The voting process

In which elections can I vote? 

In the UK there are several types of election. Most of us are familiar with a general election,This is where electors (people who have the right to vote in that election)  vote for Members of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. Other types of election in London include 

• Local / borough elections where councillors are elected to serve in local authorities across the UK. In London these local authorities are borough councils. 

• Mayor of London, and London Assembly elections where Londoners vote for the Mayor of London, as well as members of the London Assembly. These elections are organised by London Elects. 

Outside of London there are also elections for 

• Police and Crime Commissioners  

• Scottish Parliament 

• Northern Ireland Assembly 

• Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) 

Whether you can vote in these elections depends on: 

• Your age 

• Your nationality 

• Where you live 

• Whether you’re registered to vote 

For instance, you can’t vote in the London Mayoral and London Assembly Elections unless you’re registered to vote in Greater London. For most elections in the UK, you also have to be aged 18 or over in order to vote, but you can register to vote at age 16. 

Restrictions vary between different types of election. This is especially important if you are not a UK citizen and you should check whether you have the right to vote in any upcoming election.  

The Electoral Commission has an easy-to-use online tool which will tell you which elections you can vote in. 

You can find more information about recent changes to vote eligibility enforced by the Elections Act in our fact sheet here. 

Why should I vote? 

Voting is your democratic voice. The UK is a parliamentary democracy, so the public rarely gets the opportunity to vote on a specific issue, unless there is a special vote called a referendum. 

Instead of asking the public to vote on every issue, MPs have the mandate to represent the interests and views of their constituents in the House of Commons where they discuss, debate, and vote on legislation. Once an MP is selected, they will likely remain in position for five years until another general election takes place. This is why elections are so important.  

If you don’t vote, then it’s more likely that an MP whose views and policies you don’t agree with will be elected to represent you.  

Parliament makes decisions that affect every part of our lives including our basic rights. The lives of LGBTQ+ people have been transformed by acts of Parliament in recent decades. Landmark changes like the decriminalisation of gay sex, equal marriage and anti-discrimination laws like The Equality Act were all decided upon by MPs. If you don’t vote, then you’re leaving your rights, health, and potential wellbeing in the hands of others. 

For more information about important laws that have affected LGBTQ+ people, check out our fact sheet. 

How can I vote? 

When voting in a UK election you fill in a ballot indicating which candidate you want to vote for. There are a few ways you can do this: 

• In person at a polling station on election day 

• Before election day with a postal vote 

• By proxy, where someone else votes on your behalf 

Beforehand you must register to vote. This adds your name to the electoral register, a big record of all the voters in the UK. If you don’t register, you can’t vote. For more information about how to register to vote, go here. 

You also need an accepted photo Voter ID in order to vote in person. If you don’ t have the an accepted photo Voter ID, you won’t be allowed to cast your ballot at the polling station. For more information about photo Voter ID, read our guide. 

What happens after I’ve voted? 

Once you’ve voted and the polls have closed (they are usually open between 7 am and 10pm), the votes are all counted. This can take a long time, but in the case of a general election, enough of the votes have usually been counted and confirmed by the following day to know which candidate has won. Counting is a slow process because every ballot is hand counted and then verified to make sure mistakes aren’t made.  

For more information about what happens after the polls close, read this guide from The Commons Library. 

General elections, local elections, police and crime commissioner elections, and mayoral elections in the UK use a system called First Past the Post, which means that the candidate with the most votes wins. In a general election, once every ballot has been counted, the constituency will ‘declare’, meaning that they formally report the results and winner. 

The pan-London Assembly Members are elected using the Additional Member system, whereby the number of votes cast for each party equate proportionally into the number of AMs seats won by that party.  

You can find out more about the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections on London Elects at https://www.londonelects.org.uk/changes-how-we-vote   

 You’ve probably seen the counting happen live on election night news programmes where stylish graphics representing each council or constituency change colour one by one to represent the winning candidate’s party in each area.