370 THE ALTERNATE VOTE. 



votes (23, 16). 



Fourth, — where proceeding- as in the third case two appHcanls 

 are found to have secured more than the average, the third appli- 

 cant having; less, is excluded, and this third applicant's first votes 

 are then given to the other candidates who stand as second pre- 

 ferences on each of his voting papers, and so the election is 

 decided with absolute certainty (23). 



CASE OF MORE THAN THREE CANDIDATES. 



25. Note two important facts applicable to all cases of three 

 or more applicants, when we have given the first vote or prefer- 

 ence a greater value than the second preference or alternate vote> 

 and added both these values up. The first of these is that as none 

 of the applicants, who fail to get the average of these combined 

 votes, can under any circumstances be the best man, they may all 

 be excluded at once. More voters have voted against them than 

 for them. 



The second fact is, that if we have made a list of all the 

 preferences expressed by the selectors or electors, and excluded 

 all below the average, the figures expressing the preferences for 

 a non-excluded applicant on our list have in every case to be 

 altered, so as to show the actual value they now possess. As to 

 the excluded candidates, not only does their alternate vote now 

 come into play, so that the candidate marked 2 on their voting 

 paper, or rather the next available candidate on their voting 

 paper, has now to be marked one, but also the candidate marked 

 3 has to be marked 2, and all the lower preferences have to be 

 altered as well in the same way. 



A new list must in fact be made before the next scrutiny. Say 

 we have eight candidates, each marked as under ABCDEFGH 

 say on the first count that C, D, E 46321875 



have been excluded, the remaining or 13 5 4 2 



continuing applicants must be marked as in the lower line. 



The relative value was shown by the unaltered figures, but 

 for the next scrutiny we must have the actual not the relative 

 value. 



26. In considering the case of three applicants, Nanson fol- 

 lowing Borda gave to the first vote double the value he gave to 

 the second (23) ; and he differed from Borda, when he excluded 

 the applicant with least votes, the candidate or candidates who 

 did not secure the average. 



This very same difference in value of the first and second 

 votes might have been expressed by counting the first vote or 

 preference as i, and the alternate vote or second preference as 2, 

 and then excluding the candidate or candidates above the average, 

 or the candidate who has just got the average ; and this is the 

 method he recommends when there are more candidates than 

 three. 



As many scrutinies are held as may be necessarv to exclude 

 all but one of the candidates, who is then declared elected. Here, 

 as in the case of three candidates, if any applicant has at any 

 scrutiny an absolute majority of first votes, he is elected without 



