Devon and Cornwall PCC: Alison Hernandez re-elected

Alison Hernandez has been voted the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Devon and Cornwall for another term.

Ms Hernandez has held the role since she was elected in 2016, which operates to ensure forces in England and Wales are running effectively.

She won when the vote went to a second round of counting, after securing 49.97% in the first round.

Ms Hernandez received 275,217 votes after the runoff of second preferences, 65.2% of the total votes cast.

Second place Gareth Derrick from the Labour Party received 146,979 votes after the second round.

Turnout at the Devon, Cornwall and Scilly PCC Election was 37.2% on 6 May - up from 22.8% in 2016 - with 510,381 votes cast.

Counting in the election took more than 14 hours on Monday, with the result called at about 22:45 BST, due to a slower than usual process because of coronavirus restrictions.

PCCs are usually elected every four years, but elections were postponed in May 2020 due to coronavirus, meaning they will serve a shorter three-year term this time.

Responsibilities include setting out force budgets, holding chief constables to account and providing a link between communities and police.

Ms Hernandez narrowly missed getting more than 50% of the first choice votes with 49.97%, resulting in a second preferences being counted.

Under the Supplementary Vote system, voters make a first and second choice and if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, all except the top two candidates are eliminated.

If your first choice candidate is eliminated, and your second choice is for one of the top two, your second choice is counted.

The other candidates who stood were Brian Blake, from the Liberal Democrats, and Stuart Jackson, for the Green Party.

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