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.

In 2007 some areas undertook pilot schemes whereby the two columns were replaced by a single column, and voters were asked to put a 1 next to their first choice for Mayor and a 2 next to their second choice for Mayor. Please read the ballot paper carefully to ensure that you have filled it in correctly.

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.