For the first time ever, 16 and 17-year-olds and foreign nationals will be able to vote in the 2021 Welsh Parliament elections.

Make sure that #YourVoice is heard by making sure you are registered to vote.

DEADLINE TO REGISTER:
MIDNIGHT 19 APRIL 2021

In Wales, you can register to vote when you’re 15 years old. But you can only start to vote in Senedd (Welsh Parliament) elections when you turn 16.

You need to register if:

  • you’ve never registered to vote before
  • you’ve just become old enough to register

You only need to do this once, unless…

  • you’ve moved house recently
  • you’ve changed your name for any reason
Click here to register to vote

All you need is your National Insurance number (if you’re under 16 you don’t need one).

Already registered? Apply for a postal vote here
#YourVoice2021

FAQs

The Senedd is the democratically elected body of Wales.

The Senedd makes laws, agrees taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account.

The Wesminster Parliament reserves some key powers over things like defence, monetary policy and the monarchy.

The Senedd has responsibility over key aspects of our lives such as health, education, the environment and more.

You can read more about what powers are reserved in Westminster here.

Members of the Senedd (MSs) meet twice a week (Tuesday & Wednesday) in the Siambr (main chamber) in what is called, “Plenary”.

Plenary is chaired by the Llywydd (Presiding Officer) and is the main forum for Members of the Senedd to carry out their roles as democratically elected representatives.

There are also committees of the Senedd. Committees carry out many functions, including scrutinising the Welsh Government, holding Ministers to account, and examining proposed legislation line by line.

Committees are organised based on subjects ranging from the Children and Young People Committee to the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee. Click here to read more on the different committees.

If you’re over 16 and live in Wales you can vote in Senedd elections every five years.

You have two votes in Senedd elections – one vote to choose someone to represent your local area (your constituency) and a second vote to choose people to represent the region of Wales you live in.

40 members of the Senedd are elected via the constituency vote, and the remaining 20 are elected via the regional vote.

Constituency Members

The 40 constituency Members are chosen by the first-past-the-post system. The candidate with highest number of votes is then elected.

Regional Members

The five regions are:

  1. North Wales
  2. Mid and West Wales
  3. South Wales West
  4. South Wales Central
  5. South Wales East

Each has four seats.

The 20 regional Members are chosen by a form of proportional representation. This makes sure that the final make-up of the Senedd reflects the support for each party across the country.

There are three different ways you can vote. You can choose the way that suits you.

These are:

  1. Voting in person at the polling station
  2. Voting by post
  3. Asking someone you trust to vote on your behalf (by proxy)

Before election day, you’ll receive a Poll Card. This will tell you where and when you can vote (your local polling station).

A global pandemic is a good reason to want to vote by post. It eliminates the need of needing to be around and interacting with strangers.

You may be away from home, working or have caring responsibilities which make it difficult to go to the Polling Station on election day.

Whatever the reason, once you have registered to vote, you should apply for a postal vote.

Click here to download the postal vote form and to find out where to send your form.

Need help? Click here to get advice.

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