First past the post

First past the post, also known as the plurality voting system, is a term used in the discussion of electoral systems to refer to a system used to elect members to a legislative assembly. In this system, the winner of the election is the candidate with the most votes, regardless of whether they have a majority of votes cast. It is used in many countries, but has been replaced by other methods, such as the Single Transferable Vote, in others. It often works well for countries with a two-party system, such as the United States. In countries such as Canada, which has several major political parties, first-past-the-post elections are sometimes linked to underrepresentation for smaller parties.