page_title: 2012 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections
section_title: Election details
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 England and Wales police and crime commissioner elections / Election details
caption_attribution_description: English: The 2012 voter turnout.
context_page_description: The 2012 police and crime commissioner elections were polls held in most police areas in England and Wales on Thursday 15 November. The direct election of police and crime commissioners was originally scheduled for May 2012 but was postponed in order to secure the passage of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 through the House of Lords. The government considers the elected commissioners to have a stronger mandate than the "unelected and invisible police authorities that they replace". The elections took place alongside by-elections for the House of Commons in Cardiff South and Penarth, Corby and Manchester Central, and a mayoral election in Bristol.
  Police and crime commissioner elections were for 41 of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales; only the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police were not involved. Elections for police and crime commissioners did not take place in Scotland or Northern Ireland as policing and justice powers are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
context_section_description: Commissioners have a set four-year term of office and a maximum of two terms.
  The election used the supplementary vote system: voters marked the ballot paper with their first and second choices of candidate. If no candidate got a majority of first preference votes, the top two candidates went on to a second round in which second preference votes of the eliminated candidates were allocated to them to produce a winner. This is the system used to elect London's mayor. Section 57 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 directs that the voting system is first past the post if there are only two candidates for a specific commissioner region. (This was the case in the North Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Dyfed-Powys police force areas)
  A dedicated website was launched providing information on all candidates from which voters could request hardcopy information leaflets printed to order.
  All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in England and Wales (except London) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 15 November 2012 were entitled to vote in the PCC elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) could still vote in the PCC elections. Those who were registered to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) were entitled to vote in the PCC elections at both addresses, as long as they were not in the same police force area.
  The deadline to register to vote in the PCC elections was midnight on Wednesday 31 October 2012, though anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Thursday 8 November 2012 to register. Nominations for candidates closed at midday on Friday 19 October 2012, and the official list of nominated candidates was published on Tuesday 23 October 2012.
caption: England and Wales police and crime commission voter turnout in 2012.
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