The core principles of the system were independently invented in the 19th century by Thomas Hare in Britain and Carl Andræ in Denmark. Details of the history and usage of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting system can be found in the External Links Section shown on the right of this page
The Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting system has seen a series of relatively modest periods of usage and disusage throughout the world, however today it is seeing increasing popularity and proposed implementation as a method of electoral reform. STV has been used in many different local, regional and national electoral systems, as well as in various other types of bodies, around the world.
STV has long been advocated by political scientists as one of the most attractive electoral systems, but its use for legislative elections has been limited to a few cases—the Republic of Ireland since 1921, Malta since 1947, and once in Estonia in 1990. It is also used for elections to the Australian Federal Senate and in several Australian states, and for European and local elections in Northern Ireland. It has been adopted for local elections in Scotland and in some authorities in New Zealand.