Police and Crime Commissioner elections

The voting system

Police and Crime Commissioner elections with three or more candidates use the supplementary vote system.

Who am I voting for?

The Police and Crime Commissioner is a new role replacing your local police authority. The Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible for holding the Chief Constable and police force to account on the public's behalf. The Police and Crime Commissioner oversees how crime is tackled in their area and aims to make sure the police are providing a good service.

How to vote

Always read the instructions for filling in the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.

For this election you can vote for a first and second choice of who you want to win.

The ballot paper will list all the candidates standing in your area. Next to the list of candidates there will be two columns.

You will be asked to:

• vote for your first-choice candidate by marking a cross (X) in the first-choice column, and
• vote for your second-choice candidate by marking a cross (X) in the second-choice column.

As long as you mark one cross in the first-choice column, your vote can be counted.

You should not mark more than one cross in the first-choice column and you should not mark more than one cross in the second-choice column.

If you have marked a first choice, you can choose whether or not to mark a second-choice. But if you only mark a cross in the second choice column, your vote won’t be counted.

If you mark a cross next to the same candidate in the first and second choice column, your ballot paper will still be accepted but you would not be marking a second choice. If you want to mark a second choice, you should mark a cross next to a different candidate in the second choice column.

You should not put any other mark on the ballot paper or your vote may not be counted.

If you make a mistake then you can ask the polling staff to give you a replacement ballot paper.

Please note, if only two candidates stand in your area, the ballot paper will only have one column and you will be asked to mark only one cross.

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 ballot papers showing a first preference for the eliminated candidates are checked for their second preference. Any second preference votes for the two remaining candidates are then added to the candidates’ first preference votes and the candidate with the most votes wins.