Ballot paper: This is the piece of paper you use to make your vote. It shows a list of candidates and voters have to write a cross next to their choice.
Candidate: A person who wants to be elected or has been nominated to be elected is called a candidate.
Canvasser: People who want a candidate to win can help them by becoming a canvasser for their election campaign. A canvasser asks voters who they will vote for and tries to get as many people as possible to vote for their candidate.
Constituency: The UK is divided up into 646 areas called constituencies. The voters in each constituency get to elect 1 MP to represent the people in their area.
Election campaign: Around election time, candidates and their supporters organise events and activities to convince people that they are the best person to vote for.
Electoral register: Across the UK there are electoral registers. These are lists of all the people who have decided they want to vote at elections. You must have your name on this list before you can vote.
Electorate: This is what we call everyone who is able to vote in an election.
Government: The institution which runs the country. The Prime Minister selects the Members of the Government from MPs, Lords and very occasionally senior people outside Parliament.
Manifesto: This is something that political parties write around the time of an election, which tells us what they would do if the got elected. A manifesto usually contains pledges (plans of action) on important issues and is often a big part of the election campaign.
MP: At a general election, the people in a constituency (area) can vote to decide who will represent them in Parliament. The person they choose is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.
Parliament: Where new laws are debated and created.
Poll card: This card is sent to everybody who is registered to vote – it has important information about the election like when, where and what time to vote.
Northern Ireland Assembly
What is a Northern Ireland Assembly Election?
A Northern Ireland Assembly Election is when the people of Northern Ireland choose who represents them in the Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA). This representative is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Elections take place once every 4 years. Almost every person over the age of 18 living in Northern Ireland is entitled to vote, provided they are on the electoral register.
What is a constituency and what is a region?
A constituency is an area of the country that elects six MLAs. Each constituency has approximately 68,000 voters. Click here to find out which constituency you live in.
What do candidates do during a campaign?
To convince people to vote for them, candidates might make speeches, have debates or go “door to door” talking to local people about issues that affect them. Together, these activities are known as an election campaign. To help them with these activities, candidates need an election campaign team with speech writers, canvassers, press officers and spin doctors.
How many MLAs get elected at a Northern Ireland Assembly Election?
6 MLAs are elected for all 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland. This means that a total of 108 MLAs get elected at a Northern Ireland Assembly Election.
How do you vote?
People generally go to their local polling station to vote. (This is often the local school hall.) Staff there will give you a ballot paper listing the candidates for the six seats in your constituency.
On your ballot paper, you should put a ‘ 1 ' in the box next to your first preference candidate, a ‘ 2 ' next to your second preference, a ‘ 3 ' next to your third preference, and so on. You can do this for as many candidates as you like. This process is called the Single Transferable Vote (STV).
How do you know who has won?
First preference votes are counted and a quota is calculated. The quota is the minimum number of votes a candidate must have to be elected. Any candidate with a number of first preference votes equal to or higher than the quota is elected.
If fewer than six candidates are elected, the surplus votes are transferred to second preference candidates. If there are still seats unfilled because six candidates have not reached the quota, candidates with the lowest number of votes are eliminated and their votes transferred to second preference candidates. The process continues until all six seats are filled.
So, if your first preference candidate does not get elected (or if they are elected with a large margin), your vote can still play a part in electing the other candidates.
What happens once the election is finished?
The party with the most seats forms the Northern Ireland Assembly Government. It is the Assembly Government that, with the approval of the Assembly as a whole, has the power to implement policies.