Nodyn:Election box/doc

Use

These Election box templates are for displaying a list of candidates and results for any election. They produce tables like this:

General Election 2005: Strangford
Plaid		Ymgeisydd	Pleidleisiau	%	±%
	Llafur	Tony Blair	9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Ceidwadwyr	Michael Howard	9,999	50.0	+10.0
Mwyafrif			9,999	50.0	+10.0
Nifer pleidleiswyr			9,999	50.0	+10.0

How to use

Basic

There are three basic templates:

• {{Election box begin}}
• {{Election box candidate}}
• {{Election box end}}

The begin and end templates start and end a table with appropriate columns and formatting. The candidate template is used once for each candidate and contributes a row to the table.

When using this template please use the election box end template rather than simply inserting |} at the end of the election box. If you do place the |} it will be detected as an error by syntax-checking bots and will then be placed in the syntax cleanup project queue and will need to be fixed by someone. Having fixed a few hundred already, it is becoming somewhat repetitive.

For example:

 {{Election box begin |title=[[United Kingdom general election, 2005|General Election 2005]]: Strangford}}
 {{Election box candidate
   |party      = Labour
   |candidate  = Tony Blair
   |votes      = 9,999
   |percentage = 50.0
   |change     = +10.0
 }}
 {{Election box candidate
   |party      = Conservative
   |candidate  = Michael Howard
   |votes      = 9,999
   |percentage = 50.0
   |change     = +10.0
 }}
 {{Election box end}}
 

Will create this:

General Election 2005: Strangford
Plaid		Ymgeisydd	Pleidleisiau	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Blair	9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Conservative	Michael Howard	9,999	50.0	+10.0

Party links

See Template:Election box candidate with party link for usage and set-up.

Majority and turnout

Two further templates:

• {{Election box majority}}
• {{Election box turnout}}

can be added to record the majority and turnout figures for an election. (In this context, "majority" refers to the winning margin between the first and second placed candidates.)

For example:

 ...
 {{Election box majority
   |votes      = 9,999
   |percentage = 50.0
   |change     = +10.0
 }}
 {{Election box turnout
   |votes      = 9,999
   |percentage = 50.0
   |change     = +10.0
 }}
 {{Election box end}}
 

Will create this:

General Election 2005: Strangford
Plaid		Ymgeisydd	Pleidleisiau	%	±%
	Llafur	Tony Blair	9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Ceidwadwyr	Michael Howard	9,999	50.0	+10.0
Mwyafrif			9,999	50.0	+10.0
Nifer pleidleiswyr			9,999	50.0	+10.0

Election outcome

Finally there are two templates:

• {{Election box hold with party link}}
• {{Election box gain with party link}}

that can be used to summarize the outcome of an election, in terms of whether the incumbent holds the seat or whether it is lost to another party.

For example:

 ...
 {{Election box hold with party link
   |winner     = Labour Party (UK)
   |swing      = +10.0
 }}

 or...

 {{Election box gain with party link
   |winner     = Conservative Party (UK)
   |loser      = Labour Party (UK)
   |swing      = +10.0
 }}
 {{Election box end}}
 

Will create this:

General Election 2005: Strangford
Plaid		Ymgeisydd	Pleidleisiau	%	±%
	Llafur	Tony Blair	9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Ceidwadwyr	Michael Howard	9,999	50.0	+10.0
Mwyafrif			9,999	50.0	+10.0
Nifer pleidleiswyr			9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Llafur cadw		Gogwydd	+10.0

or this...

General Election 2005: Strangford
Plaid		Ymgeisydd	Pleidleisiau	%	±%
	Llafur	Tony Blair	9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Ceidwadwyr	Michael Howard	9,999	50.0	+10.0
Mwyafrif			9,999	50.0	+10.0
Nifer pleidleiswyr			9,999	50.0	+10.0
	Ceidwadwyr yn disodli Llafur		Gogwydd	+10.0

Notes:

• The swing parameter represents Peter Snow's Swingometer measure, ie the percentage change (or swing) in the vote since the last election.
• When preparing the tables in advance of an election, it may be convenient to include these two templates but commented out (using <!-- and --> ) until the outcome is known.
• Potentially there is a need for versions of these templates that do not have the party link mechanism. However, it can be argued that any party that has a successful candidate deserves an article about them and the full /meta/color treatment. The one obvious exception to this is, of course, independent candidates, who won't actually have a party. If / when there's a need, just create a non party link version of these templates.

List of templates

• {{Election box begin}}
• {{Election box begin no change}}
• {{Election box begin no party}}
• {{Election box candidate}}
• {{Election box candidate for alliance}}
• {{Election box candidate minor party}}
• {{Election box candidate with party link}}
• {{Election box candidate with party link no change}}
• {{Election box winning candidate with party link}}
• {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change}}
• {{Election box gain}}
• {{Election box gain with party link}}
• {{Election box hold with party link}}
• {{Election box hold with party link no swing}}
• {{Election box void}}
• {{Election box majority}}
• {{Election box margin of victory}}
• {{Election box metadata}}
• {{Election box new seat win}}
• {{Election box Registered electors}}
• {{Election box rejected}}
• {{Election box turnout}}
• {{Election box turnout no change}}
• {{Election box turnout no party}}
• {{Election box total}}
• {{Election box total no change}}
• {{Election box end}}
• {{Election box inline begin}}
• {{Election box inline begin no change}}
• {{Election box inline candidate}}
• {{Election box inline candidate no change}}
• {{Election box inline candidate with party link}}
• {{Election box inline candidate with party link no change}}
• {{Election box inline incumbent}}
• {{Election box inline end}}
• {{Election Summary}} – for parties with no article on Wikipedia
• {{Election summary begin}}
• {{Election summary party}}
• {{S-end}}

Blanks by country

• United Kingdom
• United States

Extensions

• Template:Election FPTP begin As 1, but includes an additional column for expenditures. Example
• Template:Election box begin for list As 1, but better suited to list-based multi-member constituencies. Example
• Template:Election box candidate for alliance As 3, with an additional "side" party. Example

See also

• Template:Compact election box A more compact box for first-past-the-post elections