Voting systems are the rules that determine how votes are cast, counted, and turned into outcomes. Whether choosing a single leader like a president or filling every seat in a parliament, the voting system shapes not only the result — but the nature of political power itself.
How many winners will there be?
One president, a few council members, or an entire legislature?
How do voters express their choice?
Pick one, rank several, or score each candidate?
What's needed to win?
Just more votes than others, or an absolute majority?
How closely should results reflect the overall vote share?
Proportional representation or winner-takes-all?
There’s no single “natural” map of voting methods. This is one practical way to group them—each category highlights different design goals and trade-offs.
Most votes wins – not necessarily a majority
Most votes wins – not necessarily a majority
Candidates must win over 50%
Seats allocated to reflect vote share
Blend of plurality and proportional systems
Compare candidates head-to-head
Different voting systems can be described in terms of their properties: things like majority guarantees, how votes are tallied, or whether spoiler effect occurs. The Features page collects these building blocks, and as the project grows, more will be added.
Each system also meets voters through a ballot: the physical paper or digital interface where choices are marked. The Ballots page shows a growing collection of examples.