A parliamentary vote is the formal way of recording which position members of Parliament (MPs) support. A motion is presented and a debate takes place, followed by the vote. The outcome of the vote is important as it represents a collective expression of opinion and a marker for where political opinions were at a point in time.
MPs usually belong to a political party and their collective group is known as the parliamentary caucus. They are able to form their own opinions on bills through a range of activities such as closely examining bills through committee inquiries, meeting with experts and lobby groups and listening to their constituents. They also receive information and ideas from speeches given in the House of Commons.
The UK Parliament and the Senedd use electronic voting – which means that MPs press buttons on their desks to show their preference for a bill or amendment. The Scottish Parliament uses a paper ballot, while the Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly use ‘division lobbies’ – rooms connected to debating chambers where representatives go to cast their votes. They are notified that a division is to take place by a ‘division bell’, and apps have been developed to notify MPs outside the lobbies that they need to get there.
Most of the time, a vote will involve a ‘first past the post’ system which means that the candidate with most votes is elected. In some circumstances, however, a ‘runoff’ is used. This happens if no candidate gets over 50% of the first round votes. In the runoff, the top two candidates remain and the second preferences of voters who voted for eliminated candidates are transferred to the remaining candidates.