Biscay (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Biscay
Congress of Deputies Electoral Constituency
Location of Biscay within Spain.
Province	Province of Biscay
Autonomous community	Basque Country
Population	1,148,775 (2016)
Electorate	948,080 (2016)
Major settlements	Bilbao, Barakaldo, Getxo
Current constituency
Created	1977
Seats	10 (1977–1989) 9 (1993–2004) 8 (2008–)

Biscay (Basque: Bizkaia, Spanish: Vizcaya) is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The electoral system uses the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of 3%.

It is located in the Basque Country and the largest city is Bilbao where around 30% of the electorate of almost a million live. At the time of the 2008 election, Barakaldo and Getxo were the only other large municipalities with electorates over 50,000.

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the province of Vizcaya and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.) Under this law, the elections in Vizcaya, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling stations are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.