The least popular candidate drops out, with their first preference votes reallocated according to second preference.
And it encourages voters to flirt with extremists, knowing they can make centrist parties their second preference.
Labour's Barry Coppinger beat Conservative Ken Lupton into first place after a count of second preference votes.
Independent Martin Surl beat Conservative Victoria Atkins after second preference as neither managed to get 50% of votes.
Mr Stansfeld, from Kintbury, West Berkshire beat Labour's Tim Starkey on Friday after second preference votes were counted up.
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Much will depend on whether nationalists' second preference votes go to Sinn Fein.
He beat Labour's Jane Basham after second preference votes were counted as neither managed to get 50% of the votes.
He beat Labour's Sarah Russell after second preference votes were counted as neither candidate managed to get 50% of votes.
He beat Labour's Ed Murphy after second preference votes were counted as neither managed to get 50% of the votes.
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The Independent candidate, who takes up office on Thursday, defeated Conservative Craig Mackinlay on second preference votes in last week's poll.
Mr Grunshaw was elected after receiving 79, 790 votes (52.1%) in a count of second preference votes at Blackburn's King George's Hall.
Mr Dwyer beat Labour's John Stockton after second preference votes were counted when neither managed to get 50% of the vote.
However, when second preference votes were taken into account the Labour peer lost to Conservative Matthew Grove by 42, 164 votes to 39, 933.
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When the second preference votes were counted Mr Surl was elected with a total of 36, 586 votes while Ms Atkins received 32, 339.
Mr Dwyer, a former assistant chief constable of Cheshire Constabulary, won the second preference vote with 56.5% of votes to Mr Stockton's 43.5%.
It does not seem that people are doing this because they are confused and think wrongly that their second vote is a second preference.
Mr Hogg was declared the victor after counts were made of second preference votes by more than 300 election staff at Carn Brea Leisure Centre in Camborne.
If none of the candidates gets more than 50% of votes at the first count, all but the top two candidates are knocked out and their second preference votes shared out.
Speaking earlier on Monday, Mr Livingstone urged other Labour members to stay within the party, while he promised to cast his second preference in the mayoral ballot for Frank Dobson, Labour's official candidate.
Despite some differences with Labour mayor Ken Livingstone, she asks those who vote for her to choose him as their second preference, to head off the "serious threat" from Tory candidate Mr Johnson.
He also clashed with the BBC's John Humphrys over the No camp's argument that under AV some people's votes are counted more than others - due to the way second preference votes are redistributed.
Mr Crawford says the SNP will now be scrutinising the local election data, trying to work out where people's second preference votes went and whether they can persuade Labour voters to think about supporting independence.
They claim this principle of "equal votes" would be threatened by a move to AV - where second preference votes given to the candidate with the least support are re-distributed after the initial ballot if no-one gains over 50% of first preference votes.
If no candidate gets 50% of first preferences, the least popular candidate is eliminated and his second-preference votes are reallocated.
Mr Howard himself must share part of the blame because he refused to take a stand on the issue of second-preference votes.
Mr Beazley had gone into the vote buoyed by an opinion poll showing Labor 12 percentage points ahead of the government after the distribution of second-preference votes.
Out of a mixture of spite and folly, their coalition colleagues in Queensland had urged voters to put Mrs Hanson's party ahead of Labor in their second-preference votes.
As neither had anywhere near the total of 50% required for an outright win, the count went to a second round, with the second-preference votes of the four eliminated candidates reallocated to the leading pair.
If there is no clear outright winner in the ballot, second and third preference votes will be counted.
D-Day is the best-remembered event of Britain's second world war, a preference that exemplifies the nation's esteem for improvisation and making-do.
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