Election of the City Mayor Candidates Booklet
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2019 © ELECTION OF THE Leicester City Council Leicester City Mayor THURSDAY 2 MAY 2019 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Introduction On Thursday 2 May 2019 electors in Leicester will have the opportunity to vote for the person they want to be city mayor of Leicester until 2023. On the same day you can also vote in the city council elections. The law* requires us to send this booklet to every registered voter in the city. It includes: • an overview of the role of the elected city mayor • an election address – or statement – from each of the mayoral candidates who wish to be included • information on the voting process for the elected city mayor and on how the result is calculated • frequently asked questions about elections and the voting process. 2 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 There are seven candidates standing for city mayor. Statements from six of them can be found on pages 16 to 27. Stuart Ian Eric Young, UK Independence Party (UKIP), is also standing but did not provide an address to be included in this booklet. Your vote is important in deciding who the future city mayor of Leicester will be. Please note that each election address is the responsibility of the relevant candidate and the text, photographs and pre-prepared artwork (where applicable) have been supplied by them. The views expressed are theirs and the content cannot be attributed to the returning officer or Leicester City Council. As required by law, the returning officer has drawn lots to decide the order in which the candidates appear in this booklet. * Regulation 7 of the Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 requires the returning officer to fund and produce this booklet, which contains details of prospective mayoral candidates. It is also a legal requirement that a copy of this booklet is sent to every registered voter in the city, which means households will often receive a number of copies depending on the number of registered voters at that address. ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR 3 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 City mayor’s role Leicester is one of a number of cities to have an elected city mayor. The city mayor is elected for a four-year term of office. The role provides strategic direction for the city and is responsible for the determination and implementation of council policy and delivery of council services. The city mayor is not an elected councillor but, once elected, will appoint an executive team of between two and nine elected councillors who will support the city mayor in leading the council and making decisions. The city mayor must by law also appoint one of the executive team as a deputy city mayor to stand in when the mayor is absent. The city mayor’s role is different to that of the lord mayor which is a ceremonial role undertaken by an elected councillor. Leicester continues to have a lord mayor as well as a city mayor. 4 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR 5 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Voting information The mayoral election uses a voting system called the ‘supplementary voting system’. You will have two votes – one for your first choice candidate and one, if you wish, for your second choice candidate. The ballot paper will list all the candidates standing in the mayoral election and next to the list of candidates there will be two columns. Vote for your first choice by marking a cross (X) in the first choice column. Vote for your second choice candidate by Sample ballot paper – making a first choice vote only ELECTION OF MAYOR Column 1 Column 2 (First choice) (Second choice) Candidate 1 Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 2 LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate 3 Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 4 Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 5 Candidate address Party: LOGO CORRECT 6 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 marking a cross (X) in the second choice column. You do not have to mark a second choice if you don’t want to. If you vote for the same candidate twice, your second vote will not be counted. If you only want to make a first choice vote place your cross (X) in the first choice column. A single cross (X) on the ballot paper in the second choice column will not be counted as a first choice. Sample ballot paper – making a first choice vote only ELECTION OF MAYOR ELECTION OF MAYOR Column 1 Column 2 Column 1 Column 2 (First choice) (Second choice) (First choice) (Second choice) Candidate 1 LOGO Candidate 1 Candidate address Party: Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 2 LOGO Candidate 2 LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate address Party: X Candidate 3 LOGO Candidate 3 Candidate address Party: Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 4 LOGO Candidate 4 Candidate address Party: Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 5 LOGO Candidate 5 Candidate address Party: Candidate address Party: LOGO CORRECT INCORRECT ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR 7 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Sample ballot paper – making a first and second choice vote ELECTION OF MAYOR Column 1 Column 2 (First choice) (Second choice) Candidate 1 Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 2 LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate 3 LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate 4 Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate 5 Candidate address Party: LOGO CORRECT If you want to make a first and second choice vote make sure you place a cross (X) in both columns. Do not place both crosses (Xs) in one column as neither vote will count. For your second choice to be valid it must be different from your first choice. The election count will take place on Friday 3 May. At the first stage count, if one candidate gets more than half of the first choice votes they will win the election. If no candidate achieves more than half of the first choice votes, then a second stage count will take place. The two candidates with the most first 8 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Sample ballot paper – making a first and second choice vote ELECTION OF MAYOR ELECTION OF MAYOR Column 1 Column 2 Column 1 Column 2 (First choice) (Second choice) (First choice) (Second choice) Candidate 1 Candidate 1 LOGO Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate address Party: Candidate 2 Candidate 2 LOGO LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate address Party: X Candidate 3 Candidate 3 LOGO LOGO Candidate address Party: X Candidate address Party: X Candidate 4 Candidate 4 LOGO Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate address Party: Candidate 5 Candidate 5 LOGO Candidate address Party: LOGO Candidate address Party: CORRECT INCORRECT choice votes will remain and all other candidates will be eliminated. The second choice votes from the eliminated candidates will then be counted in the second stage. Any second choice votes cast for the two remaining candidates will be added to their first choice votes. The candidate with the highest number of combined first and second choice votes will then win and be declared city mayor of Leicester. ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR 9 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Leicester East Rushey Beaumont Mead Leys Troon Leicester Abbey West Belgrave North Evington Fosse Western Wycliffe Spinney Westcotes Hills Stoneygate Braunstone Park Castle & Rowley Fields Saffron Knighton Aylestone Eyres Monsell Leicester South City council elections As well as the vote for the elected city mayor, there will also be city council elections on 2 May to elect ward councillors to represent your local area. The city is divided into 21 areas known as ‘wards’. Depending on the number of registered voters living in your ward, you will have either two or three elected councillors who represent that ward. If your ward is represented by two councillors you will vote for up to two candidates; if it has three councillors you will vote for up to three candidates. The candidates with the most votes will be elected and become the councillors for that ward. 10 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Leicester East Troon Humberstone & Hamilton Thurncourt Evington ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR 11 leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 Frequently asked questions Who can vote? To vote in both the mayoral and city council elections you must be included on the register of electors for Leicester and be 18 years of age on or before 2 May 2019. All registered British, Commonwealth, Irish and European Union citizens are entitled to vote. British overseas electors are not entitled to vote. Why two votes for one city mayor? The law states the voting process for mayoral elections must be done this way. It allows you to say who would be your second choice for city mayor if your first choice is not in the top two after the first round of counting, and if there is not an outright majority winner at that stage. How do I mark my vote? Mark your vote in the usual way with a single X in each of the columns indicated. You have two votes – one for your first choice and one for your second choice of candidate. What happens if I don’t make a second choice? Your first choice vote will still be counted. What happens if I only mark an X in the second choice column? Your vote will not be counted because no one will know who your favourite candidate was. 12 ELECTION OF THE CITY MAYOR leicester.gov.uk/elections2019 What if I mark an X in the first choice column for more than one candidate? Your vote will not be counted.