Robert Abela surpassed the STV quota in his district with approximately 700 surplus votes, which were then distributed proportionally to other candidates.
Where this was said
At 59:50 · chapter starts 58:50
Jon and David use Robert Abela's district as a worked example to illustrate how a full STV count actually unfolds. They begin with Abela's first-count total — roughly 11,700 votes against a quota of around 3,500 — which means he had approximately 700 surplus votes to distribute. Those 700 votes are scanned ballot-by-ballot and redistributed proportionally to whichever candidates appear as next preferences on each ballot. They then trace through subsequent counts: a candidate with 3.6 quotas sees their surplus flow; an eliminated candidate's 30 votes split — ten going to one name, ten to another, five to a third, five becoming non-transferable. Round by round, the field narrows. The discussion reaches the dramatic moment where two candidates — Alison and Byron — are separated by a handful of votes and the question of whose transfers arrive first becomes decisive. David uses this reconstruction to make a larger point: the order in which counts proceed is itself a strategic variable, and parties that understand it can manage their candidate slates more effectively than those who simply field names and hope.
When a candidate exceeds the quota, their surplus votes are redistributed proportionally — not arbitrarily. If a candidate has 150 surplus votes over a quota of 3,500, every ballot they received is rescanned and the extras flow to second preferences at a fractional value. This process repeats until all seats are filled, meaning the order of transfers across many counts determines the final result.
The political divergence between young men and women is driven primarily by young women moving dramatically leftward, not by young men moving right.
College-educated women now make up roughly one in three self-identified Democrats, reshaping the party's policy priorities away from class-based issues toward cultural ones.
Close to four in ten young men say they don't trust either the Republican or Democratic Party, reflecting widespread political alienation among young males.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.