Quick Answer
Block voting, also called plurality-at-large or multiple non-transferable vote, fills several seats from a single ballot. Each voter may select up to as many candidates as there are seats, every selection counts as one vote, and the candidates with the highest totals take the seats.
It is the most common multi-seat method in HOA, condo and nonprofit board elections, usually written as "vote for up to three". It is also the least proportional method in ordinary use: a group holding 51 percent of the votes, voting together, can win every seat.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm what your governing documents require before your board relies on any method described here.
How Block Voting Counts
- 1You set the number of seats, say three.
- 2Each voter marks up to three candidates. Marking fewer is allowed. Marking more invalidates the selection.
- 3Each mark adds one vote to that candidate, independently of the others.
- 4The three candidates with the highest totals are elected.
The critical property is that your three marks do not compete with each other. They are three separate votes in three parallel contests, which is what makes the method so easy to count and so easy for an organized bloc to sweep.
A worked example
Three seats, six nominees, 200 members voting. A homeowners' group of 110 members agrees to back Ford, Gray and Hill. The remaining 90 members split their support across the other three.
| Candidate | Votes | Elected |
|---|---|---|
| Ford | 110 | Yes |
| Gray | 110 | Yes |
| Hill | 110 | Yes |
| Ito | 62 | No |
| Jain | 58 | No |
| Kaur | 51 | No |
The 110-member bloc is 55 percent of voters and takes 100 percent of the seats. The other 45 percent of the community elects nobody. No rule was broken. That is simply what block voting does.
Why People Bullet Vote
Bullet voting is marking only one candidate when you are entitled to mark three. It sounds like throwing away two votes. It is usually the opposite.
If you strongly want Ito elected, marking Ito plus two others adds a vote to two candidates who are competing with Ito for the same three seats. Withholding those two marks keeps Ito's total intact while denying help to rivals. When a minority faction bullet votes together, it can sometimes land one seat it would otherwise lose.
Bullet voting is legal, it needs no coordination to be rational, and boards should expect it. It is not a loophole, it is the predictable response to a method that treats your marks as independent.
If your ballot instructions say "vote for exactly three" and reject ballots with fewer, check that against your bylaws. Requiring a full slate is unusual and disenfranchises anyone who genuinely supports only one nominee.
Block Voting Compared
| Block voting | Cumulative | STV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot | Pick up to N | Spread N votes | Rank candidates |
| Can you concentrate support? | No | Yes | Effectively, through transfers |
| Majority can take every seat | Yes | No | No |
| Minority representation | None guaranteed | Guaranteed with enough votes | Proportional |
| Ease of counting | Trivial | Simple arithmetic | Requires software |
If sweeping every seat is a feature for you, block voting is doing its job. If it is a problem, cumulative voting and STV are the two standard fixes, and both are supported.
When Block Voting Is the Right Choice
- Small, uncontested boards. With five nominees for five seats, the method barely matters.
- Your bylaws specify it, which they very often do, in the "vote for up to N" phrasing.
- You want the majority's slate to govern, which some organizations genuinely do.
Running It Online
Block voting is the Multiple choice question type. Set the number of selections a voter may make to the number of open seats, and the count fills them by descending total.
Two behaviors worth knowing:
- Seats are filled properly. A five-seat, nine-nominee election marks five winners, not one. The certificate prints all five.
- A tie at the cutoff is reported, not resolved. With three seats and totals of 90, 80, 70, 70, the first two are elected outright and the two candidates tied for the last seat are reported as tied, with that seat left unfilled for your board to settle. Seating four people in three chairs, or silently picking one, are both worse answers.
Write-in candidates are supported, and elections up to 25 voters are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is block voting?
A multi-seat method where each voter may select up to as many candidates as there are seats, each selection counts as one vote, and the highest totals win. It is also called plurality-at-large.
Q: What is bullet voting?
Marking fewer candidates than you are allowed, usually just one, so that you do not add votes to candidates competing against your favorite for the same seats. It is a legal and often rational strategy under block voting.
Q: Can a majority win every seat under block voting?
Yes. A coordinated group with just over half the votes can elect its entire slate and leave the minority with no representation. That is the method's defining weakness.
Q: What is the difference between block voting and cumulative voting?
Under block voting your votes cannot be combined, so the majority sweeps. Under cumulative voting you can pile all of your votes onto one candidate, which lets a minority guarantee a seat.
Q: Do voters have to use all their votes?
Under standard block voting, no. Voters may mark fewer candidates than there are seats. Check your own bylaws, since a rule requiring a full slate is unusual and worth confirming.
Ready to run one? Create your election, or see all ten methods in the voting methods series.
This article is general information, not legal advice. We recommend you do your own research and confirm anything you plan to act on. Where this article states law, the section is cited so you can read the primary source yourself rather than take our word for it — that is what the citations are for. Election requirements also turn on your own governing documents, which we have not seen, and statutes are amended. For advice about your community, consult a qualified attorney licensed in your state.
We work hard to verify every citation against the primary source, but laws change and errors happen. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it. See our editorial standards for how these pages are researched and checked.
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Related Resources
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