EA Bulletin: 386 Scotland

We have today published the new Code of Practice for Accredited Electoral Observers along with new guidance to support accredited Observers in undertaking their observations.

The Accredited Electoral Observer scheme is a key element of our democracy, and it is important that the right to observe democratic processes is protected. However, the activities of observers must not affect the integrity of the electoral process.

The new code was developed and consulted on throughout autumn 2025, with the final code being laid in in the Scottish and UK Parliaments and Welsh Senedd, as required by law. The consultation sought the opinions of current observers, observer organisations, electoral administrators and was also made available to the public.

The updated code now replaces the previous version, and accredited observers will be expected to adhere to it and the related guidance, throughout the duration of their accreditation.

The Commission will also publish specific guidance about the Scottish Parliament, Senedd, and English local elections for observers' reference, prior to polls in May 2026.

Following the publication of our updated guidance for observers and the new observer code, we are sending round this reminder regarding the requirements relating to the secrecy of the vote in the polling station.

The role of polling station staff is to ensure that voters are able to cast their vote independently, in secret and free from influence in the polling station.  

Our Handbook for Polling Station Staff makes it clear that voters must go into polling booths on their own, unless they are being assisted by an authorised companion due to a disability or are accompanied by a child.  

If staff observe anyone else attempting to accompany a voter in the polling booth, they must approach them and tell them to stop, as this could be a breach of the secrecy requirements.

Additionally, someone accompanying a voter into the polling booth could be guilty of undue influence if it is determined that they were doing so in order to: 

• persuade or force the voter to vote in a particular way
• prevent the voter from voting
• obstruct or prevent the voter from making their own choice about how to cast their vote 

As the Presiding Officer is responsible for maintaining order in the polling station, they should intervene using the powers available to them, if they observe potential misconduct. This can include ordering the removal of a voter from the polling station by a police office or a person authorised to do so by the Returning Officer, if they refuse to stop their behaviour.  

Where any instances of this occur, a record should be made in the polling station log.

We also wanted to remind you that as part of our ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ campaign, we have produced a range of posters and leaflets that you can use in polling stations to help explain to voters that it is illegal for someone to influence another person’s vote against their will

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

We are aware that some Returning Officers (ROs) have concerns about the presence of  flags at polling stations on polling day.  

Some people may see a particular flag as being associated with a political viewpoint.  However, a flag in and of itself does not belong to a political party, and there is nothing in electoral law that relates specifically to the removal of flags.  

The advice below reiterates the legal responsibilities of ROs and covers steps you can take now to support your planning for managing concerns about flags at polling stations on polling day.  

Returning Officer responsibilities  

Polling places are designated by the local authority, and ROs are responsible for determining where polling stations are situated within the polling place.    

Within the polling station, the RO must ensure that it is a politically neutral environment on polling day, so there must not be any campaign material displayed in or on the premises. Where any such materials are found, they must be removed or covered up.  

In instances where flags are present in or on a polling station and the RO considers that in the particular context of campaigning in that electoral area the flags are intended to influence voters, the RO is entitled to remove or cover the flags.  

Steps you can take now  

You should assess whether you think flags will cause an issue in your local area, well in advance of polling day, based on the location of your polling stations and the particular context of campaigning locally.  

Where you believe there is a risk, you should work with your local police election SPOC, as part of your pre-election engagement, as well as with colleagues from the local authority, such as the legal, planning and highways team. You can consider: 

• whether any flags are usually flown at or near venues used as polling stations, for example at civic buildings.  
• whether there has been any local campaigning or display of flags that is liable to cause a problem by inciting or intimidating electors.  
• any advice from local police colleagues on the management of the election in your area  
• any existing policies relating to the authorised flying of flags at local authority premises or the unauthorised use of council owned street furniture (such as lamp posts) to display flags  

If you have concerns about the presence of flags beyond the polling station, this should be covered in your discussions with colleagues across the local authority.  

You can then determine and document your approach to both managing any existing flags near polling stations and agree what action you will take if flags appear at or near polling stations on polling day. You can then also liaise with any polling station venue owners as appropriate.  

Communication  

Once agreed, you should consider how you communicate your approach to candidates and agents ahead of polling day, so that they are aware of what actions will be taken. When contacting candidates and agents, you can also direct them to our guidance on campaigning and in particular the Code of Conduct for campaigners.  

If you take any actions on polling day, you should ensure you keep an audit trail of the decisions taken and, where practicable, communicate any decisions taken to candidates and agents.  

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

We are sending a voter information booklet to every household in Scotland, with many having received their copy in the last couple of days, to raise awareness of the election and encourage everyone to get ready to vote.

The booklet is also available on our website, alongside the following accessible formats: audio, Braille, BSL videos, large print and Easy Read. The guide can also be downloaded in Arabic, Polish, Gaelic and Ukrainian.

As a reminder, a range of digital and print communication resources for the election are also available to share across your channels. 

Our guidance sets out what the legislation provides for in relation to changes, deletions and additions of party names, descriptions and emblems.

Because of the short time until the close of nominations, we are advising parties that we will not process any new applications submitted now to register a new political party, amend a party’s name, amend or add an emblem, or add a description in time for use on the ballot paper at the election.

We may, however, still make some changes where applications are already in progress. While we aim to make all updates to the online registers of political parties by Friday 27 March, there remains the potential that we may need to make some further updates after that date. The final date for new parties, or new names, descriptions or emblems, to be added to the register is Monday 30 March 2026. If there are any changes after Monday 30 March we will let you know in the Bulletin on 1 April. 

Summary of updates to party names, descriptions and emblems

We have created a summary of updates of changes to party’s names, descriptions and emblems made since 28 March 2025.

You can find full details of what amendments have been made in our list of recent decisions to approve or reject applied-for names, descriptions and emblems.

When receiving nominations, Returning Officers must check that the party name or any description given on a nomination form, as well as the requested emblem, is registered on the Commission’s register of political parties and that the details provided match the registration. To ensure you are viewing the most up-to-date information, you may need to delete your browser’s history or refresh the page. If you are unsure how to do this, your IT team should be able to advise you. 

Emblem Zip file

A Zip file of emblem images is available on our website and was last updated on 13 March 2026.

While the Zip file should be used by your printer to prepare ballot papers, it is the information on the Commission’s register of political parties that should be used for confirming which emblem and description to print on the ballot papers. You should, therefore, ensure that you and your printers only download and use the Zip file once nominations have closed.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any other queries. 

Updates summary

Please find in the drop-down list below a summary of the updates we have made since 28 March 2025. 

We’d like to give a big thank you to you and all the schools, colleges, universities, youth groups, local authorities, and EROs who got involved with Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026.  

With your support, we were able to reach young people across the whole of the UK, spreading the message of the importance of democratic education and learning what voting means to young people.

We saw some great events and activities posted on social media and are looking forward to sharing highlights with you, and information about the week’s impact, soon.  

What did you think of Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026?  

Help make next year’s Welcome to Your Vote Week even bigger and better by completing our short survey. We want to learn how the week impacts young people and how we can improve for the future.  

If you have photos from your events or activities,  we’d love to see them – please email them to [email protected] with details of what you got up to.