Running electoral registration - Scotland

Can prisoners register to vote?

Convicted persons serving a prison sentence of 12 months of less meet the criteria to register to vote. However any prisoner serving a sentence that exceeds 12 months is legally incapable of voting. There are some other limited circumstances where a prisoner may meet the criteria to register to vote, for example they may be able to register if they are released on temporary licence.

Can a prisoner serving a sentence of less than 12 months register?

Prisoners are entitled to register to vote as local government electors if they have been convicted for a total term of 12 months or less.

Where a person is already included on the electoral register before their conviction, they may continue to be registered at that address, providing they intend to return to live there following their release and they are not prevented from doing so by any court order. 1 Alternatively, a person can be deemed to have continued residence at an address if it is a permanent place of residence and the person would be in actual residence if it were not for their detention.2

If a person is not deemed to have continued residence at their registered address, they may register by means of a declaration of local connection:3  

• at the address in Scotland at which they would be living if they were not convicted, or 
• if they cannot give such an address:
  • at an address in Scotland where they used to live before they were convicted, or 
  • if they were previously homeless, an address in Scotland where, or which is nearest to a place where, they commonly spent a substantial amount of time, or 
  • if they cannot give any address as described above, or can only give an address at which they are prevented from returning to live because of a court order:
  • at the penal institution

In the case of prisoners registered as local government electors through a declaration of local connection, although their declaration is valid for 12 months, their restricted franchise only applies for the duration of their detention.
 
Upon release, a new application is required in order for them to be added to the register of UK Parliamentary electors, and you should invite them to make a new application upon their release.

Can a prisoner on remand register?

A person who has been remanded in custody (but is not a convicted prisoner) who is detained in a penal institution or some other place for custodial purposes, may be deemed to be resident there for registration purposes, if the period of detention is sufficient to enable them to be regarded as being resident there.4
 
A remand prisoner may also choose to register by making a declaration of local connection at:5

• the address at which they would be living if they were not a prisoner on remand
• an address where they used to live before they became a prisoner on remand

A remand prisoner may still be considered resident at their permanent home if their stay at their place of custody is not long enough for them to be able to be regarded as resident there or for them to be able to register through a declaration of local connection.6

Can a convicted prisoner released on temporary licence register?

It is possible that in some limited circumstances, convicted prisoners who have been released on temporary licence may meet the criteria to register to vote. In these cases, the person’s place of residence should be determined in the ordinary way. 

Our guidance provides further information on the registration options available for prisoners on remand and patients in mental hospitals.