EA Bulletin 369 Scotland

As part of the changes brought in with the UK Elections Act, electors must now reapply for their postal vote for UK Parliament elections every three years.  The first set of postal voters must re-apply by 31 January 2026, otherwise their postal vote will be cancelled.

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are required to notify domestic electors who have a postal vote in place before their existing arrangement ends, to inform them of the date on which it will end and how to make a fresh application. We have published guidance on the reapplication process to support you with this work and have recently updated this guidance following further discussions with MHCLG lawyers, to clarify that email can be used to contact electors, where appropriate.  

As this is the first cohort of postal voters to go through the reapplication process, a large number of postal voters are affected and EROs are considering how this workload can be managed before the 31 January 2026 deadline. We are aware that some EROs have already started this process, and some are considering starting shortly. Given the requirement for separate absent vote applications for different election types in Scotland, this change adds an additional layer of complexity that will require careful planning. You should ensure that you are prepared to support electors through this process, helping them to understand the different requirements and deadlines. Clear and accessible communication will be essential to ensure that electors are aware of the need to reapply and that they understand this is separate from any existing absent vote arrangements they may have in place for devolved elections.  

If you have not yet started, you may want to identify any electors who may need to both reapply for their UK Parliament postal vote and complete the refresh process for their Scottish Parliament and local government elections postal vote. Establishing this group early will help you target communications and support more effectively.  

Additionally, we have some points for you to consider, based on anecdotal feedback from those who have already started notifying impacted electors.

Areas to consider when planning:

Timing  

• Will you combine any reapplication process alongside the postal vote refresh processes for Scottish Parliament and Scottish local government elections where both reapplication and refresh responses will be required?
• You may wish to consider a phased approach to spread the workload and reduce pressure near the deadline.
• For any other electors not due for refresh do you have capacity in your team to manage the reapplication process before or during the annual canvass, or will you be waiting until after the canvass, but before the 6 week period before the 31 January 2026 when your refresh will take place?

Methods of contact

• Will you contact electors in bulk, or in phased batches? A phased approach will enable you to monitor response rates for different communication methods and refine your approach accordingly. This will allow you to tailor your approach for those who also need to complete the refresh exercise for devolved polls and help manage the overall workload created by responses.
• You can consider grouping batches by ward or polling district for more targeted communication.  
• How are you going to contact electors – will this be by post or by email?  
• Where you contact electors by post, will you include a hard copy of the postal vote application form with the notice? Feedback to date is that many electors are contacting their ERO to request a paper form on receipt of the notice – including a form, and a pre-paid reply envelope where possible, could be more efficient for some groups of electors.
• Where you hold a valid email address for electors – you could consider a hybrid approach, using email for initial notices and reverting to post for any reminder notices sent out.

Stakeholder engagement

• Has the ERO provided information to political stakeholders on the postal vote reapplication process? This is important so that they understand that the number of registered postal voters may change in advance of future polls.  
• Given some anecdotal reports in some areas of poor response rates so far, how can you optimise communications / work with the Councils’ communications teams to maximise all opportunities to improve public awareness.  
• You might also want to include additional information about postal voting arrangements at other elections. For example, explain how to apply for a postal vote if they don't already have one for other elections or clarify what re-applying for UK Parliament elections means for their ability to continue voting by post in other elections.

Resources required

• If you contact electors in batches, consider the number of electors you will contact per phase.  
• Do you have capacity to process the expected volume of returned postal vote applications?
• Are there other electoral activities or by-elections being delivered at the same time, which could limit the resources available to process applications?

Considerations for the annual canvass

You may include additional inserts into canvass communication mailings. You could decide to do so to include additional information about any absent voting arrangements and any action that will be required such as responding to the reapplication and or refresh process.  

If you are considering using canvass communications to maximise your contact with electors on the reapplication process, you should consider:

• How you will ensure any additional messaging on postal vote reapplication is clear and does not confuse electors.
• How you will ensure any additional inserts or messaging does not negatively impact the canvass response.

If you have any queries regarding the postal vote reapplication process, or want to discuss your approach to managing it, please contact the Scotland Team.