Today's mayoral election should not completely overshadow the elections to the London Assembly. The Assembly has the task of holding the Mayor to account but its voting system may confuse some.

Voters have two ballot papers for the Assembly, as well as their pink paper vote for Mayor. The yellow Assembly ballot paper is for the constituency in which the voter lives. This contest is first-past-the-post. Electors pick their preferred candidate by marking a cross against one name. The peachcoloured ballot paper is for choosing the other members of the Assembly on a London-wide basis. On this paper, voters put a cross against one party, not an individual candidate. This gives a chance to smaller parties, such as the Greens, with a reasonable level of support citywide but not enough to win in a single area.

Assembly votes matter. The party-list Assembly vote gives the BNP hope of winning its first Assembly seat if it can get more than the threshold of five per cent per cent. All those who are committed to London democracy must reach their polling station - with or without polling card - by 10pm tonight to make their voices heard.

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