Tactical voting has hit the headlines once again in the build-up to the general election. According to a new YouGov study, one in five voters (22 per cent) say they will be using the tactic on 4 July. “Tactical voting” has been a common phrase on the lips of politicians and newsreaders for a long time - but why is everyone talking about it, and what does it actually mean? In this episode of Decomplicated, we take a look at how tactical voting works - and how it could be a powerful tool in elections.
It’s a method of maximising utility from your vote within a given system. In our system, every vote except the minimum necessary for the winner to win does nothing other than signal support for a given platform. You have to weigh up whether that signal is worth more than the gains from getting your preference of your two local big candidates to win. One of those decisions is much more likely to make an impact, but it’s making an impact that’s less aligned with my actual preferences.
Another issue is that there’s not really any way to stop your political opponents from doing it, and if they do then they have a huge advantage over every other party that is more fractured. They’re making that sacrifice of voting for someone less aligned and in exchange they’re getting that candidate to win every time with 30% of the votes, because the rest of the electorate is split ten ways.