What are the different voting methods?
The proportional voting system allocates seats according to the number of votes. The proportional system only concerns elections for candidate lists (list system).
To distribute the votes, we define the number of votes to obtain a seat (the electoral quotient), then we divide the total votes obtained by each list by the electoral quotient to determine the number of seats won by each list. After this first distribution, there are still votes to be distributed. There are two methods for distributing the remaining voices (the "leftovers"): the largest remainder method and the largest average distribution method. The largest remainder method tends to favor small parties (once the votes having allowed the first allocation have been deducted, the lists with the most remainders win). The highest average method favors the major parties (ratio between the remaining votes and the number of seats already obtained plus a fictitious seat).
The proportional voting system allows faithful representation of the electorate. It is often criticized for leading to instability in the political system by favoring a multiparty system and giving an important role to small pivotal parties (case of the Fourth Republic).
