page_title: Contingent vote
section_title: Voting and counting
hierarchical_section_title: Contingent vote / Voting and counting
context_page_description: The contingent vote is an electoral system used to elect a single representative in which a candidate requires a majority of votes to win. It is a variation of instant-runoff voting. Under the contingent vote, the voter ranks the candidates in order of preference, and the first preference votes are counted. If no candidate has a majority, then all but the two leading candidates are eliminated and the votes received by the eliminated candidates are distributed among the two remaining candidates according to voters preferences. This ensures that one candidate achieves a majority and is declared elected.
  The contingent vote differs from IRV which allows for many rounds of counting, eliminating only one weakest candidate each round. The contingent vote can also be considered a compressed form of the two-round system, in which both 'rounds' occur without the need for voters to go to the polls twice.
  Today, a special variant of the contingent vote is used to elect the President of Sri Lanka. Another variant, called the supplementary vote, is used to pick directly elected mayors and police and crime commissioners in England.
context_section_description: In an election held using the contingent vote the voters rank the list of candidates in order of preference. Under the most common ballot layout, they place a '1' beside their most preferred candidate, a '2' beside their second most preferred, and so on. In this respect the contingent vote is the same as instant-runoff voting.
  There are then a maximum of two rounds of counting. In the first round only first preferences are counted. If a candidate has received an absolute majority of first preferences (i.e. more than half) then he or she is immediately declared the winner. However, if no candidate has an absolute majority then all but the two candidates with the most first preferences are eliminated, and there is a second round. In the second round the votes of the voters whose first preference had been eliminated are transferred to whichever of the two remaining candidates were ranked the highest. The votes are then counted and whichever candidate has an absolute majority is declared elected.
caption: Example of optional preferential ballot paper.