Cumulative voting facts for kids

Cumulative voting is a system for doing an election. There are a certain number of choices. Each voter has a certain number of points he or she can spread over the choices. That way it is possible to choose more than one option, and to weigh the choices. Usually, this applies when there is more than one position being elected at the same time. For example, it can be used to elect more than one member of a governing board. In cumulative voting, if five positions are to be elected, a voter could cast one vote for each of five different candidates, or the voter could give all five of his votes to one candidate, or two votes to one candidate and three votes to a different candidate. Bullet voting is giving all of the votes to one candidate.

Cumulative voting is used to elect representatives in many companies. It is also used to elect some governments. Switzerland and Germany use it for some elections.

It will lead to a proportional representation.

Images for kids

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  In an equal and even cumulative ballot, as in Peoria, an individual's vote is fractionally divided evenly among all candidates for whom he or she indicates support. As the number of candidates increases, this can result in the need for computing sums of multiple fractions.

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  Fractional vote ballot