Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Scottish Parliament election

You are responsible for the production of the ballot papers for the constituency and for that part of the regional contest in your constituency. If you are not also the RRO, you should liaise with the RRO at an early stage to ensure clarity on the form of the regional ballot paper.

You have a legal duty to follow precisely the design and print specifications of ballot papers prescribed in legislation.1

By law, ballot papers for postal voters and for polling station use for each contest must be the same in form, except that the official mark may be different if desired.2

You should ensure that you check with your print supplier at an early stage to establish the maximum size of the ballot paper they can print and, if necessary, have contingency arrangements in place in the event that a longer ballot paper accommodating greater numbers of candidates and or parties is required.

The final content of the ballot papers cannot be confirmed until nominations have closed, but you will need to make decisions about the following elements of the ballot papers will need to be made at an early stage:

• the format of the ballot paper numbers
• the form of the reverse of the ballot papers
• the unique identifying number
• the design of the official mark(s)
• what colour the ballot papers will be