Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Scottish Parliament election

Who must be sent a postal vote?

You must send a postal vote to:1

• any elector who appears on the postal voters’ list for the election 
• any proxy who appears on the postal proxy voters list for the election

Timing of the issuing of postal votes

Postal votes must be issued as soon as practicable after the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers.2

You should put arrangements in place to ensure that electors receive their postal ballot papers as soon as possible and prioritise any postal votes that may need to be sent overseas in order to maximise the time that postal voters have to receive, complete and return their postal vote.

The Convener of the EMB may direct or recommend when the first issue of postal votes should be handed over by the printer for dispatch. 

Existing elector with existing postal voting arrangements

Once the deadline for withdrawals has passed, postal ballot papers should be issued to existing electors who have already successfully applied for a postal vote.

Existing electors who make new postal applications

You should liaise with the ERO to ensure you obtain the information on any electors who have applied for a postal vote as soon as possible.

New electors who made postal vote applications alongside their registration application

The ERO must publish two interim election notices of alteration before publishing the final election notice of alteration 5 working days before the poll.3 This supports the dispatch of postal votes at an early stage in the timetable to those electors who have applied to register close to the registration deadline, as you are only able to issue a postal vote to someone who has already been added to the register.

For more information see our guidance for EROs on interim notices of alteration.

Our election timetable for a Scottish Parliament election also includes the relevant publication dates.

You can find the election timetable in the absent voting section of our resource page.