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.
Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament Election
What is a Scottish Parliament Election?
A Scottish Parliament Election is when the people of Scotland choose who represents them in the Scottish Parliament. The Parliament has the power to make laws in areas of responsibility that have been devolved (transferred) from the UK Parliament. Voters elect a constituency MSP (Members of the Scottish Parliament) and a regional MSP. Elections happen once every 4 years. Almost everyone over the age of 18 living in Scotland can vote, provided they have registered with the Electoral Registration Office.
What is a “constituency” and what is a “region”?
At Scottish Parliamentary Elections, people vote twice: once for their Constituency MSP and once for their Regional MSP.
Constituency MSPs are elected by and represent a small area of Scotland - a constituency. Click here and type in your postcode to find out which constituency you live in.
Regional MSPs (sometimes referred to as List MSPs) are elected by and represent a bigger area of Scotland: a region.
What do candidates do during an election 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 MSPs get elected at a Scottish Parliament Election?
A total of 129 MSPs get elected at a Scottish Parliamentary Election. 73 of these are Constituency MSPs and 56 of these are Regional MSPs.
How do you vote?
At the polling station you two ballot papers: one for your constituency vote and another for your regional vote. You must then go into the polling booth and
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 MSP and one for a Constituency MSP – calculating the winners is a two stage process:
Constituency MSPs are elected using a process called “first past the post”. This simply means that to become a Constituency MSP, a candidate has to win more votes than any rival in their area.
Regional MSPs 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?
If a party wins more than half of the 129 seats available then it forms a government. If a party wins more seats than any other party but less than half the seats available they usually enter into a coalition (an agreement to work together) with another party and they will work together to govern Scotland.