For electing the 183 members to the National Council, Austria is divided into nine provincial constituencies (identical with the nine provinces) which are further divided into 39 regional constituencies. Parties submit therefore regional, state and federal candidate lists. Voters vote for a party and may cast preferential votes for one regional candidate list and one state (province) candidate list. Seats are allocated in three stages: first, regional seats (for those candidates who have received at least half as many preference votes as the election figure; second, provincial seats (each party receives as many seats as the times the election figure is contained in its total of party votes in the respective provincial constituency, minus any seats received in the first counting procedure); third, this process is repeated at the national level (by the transfer of each party’s surplus votes).