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| Voting |
| Voters in Britain went to the polls on Thursday 10th June.
They voted in different ways for different organisations, with different results. |
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Send us your views: Should voting be compulsory? (It is in some countries) Why do some younger voters not vote?
How would you like to vote - in person, by post, by text message, by internet?
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Depending where in the UK they lived, people on the electoral register could vote for candidates standing as MEPs, as Mayor of London and representatives of the London Assembly, and as local councillors. There were two main types of voting: proportional representation, with seats allocated according to the number of votes cast, and first past the post, with the seat going to the candidate with the largest number of votes.
Voter turnout has been lower than hoped for in some recent elections. To help overcome this, postal voting was trialled in several areas. Instead of going to polling stations voters were sent a ballot paper, filled it in, had their identity verified and then sent it back.
There is also concern that younger voters don't take part in elections. Postal voting and possibly later voting by text may help - though it may be that younger voters are not interested in conventional politics, and are more likely to vote in single issue politics
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went to the polls
voted in a political election
electoral register
a list of people in each borough who are allowed to vote.
standing
if you stand for a political position (e.g. MP) you are a candidate in an election for that position
MEPs
Members of the European Parliament
Mayor of London
Since May 2000 London has had a mayor responsible for matters including transport and the police
local councillors
people elected to a council, responsible for running a town or other area
proportional representation
political parties receive seats in proportion to the numbers of votes cast.
seats
when someone is elected to parliament you can say that they or their party have won a seat
first past the post
the person with the greatest number of votes wins the seat
candidate
someone who is being considered in an election
had their identity verified
someone who knows them had to confirm they were who they said
polling stations
a public building where people got to vote in an election
ballot
a vote in which people select a candidate in an election or express an opinion
ballot paper
a piece of paper on which you mark your choice
Voter turnout
the proportion of people on the electoral roll who actually voted
single issue politics
where there is concern about one problem, such as the environment
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