CONTACT

Mail :	The Electoral Registration Office Department for Corporate Support Plymouth City Council Plymouth PL1 2AA
Phone :	01752 304866/304936
Email :	ero@plymouth.gov.uk
Fax :	01752 304819

Elections and voting

Details about the forthcoming by election in the Southway Ward on 27 June 2013 can be found on the by election page.

Details on registering to vote can be found on the register to vote page.

Details about local elections can be found on the Electoral Commission website.

What are elections?

Elections are the democratic process where we elect candidates to represent our interests either locally or nationally. The candidate who receives the majority of the votes cast is declared elected.

There are four types of election that take place in Plymouth:

Local Government (Plymouth City Council) elections

Local Government (Plymouth City Council) elections take place every year except in years when there are county council elections in the rest of England. There will therefore be elections in 2012, 2014, and 2015. No elections are scheduled for 2013. The Councillors are elected for four-year terms by thirds; that is, at each election, a third of the councillors are elected.

The last Plymouth City Council elections were held on 3 May 2012.

The next Local Government elections are scheduled to take place on Thursday 1 May 2014. This may however be delayed to coincide with European Parliamentary elections.

Parliamentary (General) elections

Parliamentary (General) elections take place every five years as a government may only serve a maximum of five years (except in the event of a collapse government or a two-thirds majority of MPs voting for an early election) in accordance with the Fixed-term Parliaments act 2011. They may however call a General election at any time during their term of office.

The last Parliamentary (General) elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2010.

The next Parliamentary (General) election is currently scheduled for 7 May 2015.

European Parliamentary elections

European Parliamentary elections take place every five years. Members of the European Parliament serve a fixed term of five years.

The European Parliamentary elections for the South West Area are led and co-ordinated by the Regional Counting Officer (RCO), Paul Morris from Borough of Poole council.

The last European Parliamentary elections were held in June 2009.

The next European Parliamentary elections are currently scheduled to take place on Thursday 5 June 2014

Police and Crime Commissioner elections

The first Police and Crime Commissioner elections took place on Thursday 15 November 2012,

The election in Devon and Cornwall was led and co-ordinated by the Police Area Returning Officer (PARO). The PARO for Devon and Cornwall, appointed by the Secretary of State, was Kevin Lavery, Chief Executive of Cornwall Council.

The next Police and Crime Commissioner election is scheduled for 5 May 2016 and will then take place every four years.

Political Structure Graph