Elections and Voting

For information on How to Register to Vote please click here.    Registered voters in North Ayrshire may vote in a variety of elections and referenda.    The main types of election are set out below:-

UK Parliamentary Elections (often referred to as General Elections)

Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected using a 'First Past The Post' system.  In North Ayrshire qualified and registered electors vote in either the North Ayrshire and Arran or the Central Ayrshire constituencies.  Those elected sit in the Westminster Parliament.  

The area of North Ayrshire currently falls across two county constituencies i.e. Central Ayrshire and North Ayrshire and Arran.

The Central Ayrshire constituency consists of part of North Ayrshire plus the area of South Ayrshire Council, other than that part in the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock County Constituency.  

The North Ayrshire and Arran constituency consists of the area of North Ayrshire Council not falling within the Central Ayrshire constituency.

Each UK Parliamentary constituency returns one Member of Parliament (MP).  You can find details of the current MPs for each constituency by using the search facility on the House of Commons website

Maps of the two UK Parliamentary Constituencies can be downloaded from the Boundaries Scotland website.

Local Government Elections (often referred to as Council Elections)

Local Government (or Council) elections are held at regular intervals as prescribed by the Scottish Parliament. These Local elections use the Single Transferable Vote system of voting.

Each Local Government area in Scotland is divided into electoral wards and there is a separate election for each electoral ward.

Scottish Parliamentary Elections

There are currently 129 elected members in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, of which 73 are constituency members and 56 are list members.

Scottish Parliamentary Elections use the Additional Member System (AMS) where each voter has two votes. One of these votes is cast for a constituency MSP using the first past the post system, and the other is cast for a regional representative.  

Scottish Parliamentary elections take place every four years and, depending where you live in North Ayrshire, qualified and registered voters will vote to return a constituency MSP for either the Cunninghame North or Cunninghame South constituency, as well as a West Scotland regional representative.

Each Scottish Parliamentary constituency returns one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). You can find details of the current MPs for each constituency by using the search facility on the Scottish Parliament website.

Maps of the two Scottish Parliamentary constituencies can be downloaded from the Boundaries Scotland website.