| 2018 Guernsey electoral system referendum | |
| Which electoral system should Guernsey use to elect deputies? | |
| Location: | Guernsey |
| Voting System: | Instant-runoff voting |
| Status: | complete |
| Part1 Subject: | First round |
| Part1 Choice1: | Option A |
| Part1 Percentage1: | 37.5 |
| Part1 Choice2: | Option B |
| Part1 Percentage2: | 24.6 |
| Part1 Choice3: | Option C |
| Part1 Percentage3: | 26.5 |
| Part1 Choice4: | Option D |
| Part1 Percentage4: | 4.7 |
| Part1 Choice5: | Option E |
| Part1 Percentage5: | 6.6 |
| Part2 Subject: | Final round |
| Part2 Choice1: | Option A |
| Part2 Percentage1: | 52.48 |
| Part2 Choice2: | Option B |
| Part2 Percentage2: | 0 |
| Part2 Choice3: | Option C |
| Part2 Percentage3: | 47.52 |
| Part2 Choice4: | Option D |
| Part2 Percentage4: | 0 |
| Part2 Choice5: | Option E |
| Part2 Percentage5: | 0 |
| Part2 Caption: | Voter turnout 45.1% |
| Outcome: | Option A: 38 deputies elected island-wide every 4 years |
A referendum on electoral reform was held on 10 October 2018 in Guernsey to determine an electoral system for elections to the States of Guernsey.[1] Voters were asked to rank five different proposed electoral systems, with a run-off system used to determine the winning proposal. Option A, a 38-member constituency covering the whole island, won the vote. As a result of voter turnout (45%) being above the 40% vote threshold, the referendum was binding.
The referendum itself used instant-runoff voting, also called the alternative vote. In the initial count, only first choices were counted. As no proposal received a majority of the vote, the proposal that received the fewest votes was eliminated; any ballots with this proposal as first choice were redistributed to the other options according to the second preference. This process was repeated until a proposal had a majority of the votes.[2]
A quorum of 40% voter turnout was required for the result to be binding, following a promise by the States.[3]
Voters were presented with five options for a new electoral system[4] Aspects of the pre-existing electoral system preserved by all five options were fixed-term elections and plurality block voting, in which each voter can vote for as many candidates as there are seats in the constituency. All but one option preserved the practice of holding a general election every four years.
| Option | First count | Second count | Third count | Fourth count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| A | 5,304 | 37.5 | 5,390 | 38.3 | 5,755 | 41.5 | 6,017 | 52.5 |
| C | 3,760 | 26.5 | 3,914 | 27.8 | 4,220 | 30.4 | 5,448 | 47.5 |
| B | 3,486 | 24.6 | 3,761 | 26.7 | 3,898 | 28.1 | – | – |
| E | 940 | 6.6 | 1,004 | 7.1 | – | – | – | – |
| D | 672 | 4.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| align=left colspan=3 | Non-transferable votes (accrued) | 93 | – | 289 | – | 2,697 | – | |
| align=left colspan=7 | Invalid/blank votes | 217 | – | |||||
| align=left colspan=7 | Total | 14,379 | 100 | |||||
| align=left colspan=7 | Registered voters/turnout | 31,865 | 45.1 | |||||
| align=left colspan=10 | Source: Bailiwick of Guernsey States of Guernsey | |||||||