EA Bulletin: 374 Scotland

In 2023 and 2024, the Electoral Commission consulted all the members of the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Political Parties Panels about proposed changes to the Code of Conduct for Campaigners at devolved Scottish and Welsh elections.  We also consulted all parties on the Great Britain party register.

These changes focused on the handling of absent vote applications and postal ballot packs. After discussion, all the parties on the Scottish Parliament and Senedd panels agreed to a set of changes. We have now published the updated code on our website.  

Electoral registration and absent vote applications

The updated Code sets out that campaigners should:

• Encourage voters in the first instance to use the online electoral registration service to register to vote.
• Ensure that the local Electoral Registration Officer’s (ERO) address is clearly provided as the return address for paper registration and absent vote application forms.
• Ensure electors already on postal or proxy voter lists, or who’ve already made an application, don’t submit duplicate applications to reduce administrative burden.
• Ensure that if a voter asks them to take their application form and return it to the ERO, the voter has sealed it in an envelope.
• Send application forms to the ERO within two working days of receipt and before the statutory deadline.

Postal voting documents

The updated Code now states that campaigners should never handle anyone else’s postal voting documents which would cover the entire postal voting pack a voter receives (previously it only covered handling postal ballots). 

As set out in Bulletin 371, on 4 August we launched a consultation on the guidance for Returning Officers on assistance with voting for persons with disabilities.  

We are grateful for the feedback we’ve received to date. The consultation closes on 26 October and we want to hear from as many people as possible. You can respond by filling in this form or emailing your views to [email protected].

As a reminder, the Scottish Government is introducing legislation ahead of the May 2026 election to align the accessibility provisions for elections in Scotland with the changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022 for the UK Parliamentary elections.  

These changes have provided a timely opportunity to review our existing guidance, drawing on the evidence gathered as part of our monitoring and evaluation from the elections which have taken place across the UK since the changes were first introduced, to help ensure everyone can vote independently and confidently. There should be no barriers to voting for disabled people, and everyone should have the right to vote on their own and in secret.   

As set out in Bulletin 372, on 8 September the Electoral Commission launched a consultation on our new Code of Practice for Accredited Electoral Observers. There is still time to leave feedback on the new Code.  

The consultation will run until 2 November 2025. You can respond by filling in our survey,  emailing your views to [email protected] or writing to us at: Electoral Observers Officer, The Electoral Commission, The Boat, 49 Queen's Square, Belfast, BT1 3FG. 

Feedback will help us improve the draft before the final version is laid in the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments and Welsh Senedd, as required by law.

We expect to lay the Code in December.  Once passed, the updated Code will replace the existing version, and accredited observers will be expected to adhere to it throughout the duration of their accreditation.