Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner elections: voting arrangements

With just a week to go to Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner elections, electors across the region are being reminded about voting arrangements.

There are five candidates standing for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner in Greater Manchester.

They are: Matt Gallagher (Liberal Democrat), Tony Lloyd (Labour Party Candidate), Roy Warren (Independent), Michael William Winstanley (Conservative Party Candidate), and Steven Marcus Woolfe (UK Independence Party (UKIP)).

For more information, including the candidates’ election statements, visit www.choosemypcc.org People wanting to receive a printed version of these by post can order it online or call 0800 1070708.

Polling stations across Greater Manchester will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 15 November.

Anyone who has requested to vote by post rather than in person is encouraged to send in their completed ballot pack as soon as possible.

The Greater Manchester-wide count, and the declaration of who has been elected as the region’s first ever Police and Crime Commissioner will take place at Manchester Central on Friday 16 November.

Police and Crime Commissioners are elected using the Supplementary Vote system, which is used in elections for elected mayors in places such as London and Salford which have them.

This means voters are invited to cast a first and second choice from the list of candidates. Voters indicate their first choice by marking an X in the first choice column. They can then indicate their second choice by marking an X in the second choice column.

Voters are not obliged to mark a second choice, but if they don’t only their first choice will be counted.

If a candidate receives more than half of all first choice votes, they will be elected immediately.

However, if this does not happen the two candidates with the most votes go through to a second round. At this stage, all other candidates would be eliminated but their second choice votes for either of the top two candidates would be added to the totals for those two candidates for the first round.

The candidate with the highest combined total of first and second choice votes would then be elected as Greater Manchester’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

Electors should have received details of their polling station on poll cards delivered to their homes, but if they have any queries they should contact the local elections office for their council area. Contact details for all 10 Greater Manchester areas can be found at www.greatermanchesterpccelection.org.uk


ENDS

Press release issued: 8 November 2012.