Polling today to elect Mayor for London at City Hall and London Assembly members. Photo: Electoral Commission guide cover.
From 7 am this morning East London Lines voters decide who will be the next Mayor of London and the political make-up of the Greater London Assembly. The polls close at 10 pm. Counting takes place tomorrow Friday May 4, and the results should be known by the evening.
Voters in the East London Lines boroughs of Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets can elect representatives in the GLA constituencies of Croydon & Sutton, Greenwich & Lewisham, North East, and City & East. About 5.8 million people can cast their votes today across London.
On Friday May 4 you will be able to view the live counting and results process on-line.
East London Lines will have reporting teams covering the results to bring you the reaction and atmosphere. We will also be running a live multimedia blog.
The weather forecast indicates cold and wet conditions in the morning followed by a damp afternoon. The Electoral Commission advises non postal voters to “arrive in plenty of time. Even if voters join a queue before 10pm, they will not be able to vote unless they have been issued with a ballot paper before polls close.”
People registered to vote can fill in three different ballot papers.
Online advice and guidance available from the Electoral Commission
The pink coloured ballot paper is for the London Mayor. Voters can cast a first and second choice from the list of candidates who will either be part of a political party or standing as an independent candidate. There are separate columns for first and second choice. Voters are being encouraged to put crosses down for first and second choice. A cross for only first choice will be counted. But anyone leaving a blank in the first choice column and putting a cross in the second choice column will not have their vote counted.
The yellow coloured ballot paper is for the London Assembly Constituency member. This is for the person voters would like to represent their local constituency.Voters can cast one vote for a candidate.Voters should mark one cross (X) in the box next to the candidate they wish to vote for.
Special London Elects web-site for the independent team that organises the Mayor of London and the London Assembly elections.
The orange coloured paper is for the London-wide Assembly member. This is for the party or independent candidate that voters would like to become a London-wide Assembly Member.Voters should mark one cross (X) in the box next to the party or candidate they wish to vote for.
Voting Systems being used
1 Mayor of London by Supplementary Vote.
If a candidate receives more than half of all the first choice votes they are elected immediately. If this does not happen, the two candidates with the most first choice votes go through to a second round. All other candidates are eliminated, but the second choice votes on the eliminated ballot papers are calculated. Second choice votes for either of the top two candidates are added to the totals for those two candidates from the first round. The candidate with the highest combined total of first and second choice votes will be elected as Mayor of London.
14 Constituency Assembly Members by First Past the Post system.
This means that the candidate in each constituency with the most votes is elected as a London Assembly Constituency Member.
11 London-wide Assembly Members by a form of proportional representation.
Votes from across London for the London-wide Assembly Members are added together. The 11 seats are then allocated based upon a mathematical formula – the Modified d‟Hondt Formula. This takes into account the total votes cast in the London-wide ballot together with the number of Constituency Assembly Member seats that each political party has already won. Eleven rounds of calculations take place to fill the 11 vacant Assembly Member seats, and the party or independent candidate with the highest result at each round is allocated the seat. Seats won by parties are allocated to party candidates in the order they appear on the relevant party‟s list of candidates.
Counting will take place electronically on Friday at three centres across London: Alexandra Palace, Excel, and Olympia.
Election stories at East London Lines
Short guide to voting in person (how to find polling station and information specifically about London.)
Situation of polling stations in Lewisham
Advice on polling and voting in Croydon
Advice on polling and voting in Hackney
Hackney Central Ward By-Election, Thursday 3 May 2012 (For Hackney Council)
Situation of polling stations in Tower Hamlets
Guide to Electronic Counting in the 2012 Mayoral and London Assembly election. May 3, 2012
