On 7 May you will have one vote to choose who will represent you and your community in the Senedd. On your ballot paper, you’ll choose a political party or an independent candidate.
How is this election different?
Wales will be divided into 16 new areas for the 2026 election, called constituencies.
Each constituency will have six ‘seats’ in the Senedd, which means six Members will be elected in each one.
What are party lists?
Before the election, each political party will make a list of up to eight candidates for every constituency in Wales. Candidates can only stand for election in one constituency.
Independent candidates, who are not in a political party, can also stand.
How do party lists work?
When a political party wins seats in a constituency, the first people on their list will be elected to those seats, in order.
So if a party wins three seats in a constituency, the top three people on their list will be elected to those seats. If an independent candidate wins enough votes, they will also win a seat.
How can I see who I’m voting for?
On election day, at your polling station, you will be given a ballot paper and will have one vote for the party or independent candidate you want to represent you in the Senedd.
The ballot paper will show the names of everyone standing for election on each party’s list, so you will be able to see who could be elected in your area.
Any independent candidates will also be shown.
You can see what your ballot paper could like below:
Example ballot paper for the 2026 Senedd election
Please note: these are not real people or political parties, they have been created as an example based on the sample ballot paper used in The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025.
How will Members of the Senedd be elected?
If a party wins enough votes, they will win one or more seats in the Senedd. So, if Party A gets 50% of the votes in a constituency, they will likely get three of the six seats. If Party B gets 30%, they will likely get two of the six seats. If an independent candidate has enough votes, they will also win a seat.
The new voting system is called a ‘closed proportional list system’. So each Member will be elected based on the share of votes each party or independent candidate gets.
Find out more in our blog: What is the D’Hondt formula and how does it work?
The new system means the final make-up of the Senedd will better represent voters’ choices across Wales, so your vote matters more than ever.
You don’t need to bring ID to vote in the Senedd election, but you do need to be registered to vote.
Find out more at Senedd.Wales/election