Donkeys led by aardvarks – having a surname start near the beginning of the alphabet is a big electoral advantage
In preferential voting systems, such as the electoral system for European, Assembly and Local elections in Northern Ireland, voters have to rank candidates in order of preference (1 for first preference, 2 for second, and so on). A flaw in the system is that voters frequently list their preferences from top to bottom in the order that they appear on the ballot paper, i.e. in alphabetical order of the candidate’s surname. This phenomenon is known as donkey voting. In Australia, …