EU Elections 2024 - Results

That group and their ilk, only RBB would be considered certain to retain his seat

Past long terms voters did come out and vote SF though. They increased their vote since the previous local elections by 2.5%. Since the last locals FFG have lost 6.3% of their vote. In the Europeans they have equaled their vote but will gain at least one extra seat.

The last general election was a complete anomaly for SF where people who never voted SF came out and voted for them.

I'm not being touchy at all. As you said , it's a discussion.

Everything you say is laced with such certainty, do you know it's a discussion?

You're clearly confusing me with someone else!

did he not draw the votes from the entire ‘Ireland South’ constituency - from Wicklow to Kerry to Clare ?

Keep the core of the current system but try to simplify it.

No surpluses, just work off eliminations.

Limit the number of the preferences to 1-5.

The advantage of that is that it keep the voting process familiar.

OR

A hybrid system of list and constituencies.

Each constituency elects one MEP - like Presidential election, with single transferrable vote. There'd be haggling about how many constituencies (3-5) but that gives scope for individual independents to stand.

And you get a single non-transferrable vote in a party list system that elects the rest of the MEPs aka "The Back Door". MEPs can be both on ballot in constituency and on list. If they are elected in constituency then party list moves down to next candidate.

Or hire more people to count. We don't need to change the system or spend money on computers. Get in more people to count. It will cost a bit more but then it should since the population is increasing.

No reason why the EU elections and Locals could not be counted at the same time.

The spouses and families of vote counters having to listen to same bullshit night after night

No surpluses, just work off eliminations.

Makes no sense and means that the system isn't representative anymore. Aside from surpluses on Count #1, they don't overly slow things down.

Limit the number of the preferences to 1-5.

Likely doesn't speed up things. I doubt most people go beyond 5 preferences. The counts slow down when the bigger numbers get eliminated. These still have to be checked anyway.

Each constituency elects one MEP

Just no. This wouldn't be representative of an area. 51% of people could elect our MEPs as opposed to 75-80% of people when you have 4 or 5 seats.

This would make our system less democratic. We shouldn't compromise on that at all.

Explains Newstalks regular line up of political Wacky Races interviewees.

Do you have any examples of scanners that would accommodate the MNW Euro ballot paper?

There are suggestions to speed it up marginally, while still keeping the 'drama' of the unfolding of transfers etc.

How could it not speed it up if you only have to deal with 1-5 preferences? More preferences filled in has to mean more work for the counters, for whatever % of the ballots are filled out to that.

The system is still representative. Why are surpluses essential for it to be representative? In the EU elections especially have marginal impact but having to process that many ballots for surplus distribution is effort and time. Let the parties manage their vote better if they're bothered about it.

I explained there'd be constituencies and a list system. The constituency candidate is elected on a single transferrable vote, same as the Presidential election here. So by your argument, is our Presidential election not democratic? If someone gets 51% of the first prefences in any election here, they are elected.

And the "75-80%" of people are catered for, as they are in all the other countries where a list system operates.

Is a list system less democratic than what we currently have? If it's such a great system how does everyone else except the Maltese manage without it?