EA Bulletin: 378 Scotland

As set out in bulletin 375, we have developed new digital resources to support candidates, agents and nominating officers to complete nomination papers.

Three new animated resources provide an overview of the nomination papers to be completed to standing for election to the Scottish Parliament:

• ‘Completing your nomination papers as a constituency candidate’
• ‘Completing your nomination papers as a regional individual candidate’  
• ‘Completing the nomination papers for regional party list candidates’

These resources are intended to complement Returning Officer briefings and written support to candidates, agents and nominating officers. Please share these links with prospective candidates and agents in your area.  

These resources are the first in a new programme of work to deliver guidance in different formats. We welcome feedback to help us refine and develop future resources. We’ll collect through our post-poll surveys and will share links in a future Bulletin.  

If you have any queries or feedback at this point, please contact the Scotland team at [email protected]. 

We are now taking orders for hard copies of polling station handbooks and quick guides for use at the Scottish Parliament election.

The deadline for completing the online order form is Friday 16 January 2026. We will be printing to order so it is important that you provide us with your figures by the deadline. Please note that once you have submitted your order form, you will not be able to amend your order yourself.  

If you need to make any changes to your order, please contact [email protected].   

Delivery of the hard copies is expected to be by mid-March 2026, but we will confirm delivery timescales in a future Bulletin. 

We have updated our guidance to reflect the provisions of The Absent Voting at Scottish Parliament and Local Government Elections (Signature Refresh) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2025 and The Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025. The new legislation has temporarily removed the requirement to undertake the absent vote signature refresh for devolved absent votes in 2026.

If you have any queries, please contact the Scotland team at [email protected].   

Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026, our annual week celebrating democratic education, takes place from Monday 9 March to Sunday 15 March. We would like councils, schools, youth groups and anyone who works with young people to take part in Welcome to Your Vote Week next year, and we have a range of resources available to support your involvement.

Informed by the ideas of our youth voice network in Scotland and across the UK,  the theme for Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026 will be ‘Why Voting Matters’. This theme invites young people to discover the difference voting makes and how they can have their voices heard. Educators in your area can use our impartial resources to explore why voting is important to their students and young people and to discuss the impact their vote can have on their everyday life.

The week is an opportunity to discuss the importance of voting and democracy with young people. Our resources explore questions including 'What issues are important to you?', 'What are different levels of government responsible for?' and 'How could your vote make a change?'. There are also resources available that explain how to register and vote for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election.

Visit our website to learn more about Welcome to Your Vote Week and to get some ideas for activities in your area.  

Please support the week in your area by promoting the initiative to schools and youth clubs and by holding your own Welcome to Your Vote Week event. We’d love to hear about your plans: please email us at  [email protected] or share on social media with #WelcomeToYourVote. 

Sign up now to be part of the week and receive your free digital resources.