European elections - counting the votes
Information
Under European law, the count at a European election cannot start until voting throughout the European Union is completed.
However, the day after the polling day, the returning officer in each constituency verifies the ballot papers by opening the ballot boxes, counting the number of ballot papers in each box and comparing the number with the account furnished by the presiding officer. The ballot papers are then sent to the count centre for each constituency.
The count proper commences on the final day of the election period and is supervised by the candidates' personation agents. All the ballot papers for the constituency are sorted and placed into bundles for each candidate. Invalid papers are rejected.
Counting continues until all the seats have been filled. The returning officer may recount all or any of the papers at any stage of a count. A candidate or his/her personation agent is entitled to ask for a recount of the papers.
When the count is completed, the returning officer declares the results of the election.
Rules
In Ireland, we have an electoral system known as proportional representation with single transferable vote.
The first step in the process is that the quota is worked out. The quota is the minimum number of votes necessary to guarantee the election of a candidate. It is calculated by dividing the total number of valid papers by one more than the number of seats to be filled and adding one to the result. For example, if there are 1,000 valid ballot papers and there are 4 seats in the constituency, the quota is 1000/ 4 +1 = 200 + 1 = 201. The quota is 201.
The ballot papers are sorted according to the first preferences recorded for each candidate and counted. At the end of the first count, any candidate who has received the quota of votes or more than the quota of votes is deemed to be elected.
When a candidate receives more than the quota of votes, his or her surplus of votes is proportionally transferred to the remaining candidates.
If no candidate receives more than the quota of votes or if the surplus is not enough to elect one of the candidates, the candidate with the lowest amount of votes is eliminated. His or her papers are then transferred to the remaining candidates according to the next preference shown on them.
If a ballot paper is to be transferred and the second preference shown on it is for a candidate already elected or eliminated, the vote passes on to third choice and so on.
If it gets to the point that the number of seats left to be filled is equal to the number of candidates still in the running, these candidates are declared elected without having obtained the quota.
Language
Related Documents
- Proportional Representation
Proportional representation is the system of voting used in all elections in Ireland. Find out how proportional representation works; counts, quotas, transfers, recounts and examples. - Seanad panel elections
How elections are made to the five panels in the Seanad (the upper house of the Irish parliament). - Voting procedure in a European election
Explanation of the system of voting in an election to the European Parliament.
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