THE British public go to the polls today to vote for the next UK Government.
Millions of votes will be cast, but how are they all counted? Here’s everything you need to know.
How are general election votes counted?
There are two stages to counting votes at UK general elections.
At the first stage, count staff will be comparing the actual numbers of ballot papers in each ballot box against the ballot paper account.
This is a form completed by the Presiding Officer at each polling station accounting for the ballot papers they have issued.
Ballot boxes are opened and emptied onto tables. The empty boxes are shown to everyone present.
Count teams then count and record the number of ballot papers in each ballot box.
This stage is crucial as it checks that all ballot papers are properly accounted for and that the number of ballot papers
delivered to the count matches the number expected.
In stage 2, ballot papers from different ballot boxes are mixed to preserve the secrecy of the vote.
The papers are then allocated to count teams which will sort ballot papers by candidate.
As long as the intention of the voter is clearly apparent, the vote can be accepted as valid and be counted.
After the sorting is complete, count teams will count the number of votes cast for each candidate.
Once all of the valid votes and any rejected votes have been added together and checked against the total number of ballot papers from the first stage of the count, the acting returning officer (ARO) will share the result with candidates and their agents before the official announcement.
When will we find out who has won?
At a UK Parliamentary election, the ARO must take reasonable steps to begin stage 2 of the count by 2am.
A number of factors might impact on when the votes can begin to be counted, for example the geography of the constituency and how long it takes to get the ballot boxes in from the polling stations.
This stage is crucial as it checks that all ballot papers are properly accounted for and that the number of ballot papers delivered to the count matches the number expected.
Times can vary but the public will wake up knowing who has won the election, with all counts expected to be completed around 6am.
