WALES HEADS TO THE POLLS
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CASTING YOUR VOTE
ELECTIONS take place in Wales today to choose the 60 Members of the Senedd who will represent you in the Welsh Parliament.
This election will be like no other due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been changes to the way parties and candidates could campaign, and polling stations will look different.
Counting also isn’t taking place overnight as it usually does, but throughout the day tomorrow, and maybe Saturday too.
It is also the first time 16 and 17-year-olds and foreign citizens legally resident in Wales can vote.
Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm.
You can find your polling station with a handy tool from wheredoivote.co.uk – and if you haven’t had a polling card, or you have a query you need help with, your local council can help.
The Electoral Commission can help with finding details.
You don’t need any ID. But you must attend the polling station which is written on your poll card.
Polling stations are Covid-secure.
Social distancing will be in place, as well as one-way systems, queue management and clear safety screens.
You also need to wear a face covering, unless you are exempt.
Voters are encouraged to bring their own pens and pencils but if you forget pens and pencils will also be available at polling stations and will be subject to the appropriate sanitising procedures.
You’ll be given three different ballot papers.
One is for your constituency vote, one for the regional vote, and one for the Police and Crime Commissioner.
If there are local council by-elections in your area, you will also get an extra, appropriate, ballot paper.
The constituency is the local area you live in, and you pick the person you think will represent you best.
Wales also elects regional MSS.
There are 20 regional MSS, with four each representing one of Wales’ five regions; South Wales Central, South Wales East, South Wales West, Mid and West Wales, and North Wales.
You mark one X on each of those papers.
The Police and Crime Commissioner election takes place on the same day.
There are four regions for that corresponding with Wales’s four police forces: North Wales; South Wales; Gwent; and Dyfed-powys.
On this form you can mark two Xs as it uses the Supplementary Vote System, voters have a first and second preference choice.
A voter marks a cross in one column for their first preference candidate and another cross in a second column for their second preference if they wish to do so.
If you have to self-isolate on election day, you can still vote by using a proxy vote.
That means voters who are following government guidelines in respect of self-isolating can apply for an emergency proxy vote up to the day of the poll.
More information regarding a proxy vote can be found at the Electoral Commission website.
Who should you vote for? That’s entirely up to you.
If you want to see more from the parties, you’ll find through these links on the Walesonline website, which has summaries of Plaid’s manifesto; Welsh Labour’s; the Welsh Conservatives’; the Lib Dems’; as well as the Green Party’s; Propel’s; Reform’s; and Gwlad’s.
There is also an interactive tool, designed by
Swansea University and Oxford Brookes University, to see how your views match with a political party.
When will we know the results?
This is a big change compared to previous years.
Rather than counting overnight, the counting will only begin tomorrow morning, which means we won’t know any results before tomorrow afternoon, and it could take until Saturday for us to have a complete picture.
Who becomes the Government?
The Welsh Government is formed from the party or parties holding the most seats in the Senedd and is led by the First Minister.
If a single party wins more than 30 seats, it will be able to form a government.
Otherwise, the largest party can either form a minority government or enter into a coalition with one or more parties.
You’ll be given three different ballot papers. One is for your constituency vote, one for the regional vote, and one for the Police and Crime Commissioner.