Sainte-Laguë method

E188686

electoral system highest-averages method party-list proportional representation method

The Sainte-Laguë method is a highest-averages system of party-list proportional representation that allocates seats more evenly between large and small parties than the d’Hondt method.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Sainte-Laguë method canonical	6
modified Sainte-Laguë method	3
Webster method	2
Sainte-Laguë	1
Webster/Sainte-Laguë method	1
modified Sainte‑Laguë method	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1660524 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sainte-Laguë method
Context triple: [d’Hondt method, comparedWith, Sainte-Laguë method]

A. d’Hondt method
The d’Hondt method is a highest-averages formula used in proportional representation systems to allocate seats or posts among parties based on their share of the vote.
B. Single Transferable Vote
Single Transferable Vote is a proportional representation electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference and seats are allocated by transferring votes according to these rankings.
C. congressional district method
The congressional district method is a system for allocating Electoral College votes in which one elector is awarded to the winner of each congressional district and the remaining two electors go to the statewide popular vote winner.
D. Mixed-Member Proportional
Mixed-Member Proportional is an electoral system that combines single-member district representation with party-list proportional representation to align a legislature’s overall seat distribution closely with parties’ shares of the popular vote.
E. United States congressional apportionment
United States congressional apportionment is the process of dividing the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states based on population, typically following each decennial census.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sainte-Laguë method
Target entity description: The Sainte-Laguë method is a highest-averages system of party-list proportional representation that allocates seats more evenly between large and small parties than the d’Hondt method.

A. d’Hondt method
The d’Hondt method is a highest-averages formula used in proportional representation systems to allocate seats or posts among parties based on their share of the vote.
B. Single Transferable Vote
Single Transferable Vote is a proportional representation electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference and seats are allocated by transferring votes according to these rankings.
C. congressional district method
The congressional district method is a system for allocating Electoral College votes in which one elector is awarded to the winner of each congressional district and the remaining two electors go to the statewide popular vote winner.
D. Mixed-Member Proportional
Mixed-Member Proportional is an electoral system that combines single-member district representation with party-list proportional representation to align a legislature’s overall seat distribution closely with parties’ shares of the popular vote.
E. United States congressional apportionment
United States congressional apportionment is the process of dividing the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states based on population, typically following each decennial census.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	electoral system ⓘ highest-averages method ⓘ party-list proportional representation method ⓘ
allocates	parliamentary seats ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Webster method ⓘ linked to: Sainte-Laguë method Webster/Sainte-Laguë method ⓘ linked to: Sainte-Laguë method method of major fractions ⓘ
appliesTo	party lists ⓘ
canBeCombinedWith	electoral thresholds ⓘ
comparedWith	d’Hondt method ⓘ
computes	quotients by dividing party votes by odd-number divisors ⓘ
contrastsWith	Droop quota ⓘ Hare quota ⓘ linked to: largest remainder method largest remainder methods ⓘ
field	electoral studies ⓘ political science ⓘ social choice theory ⓘ
hasAdvantage	reduces bias toward large parties compared with d’Hondt ⓘ
hasDisadvantage	can lead to more fragmented party systems than d’Hondt ⓘ
hasGoal	proportional representation ⓘ
hasProperty	house monotonicity ⓘ population monotonicity (in apportionment context) ⓘ
hasVariant	Webster/Sainte-Laguë with first divisor 1.4 ⓘ modified Sainte-Laguë method ⓘ linked to: Sainte-Laguë method
isBasedOn	successive quotients ⓘ
isTypeOf	divisor method ⓘ
isUsedFor	legislative elections ⓘ parliamentary elections ⓘ
isUsedIn	Bosnia and Herzegovina ⓘ Denmark (for some allocations and variants) ⓘ linked to: Denmark Germany (for some elections and levels) ⓘ Latvia ⓘ New Zealand ⓘ Norway ⓘ Sweden ⓘ
isUsedUnder	New Zealand MMP system ⓘ linked to: Mixed-Member Proportional mixed-member proportional systems (for list seats) ⓘ
mathematicallyEquivalentTo	rounding to nearest integer in divisor apportionment ⓘ
namedAfter	André Sainte-Laguë ⓘ
originatedIn	20th century ⓘ
seatAllocationRule	seats are assigned to the highest quotients across parties ⓘ
tendsTo	allocate seats more evenly between large and small parties than the d’Hondt method ⓘ be more proportional than d’Hondt for small parties ⓘ favor medium-sized parties compared with d’Hondt ⓘ
usedFor	apportionment of seats among states or regions ⓘ
usesDivisors	1, 3, 5, 7, ... ⓘ
usesDivisorSequenceType	odd numbers ⓘ
usesMechanism	highest averages ⓘ

How these facts were elicited