The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is often criticized on the grounds that preference voting is unfamiliar in many societies, and demands, at the very least, a degree of literacy and numeracy. The intricacies of an STV count are themselves quite complex, which is also seen as being a drawback.

STV also carries the disadvantages of all parliaments elected by PR methods, such as under certain circumstances increasing the power of small minority parties. Moreover, at times the system, unlike straight List PR, can provide pressures for political parties to fragment internally, because at election-time members of the same party are effectively competing against each other, as well as against the opposition, for votes.

Many of these criticisms have, however, proved to be little trouble in practice. STV elections in Ireland (see Ireland: The Archetypal Single Transferable Vote System), Malta (see Malta: STV With Some Twists) and Tasmania (see The Alternative Vote in Australia) have all tended to produce relatively stable, legitimate governments comprised of one or two main parties.