Page last updated at 12:22 GMT, Tuesday, April 5 2011

Referendum on the voting system used to elect MPs to the House of Commons

On Thursday 5 May 2011, there will be a referendum on the voting system you use to elect MPs to the House of Commons.

A referendum asks you to vote yes or no to a proposal. For this referendum, you will receive a ballot paper with this question:

At present, the UK uses the ‘first past the post’ system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. Should the ‘alternative vote’ system be used instead?

Victor the Vote Counter

Let Victor explain how the two voting systems stack up.