May 2026 guidance update: resources for Returning Officers and Candidates and Agents

Returning Officers

Further to Bulletin 375 we have published further supporting resources for Returning Officers and Candidates and Agents for the scheduled Scottish Parliament elections taking place on 7 May 2026.  

To support administrators with planning their polling station staff training, we have published the polling station handbook for the Scottish Parliament elections in May. Please note that this is not the final print-ready version of the polling station handbook; it is a final text version for you to reference. Hard copies of the polling station handbook and the quick guides will be distributed in March.  

We will update you regarding the deliveries of the hard copies of the handbook in a future bulletin.

Candidates and Agents

To support Candidates and Agents at the Scottish Parliament elections, we have published the updated list of contact details for Constituency Returning Officer & Regional Returning Officers.

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

Candidate Security

Further to Bulletin 379, we have updated the guidance for Returning Officers and Candidates and Agents for the Scottish Parliament elections, to reflect the updated arrangements for working with the police that will be in place for the May 26 polls.

If you require any further support, please contact the Scotland team at [email protected].  

May 2026 elections: call for polling place data

This year we’re once again running the polling place finder, in partnership with Democracy Club, to help make sure voters have access to accurate and timely information about how and where they can vote.  

We need your updated polling place information to make sure voters head to the right polling place. By having this information easily available online, it should help to reduce the number of calls you’ll get from voters looking for this information.  

We understand that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will be providing the data to Democracy Club.  

Providing your data is straightforward. You can export the data from your EMS and then email it to [email protected].

Detailed instructions are available for each supplier, if you need them (opens in new window).  

To make sure we have time to change the information, we ask that you send your polling place data as soon as possible, if you’ve not done so already.  

If you’d like to see the polling place finder on your own website, you can embed Democracy Club’s election widget (opens in new window).