanged. Click here for results of 2020 election, here for results of 2016 election, here for results of 2014 EP election, here for results of 2011 general election, here for results of 2009 European Parliament election, here for results of 2007 general election, and here for results of elections 1948-77. The 2020 election is analysed in How Ireland Voted 2020 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). For arguments for and against retaining PR-STV as Ireland's electoral system click here.
The ballot paper with which voters are confronted looks like this specimen ballot paper, reproduced from Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 7th ed (Routledge, 2024), p. 98.
It can be seen that the candidates are listed in alphabetical order of surname rather than being grouped by party or listed randomly.
Voting is straightforward: the voter ranks the candidates, or as many of them as he or she wishes, in order of choice. The voter does this by writing '1' in the space to the right of the photograph of their first choice, and may then write '2', '3', '4' etc beside the names of their second, third, fourth etc choices. Voters may rank order as many or as few candidates as they wish, but obviously there must be at least a first preference to make the vote meaningful. Counting the votes begins with a calculation of the Droop quota and is a multi-stage process, since the votes of eliminated candidates, and the surplus votes of elected candidates, are transferred to other candidates according to the next preferences marked on the ballot papers. For explanation as to exactly how PR-STV works, try these:
Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 7th ed (London: Routledge and PSAI Press, 2024), 505 pp. ISBN 978-1-032-35769-0 (hardback), 978-1-032-35765-2 (paperback), 978-1-003-32847-6 (ebook). For full details see the Routledge website. This has chapters on every aspect of politics and government, including a chapter explaining and assessing the distinctive PR-STV electoral system.
The Politics of Electoral Systems, paperback edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), ISBN 978-0-19-923867-5. Has a chapter explaining and examining PR-STV in Ireland in the context of electoral systems worldwide, asking how far aspects of Ireland's politics can be attributed to PR-STV.
Last updated 29 January, 2024 10:47 AM
