convention to select a nominee of the out-going member's party. Where Group Voting Tickets are now abolished, an "above the line" vote is equivalent to a vote for all candidates in one group in order, but the elector may choose to number additional boxes to express preferences for other groups. The Senate, News South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia (pending legislation) optional preferential voting, so a voter does not have to complete every square. Each form has its pros and cons. The Hare-Clark system with Robson Rotation is advocated on the grounds that the effect of 'donkey voting' is reduced because of the randomised ordering, and the absence of the group voting tickets creates more personal accountability. The alternative system is advocated on the grounds that informal voting (spoiled ballots) is reduced because only one number need be written; on the other hand, it greatly increases the potential for tactics by parties as they have direct control of a large percentage of the vote. Over 90% of voters vote "above the line" instead of ranking their own preferences in detail. As a result, the informal rate reduced from around 10 percent, to around three percent. Canada STV was used in provincial elections in two provinces and city elections in 20 cities and municipalities in the 1917 to 1971 period. All these elections used the Droop quota. For transfers of surplus votes, most of them used the whole vote method. Only Calgary city elections used the Gregory fractional method. STV was used in Winnipeg for provincial elections to elect ten MLAs from 1920 to 1949. This was the largest District Magnitude (number of members elected in single contest) anywhere in the world until New South Wales began to elect 21 in its elections starting in 1990. Other cities that used STV include Vancouver, Victoria, Nelson, Port Coquitlam, New Westminster, Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, St. Boniface and Lethbridge (1928 only). Federal elections in Canada Senate Under the proposed Bill C-43 before the Parliament of Canada during the 39th Parliament – 1st Session (April 3, 2006 – September 14, 2007), STV would have been used for consultative elections of Senators. Alberta STV-PR was used in the Calgary and Edmonton electoral districts for electing Members of the Alberta Legislative Assembly from 1926 to 1955, with five, six or seven MLAs being elected at-large in each city. Medicine Hat used STV