Elections Nova Scotia

How does an election work?

How does an election work?

The basic principle of an election is that on election day, you go to the polling station in your polling location and cast your vote for the candidate of your choice running in your electoral district. Every eligible elector has the opportunity to vote for the registered party or person they want to represent them in the House of Assembly.

All elected persons are known as Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs. Nova Scotia is divided into 51 electoral districts, each with a corresponding seat in our Legislative Assembly (also called our House of Assembly). Electoral districts are further divided into polling divisions of around 250-450 eligible electors. The polling division determines the place where you physically go to cast your ballot.

Once the polls are closed, all the votes in your polling division are counted. These are then added to the results from the other polling divisions in your electoral district, as well as the write-in ballots and the advance polls. When all votes are counted, the candidate with the most votes from that electoral district gets a seat in the Legislative Assembly, and becomes an MLA. The party with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly becomes the governing party. The leader of the winning party becomes the premier of Nova Scotia.

Keep returning to electionsnovascotia.ca for daily updates during the election period. You may also follow us on Twitter @electionsns and facebook.com/electionsnovascotia

Did you know you can vote at any returning office in Nova Scotia from now until the Saturday before election day (except Sundays) from 9am to 6pm. Find the closest returning office to you https://enstools.gov.ns.ca/edinfo2012/Location.aspx #nsVotes

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