Andaman and Nicobar: Split in three "unitary districts", all have elections every four years ('13, '17, '21)
Australia: Timing and overlook devolved to the states, apart from the territories. Mostly single level, but the distinction between "city council" and "shire council" is there, even if strangely arbitrary.
- Australian Capital Territory - no local council, its merged with the territorial council.
- Bougainville Territory - split in three "unitary districts", all have elections every three years ('13, '16, '19)
- New South Wales - many "cities" [also called "municipalities"] and "shires", but those have been steadily losing power to the comparatively-recent "regions" over time, which are a new 2010s thing. All hold elections every three years (cities - '14, '17, '20, shires - '15, '18, '21, regions - '13, '16, '19)
- Northern Territory - Has 17 local government authorities, with 5 called "cities" and 12 "shires". All hold their election on the same day, every three years ('15, '18, '21). The government is slowly implementing a "5 regions" proposal but it has created controversy.
- Queensland - Defines its councils as "indigenous lands", "regions", "shires", "cities" and "towns". There doesn't seem to be any legal differences. Indigenous lands, shires and towns elect every three years ('15, '18, '21), while cities and regions elect every three years ('14, '17, '20). Reforms have been made, but the people in rural areas have voted to restore their shires and defy merging.
- Solomon Islands - Has nine provinces and one capital district, and all are managed by local councils headed by a "council president". Elects all at the same time, every three years ('15, '18, '21)
- South Australia - Has a two-tier council system consisting of "districts" and "regions". The districts and regions broadly share the same powers, leading to some confusion. The districts are elected every three years ('17, '20, '23) and the regions every three years ('18, '21, '24). In the north there's a big part that isn't covered by a district, but is by the "Outback Region".
- Tasmania - Has a single-level council system, which it calls the "local councils" administering "areas". Those are elected every three years ('19, '22, '25)
- Victoria - Has a single-level council system, divided in urban "cities" and rural "shires". They all vote on the same day, every three years ('19, '22, '25)
Canada: Timing and overlook devolved to the provinces, apart from the territories and indigenous affairs. Very much multi-level and varies a lot by province.
- Alaska - Split in governates which are split further into oblasts. In the more populated south, the oblasts are split further into okrugs. Governates vote every four years ('19, '23, '27), okrugs and oblasts every three years ('18, '21, '24). In the north, there exist the "Aleut Autonomous Oblast" which vote every five years ('20, '25, '30)
- Alberta - A smorgasbord of different names cloud the fact that this ultimately comes down to several different types, namely "urban", "specialised" and "rural" municipalities and Aboriginal reservations. Regarding the municipalities, there is no uniform voting time, but they all vote on a four years timespan. Around 1/3 vote in '17, '21, '25, 1/6 vote in '18, '22, '26, 1/3 vote in '19, '23, '27, 1/6 in '20, '24, '28. The Aboriginal reservations aren't considered in "local elections".
- Athabasca - One of the simplest provinces of Canada in terms of local government, it has a system of local government divided in "regions", each of which are based around a significant settlement. There are three of them, and they vote every four years - '20, '24, '28.
- Hudson: The more populated areas are divided in municipalities, while the more rural areas are divided into well, "divisions". The "divisions" are just the statistical areas without the municipalities. The municipalities vote 2/3 every four years in '19, '23, '27, and 1/3 every three years in '20, '23, '26. The divisions vote every three years, '17, '21, '24.
- Manitoba - The province is divided mainly in "municipalities" like the other rural provinces, but some areas are respected as "First Nations reservations" and others as "Métis settlements". The latter are part of "local elections" and has their own language and residence policies. Municipalities in Manitoba tend to vote in four year cycles, with 1/2 in '20, '24, '28, 1/3 in '18, '22, '26 and 1/6 in '19, '23, '27. Métis settlements vote every two years - '19, '21, '23.
- Northwest Territories - Divided in "taxed communities" and "hamlets". The taxed communities vote every three years ('18, '21, '24) and the hamlets every second year ('18, '20, '24).
- Nunavut - Divided in "iqaluit" and "hamlets". The iqaluit vote every four years ('19, '23, '27) and the hamlets vote every year ('19, '20, '21).
- Ontario - Has several types of local councils, called "counties", "regions" and "districts". Historically, they all voted on different dates, but now they all vote on the same day every four years - '18, '22, '26.
- Quebec - Divided in several levels. "Administrative regions" which are mainly for provision of local government and are unelected, "county councils" which have several local government powers and is mainly for co-ordination, they are elected every three years ('18, '21, '24), "local municipalities" which are the lowest local levels and are elected every four years but it varies when. 1/4 are elected '19, '23, '27, 1/3 are elected in '20, '24, '28 and the final 7/12 are elected '18, '22, '26.
- Saskatchewan - Divided in "urban" and "rural" municipalities, it then numbers the rural municipalities and the even-numbered and odd-numbered have different election days. Urban municipalities are elected every three years ('20, '24, '28), odd-numbered rural municipalities every two years ('20, '22, '24) and even-numbered rural municipalities every two years ('21, '23, '25).
- Ungava - Divided in four areas - Nunavik, Eeyou Itchee, Jamésie and Côte-Nord. Those four are generally autonomous. The first two are classified as "Indigenous Lands" and the other two as "Regions". Nunavik elects every four years ('17, '21, '25), Eeyou Itchee every three years ('18, '21, '24), Jamésie every four years ('18, '22, '26) and Côte-Nord every two years ('18, '20, '24). Due to this division, Ungava has sometimes been called "Canada's Louisiana" in how it's seemingly a bunch of different places smushed together.
Carolina: Historically one of the most lax on local government regulation, it has as a result of several blatant civil rights violations, been forced to step in under threat by the central government, to force every province to accept a strident regulation. Some on the right thinks this regulation is too strong and want to relax it, but the First Minister understandably doesn't want to kick
that hornet's nest.
- Alabama - Used to have a very rural-dominated county system, but with the Carolina government breathing down his neck, George Wallace in 1986 came up with a two-tier system that still skewed rural, but implemented several very strongly-urban "borough councils". The county and borough councils mostly deal with different issues, thankfully. County councils vote every two years ('19, '21, '23) and borough councils every four years ('20, '24, '28).
- Albemarle - Its local government since the 1980s has been one of "unitary districts". Those are mainly decided by population and community concerns, but the later is more or less submit to the former due to controversies regarding the Charlotte Unitary District's boundaries. Votes every four years ('18, '22, '26). There is a Lumbee Autonomous District that is recognised by the government.
- The Bahamas - Divided in 32 districts and the capital territory which is managed directly by the government [Carolina doesn't want to intervene again in local government after the 80s, but a case is making its way in the courts]. The districts are elected every three years ('20, '23, '26).
- Clarendon - The government of Clarendon more or less complied with the Carolina government's request for more equality in local government, and circa 2011 introduced a "Gullah Autonomous Polity" that manages language and community policy in strongly Gullah areas. The province is split into "localities" which are elected every five years ('17, '22, '27) although many do choose to have snap elections so often it's now nomal. The Gullah Autonomous Polity is notable for being a cross-province authority.
- Georgia - Once known for having a "House of Counties" appointed by its county governments that it gave equal power to choose the Premier from, it was forced to abolish that in the 1980s and replace it with a more elected Senate-y version. It still has a county-based local council system, but it's very much population-balanced now and votes every four years ('19, '23, '27). The Gullah Autonomous Polity expands into Georgia and votes every three years ('20, '23, '26).
- Mississippi - Notable for being the only Black-majority province in mainland Carolina, it has implemented a two-tier local government of counties and boroughs like neighbouring Alabama, but one skewed urban. It also notably has devolved language policy to the councils, especially in its southwest [where quite a bit of creoles of colour live]. Both boroughs and counties vote on the same day every two years ('18, '20, '22).
- Tennessee - Well-known for its famous "Grand Divisions", those make up one of Tennessee's three types of local government, with the other tier being that of cities and shires. The Grand Divisions mainly take on the work normally expected of a province [the actual provincial government is more for Tennessee-wide affairs] while cities and shires are the "normal" local governments. The three Grand Divisions bizarrely enough vote every three years, but they stagger it so that there's a Grand Division elected every year. West Tennessee has '17, '20, '23, Middle Tennessee has '18, '21, '24, East Tennessee has '19, '22, '25. And the cities and shires follow their own Grand Division's example. Yes.
Columbia: Being the second-most-populated Constituent Country/Dominion, it of course has a very complicated local government structure that wildly varies by province. And goes from the very uniform to the multitude. One thing that makes Columbia and its neighbouring dominion the Ohio Country distinct is the dominance of "Language Committees", reflecting their multilingual nature.
- Adirondack - A cold and miserable province, it has surprisingly uniform local councils, made out of "departments" that regularly has an election once every four years, splitting into halves with one half voting '20, '24, '28 and the other '18, '22, '26. It also has a French Language Committee, with ultimate authority in Adirondack over language provision regarding the French language. It is elected amongst registered French-speakers once every two years at the same time as local elections. There is also an "Mohawk Department" recognised as such by the Iroquois Confederacy that elects its Council once every two years, but on a different sync to the rest - '19, '21, '23. The Iroquois Confederacy is recognised as a "distinctive state". It has authority in the lands of Adirondack and Genesee, but does not hold elections, per se. However, it recognises "Native Local Councils" in those lands.
- Allegheny - To understand Allegheny, you have to understand the ethnicities that make it up. While the old systems of "Anglo Shires" and "German Lands" are officially a thing of the past after being abolished in the late 1990s, they still linger in naming and electoral schedules, even though they're all officially "Districts" now. The former Shires elect theirs on a two-year difference from the Lands, on a four year schedule. Shires vote '18, '22, '26 and Lands vote '20, '24, '28. The Amish communities broadly keep to themselves in Allegheny, but there is no legal separation. The Lenape was given lands in now Allegheny once pushed out of the east, and broadly make up the "Lenape Territory" that holds elections every five years, more or so but it isn't formalised.
- Delaware - Delaware, being one of the smallest states, is mostly simple, but with a twist. The southern two county councils broadly serve as their local governments, but since the 1960s, Wilmington County has been split into two councils - Wilmington North and Fort Christina Council, and Wilmington South. Also notable to Delaware is that it has only one Language Committee, for the Swedish speaking community, with authority over language provisions regarding the Swedish language in Delaware. The southern two councils hold their election at the same time, every three years - '20, '23, '26. Wilmington North and Fort Christina holds its every two years - '19, '21, '23, while Wilmington South holds its election every three years - '18, '21, '24. The Swedish Language Committee is elected amongst all registered Swedish speakers every four years - '18, '22, '26.
- Genesee - The heart of the Iroquois Confederacy, the majority of the "Native Councils" are present here. The biggest is the Seneca Native Council, elected every four years - '17, '21, '25. The Cayuga Native Council elects theirs every three years - '18, '21, '24. The Onondaga and Tuscaroca Native Councils elect every four years - '18, '22, '26. The Oneida Native Council elects theirs every five years in 17, '22, '27. The non-Native councils are organised into "counties" and elected every four years - '16, '20, '24.
- Maryland - The palatinate of Maryland is one with a very strong local government, in the counties and independent cities. The counties elect every four years - '21, '25, '29. There are two independent cities - Fredericksburg and Baltimore. Baltimore elects every four years - '16, '20, '24 and Fredericksburg every two years - '19, '21, '23.
- Nassouwen - Made of eighteen "counties" that elect councils. Those councils are elected every four years - '19, '23, '27. Proposals have been made for a "Dutch Language Committee", but only the far-right thinks it's needed.
- New Jersey - The local government of New Jersey is primarily the counties, each of which has a "board of chosen freeholders" as its council. They all are elected at the same time every two years - '18, '20, '22. New Jersey used to have Language Committees but abolished them in the early 2000s which was controversial.
- New York and Long Island - It has elected Borough Councils and Borough Mayors. Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau are elected on a three year term - '18, '21, '24. Manhattan is elected on a four year term - '20, '24, '28. The Bronx elects on a two year term - '21, '23, '25. Staten Island elects on a five year term - '19, '24, '29. Bergen and Pavonia notably has "Councils of Chosen Freeholders" instead of "Borough Councils", but this is just a name variation. They and the Mayors are elected every four years - '18, '22, '26. Suffolk elects its every three years - '19, '22, '25. Yonkers chooses to elect its Council and Mayor separately, the Council every two years - '18, '20, '22, the Mayor every four - '19, '23, '27. Rockland elects its Council and Mayor at the same time, every five years '20, '25, '30. Greenburgh elects every four years but the Mayor can call a snap election for the Council at any time rather than the Council President, and can trigger a new mayoral election at any time by their resignation. So the last mayoral election was '19, and it goes '23, '27. The last council election was '18 and it should go '22, '26, but the new Mayor is expected to call a snap election. Westchester elects every three years - '20, '23, '26. Peconic is peculiar in how it holds "half-elections" instead. Half is up every four years and the other half is held the year afterwards. The Mayor is elected in the third year. Half is elected '20, '24, '28, the other half '18, '22, '26, and the Mayor is elected '19, '23, '27. There is an "Unified Language Committee" that acts as an unofficial "third chamber" of NYC's legislature, and it is elected every four years - '21, '25, '29. The mayors of Nassau, Suffolk, Peconic, Bergen and Pavonia use the term "Executive Director" instead.
- Pennsylvania - The province of Pennsylvania is one of councils. Those councils are marked as either "urban" or "rural". Urban councils are labelled as "borough councils" while rural are labelled as "shire councils". Borough councils tend to be in the southeast. The shires are elected every four years - '18, '22, '26, and the borough ones have half-elections once every two years - '20, '22, '26. The German Language Committee [that Allegheny is looking into copying] is elected amongst registered German-speaking Pennsylvanians every four years - '20, '24, '28. The city of Philadelphia has its own elected council and mayor, both elected every three years - '19, '22, '25.
Cornwall: This place is known as a very centralised dominion, with most of the responsibility of the old districts having increasingly been absorbed by the Senedh. Those districts are Penwith, Kerrier, Carrick, Caradon and North Cornwall. Those have elections every five years - '19, '24, '29. Turnout for those are often abysmal and it has been proposed that they should be pegged to the Senedh election, or even just abolished altogether.
All of this is my prospective start to tackling the probable giant mess that is
Hail, Britannia's local government.
Yes.
Trying to work out a British-style local government.
In an empire that spans the world.
That has four hundred
million people in it.
Sometimes I just wonder if I'm just mad for doing things like this.