Hyväksyntääänestys

Hyväksyntääänestys, also known as approval voting, is a type of electoral system where voters approve of as many candidates as they wish, rather than casting a single vote for one candidate. This system is used in various elections, including some local elections in Finland.

In an approval voting system, each voter marks the candidates they approve of on a ballot. The candidate with the most approvals wins. This method allows voters to express their preferences more freely, as they are not limited to a single vote. It also encourages strategic voting, as voters may choose to approve multiple candidates to prevent their preferred candidate from being eliminated.

Approval voting has several advantages. It is simple to understand and use, as voters only need to mark the candidates they approve of. It also allows for more expression of preferences, as voters can approve multiple candidates. However, it can lead to a lack of majority support for the winning candidate, as the winner may not have a majority of the votes.

The system has been criticized for its potential to lead to a lack of majority support and for being less effective in multi-winner elections. Despite these criticisms, approval voting remains a popular and widely used electoral system in various jurisdictions.