In Northern Ireland members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected on the basis of:

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The system being tested is proportional representation, used in Northern Ireland’s Assembly elections. Here, each multi-member constituency elects several MLAs, and voters rank candidates by preference. A quota determines when a candidate is elected, and any votes beyond the quota are transferred to other candidates according to next preferences. If no one meets the quota, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed. This transfer process continues until all seats are filled. Because votes are redistributed and seats are allocated in proportion to overall support, the resulting Assembly composition more closely reflects how people voted across parties. This differs from awarding seats based on personal achievements alone, from instant-runoff methods that aren’t used in this context, and from first-past-the-post, which tends to be less proportional in multi-member elections.