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.
Welsh Assembly
National Assembly for Wales
What is a National Assembly for Wales Election?
The National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) is an elected body whose purpose is to make decisions on behalf of the people in Wales. A National Assembly for Wales Election is when the people of Wales choose who represents them in the National Assembly. Voters select an Assembly Member (AM). Elections take place once every 4 years. Almost every person living in Wales over the age of 18 is entitled to vote, provided they are on the electoral register.
What is a constituency and what is a region?
At NAfW elections people get two votes: once for their Constituency AM and one for their Regional AM.
Constituency AMs are elected by and represent a small area of Wales (68,000 people approx) - a constituency. Click here and type in your postcode to find out which constituency you live in.
Regional AMs are elected by and represent a bigger area of Wales - a region. Regional AMs cover an area that includes between seven and ten constituencies.
How many AMs get elected at a National Assembly for Wales Election?
A total of 60 AMs get elected. Of these, 40 are Constituency AMs and 20 are Regional AMs
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 two ballot papers: one for your constituency vote and another for your regional vote.
On the constituency ballot paper put an X next to the constituency candidate you want to vote for.
On the regional ballot paper put an X next to the regional political party you want to vote for.
How do you know who has won?
As two votes have been cast – one for a Regional AM and one for a Constituency AM – calculating the winners is a two stage process:
Constituency AMs are elected using a process called “first past the post”. This simply means that to become a Constituency AM, a candidate has to win more votes than any rival in their area.
Regional AMs are elected through the “additional member system” (AMS). The idea is that the percentage of votes received by each political party determines its number of additional representatives.
What happens once the election is finished?
The leader of the party with the most seats is invited by the Monarch (the current King or Queen) to form the Welsh Assembly Government.