An "Effective Vote" is one that is used to elect someone. A vote not used to elect someone is a vote disregarded. There are a great many of these, often more than half, disregarded in First Past The Post elections, where often a minority of the voters in each district elects the district MLA or MP. Not every vote can elect their first choice obviously (not at least when some votes go to each candidate and there are more candidates running than empty seats). But if voters who support the least popular candidates are allowed to switch their votes to others, they can see their vote used to elect someone they prefer at least in preference to others.
Under Canadian STV elections, at least 80 to 90 percent of the votes were used to elect someone, a very high ratio, compared to the rate of Effective Voting in non-proportional winner-take-all First Past The Post elections.
But for example, in the last Edmonton city election (2018), more than half the votes were disregarded. Less than half the votes went to candidates who were elected. More than half the voters went to candidates who were not elected. And almost half the city councillors were elected with the support of only a minority of the voters in their districts.
STV is a system of Effective Voting.
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