Largest Remainder Method

Largest Remainder Method in Voting Law

Definition of Largest Remainder Method in the context of the United States election law: A technique used in proportional representation voting systems, involving a two-phase process for allocating seats. Firstly, seats are divided in proportion to the number of votes obtained by each candidate. This ratio varies depending on the quota system used (for example, Hare, Droop or Imperiali). Secondly, the ‘largest remainder’ principle is applied: unused votes (with which the corresponding candidates have not obtained seats) are classified in decreasing order and the resulting classification is used to allocate remaining seats, with the first seat going to the list that has the largest number of remaining unused votes, the second seat to the list with the next largest amount and so on.

Largest Remainder Method in Voting Law

Definition of Largest Remainder Method in the context of the United States election law: A technique used in proportional representation voting systems, involving a two-phase process for allocating seats. Firstly, seats are divided in proportion to the number of votes obtained by each candidate. This ratio varies depending on the quota system used (for example, Hare, Droop or Imperiali). Secondly, the ‘largest remainder’ principle is applied: unused votes (with which the corresponding candidates have not obtained seats) are classified in decreasing order and the resulting classification is used to allocate remaining seats, with the first seat going to the list that has the largest number of remaining unused votes, the second seat to the list with the next largest amount and so on.