Voting Systems
Different voting systems used in the UK
Find out about the different voting systems used in UK elections - and what to expect when you vote.
General (UK Parliamentary) elections
Voting system
General elections are decided by using the 'first past the post' voting system
Who am I voting for?
A Member of Parliament (MP) to sit in the UK Parliament in Westminster and represent your constituency. There are currently 650 constituencies in the UK and each is represented by one MP.
How to vote
Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.
The ballot paper lists the name of each candidate along with their party name or description, party logo and where they live.
Simply put an X (a cross) next to the one candidate that you wish to vote for.
If you make a mistake, you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper.
You may also be voting in other elections or referendums on the same day.
Who is elected?
The candidate with the most votes is elected. If there is a tie, the winning candidate is selected by the drawing of lots.
Local government elections in England
The voting system
First past the post.
Who am I voting for?
Between one and three councillors to represent your ward on the local council. There are 388 local councils in England and about 20,000 councillors.
How to vote
Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.
The ballot paper lists the name of each candidate along with their party name, party logo and their address.
You will be able to vote for between one and three candidates. The instructions at the top of your ballot paper will tell you how many candidates you can vote for.
Simply put an X (a cross) next to each candidate that you wish to vote for. You do not have to use all of your votes; the suggested number is a maximum.
If you make a mistake, you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper.
You may also be voting in other elections on the same day.
Who is elected?
The number of candidates to be elected will be the same as the number of votes that you were allowed.
The candidate with the most votes is elected first. If required, the candidate with the second highest number of votes is also elected, followed by the third placed candidate, if three councillors are to be elected.
If there is a tie, a candidate is selected by the drawing of lots (i.e. a method of selection by chance, such as tossing a coin or picking a name out of a hat).
Directly Elected Mayors in England (including the London Mayor)
The voting system
Supplementary Vote.
Who am I voting for?
All local councils in England have a Mayor. Most are chosen by the council; however, in some areas, the Mayor is directly elected by the voters at the same time as they vote for their councillors.
There is also a Mayor of London, with a wider range of powers than local council Mayors.
How to vote
Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.
The ballot paper lists the name of each candidate along with their party name, party logo and their address.
There are two columns next to each name. You should put an X (a cross) in the left-hand column next to your first preference for Mayor and an X (a cross) in the right-hand column next to your second preference for Mayor. Please read the ballot paper carefully to ensure that you have filled it in correctly.
In 2007, some areas undertook pilot schemes whereby the two columns were replaced by a single column, with voters asked to put a 1 next to their first choice for Mayor and a 2 next to their second choice for Mayor.
If you make a mistake then you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper.
You may also be voting in other elections on the same day.
Who is elected?
The first preferences are counted and if a candidate has received more than 50% of the votes cast, they are elected.
If no candidate has more than 50% of the vote, all candidates apart from those in the first and second place are eliminated. The votes showing a first preference for one of the eliminated candidates are checked for their second preference. Any second preference votes for the two remaining candidates are then added to their first preference votes and the candidate with the most votes wins.
European Parliament elections in England, Scotland and Wales
The voting system
Proportional representation - closed list.
Who am I voting for?
Between three and ten Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent your region.
The UK is divided into regions, one for each of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and nine covering England. Each region is allocated a number of MEPs, according to its population.
How to vote
Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.
The ballot paper lists political parties and independent candidates. Under each party name is a list of candidates who wish to represent that party.
Simply put an X (a cross) next to the party or independent candidate that you wish to vote for.
If you make a mistake, you can ask the polling staff to give you another ballot paper.
You may also be voting in other elections on the same day.
Who is elected?
In each region, the allocated seats are awarded using a quota system.
The quota is the total number of votes received by a party or independent candidate divided by the number of seats already gained by the party in that region plus one.
So, for a party with no seats, the number of votes received is divided by one (0 + 1) and therefore stays the same. If the party already has one seat, then its number of votes is divided by two (1 + 1); if it has two seats, the number of votes is divided by three and so on.
This means that the more seats you have already won, the harder it is to gain extra seats, so the overall allocation of seats is more proportional to the number of votes received.
The first seat that a party wins goes to the first person on its list of candidates, the second seat to the second person and so on, until the party has either not won any more seats or has run out of names on its list.
An independent candidate is treated as though he or she were a party with only one name on its list.
