Running electoral registration - Scotland

You should keep a record of the name of each person you have sent a notice to, the address to which you sent it, and the date of the notice, so that you can calculate the point at which the voter will lose their entitlement to vote by post at Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections or by proxy at all polls if they have not provided a fresh signature. 

The initial notice must:

• require the absent voter to supply a specimen of their signature 
• explain that if this is not received within six weeks of the date of the notice, their absent vote will be cancelled for relevant polls1   
• inform them of the date on which they would no longer be entitled to vote by post at Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections or by proxy at all polls

You should also include information to explain the following:

• the types of polls at which the person would no longer be able to vote by post/proxy if they do not provide the required signature 
• that cancellation of the absent vote for failure or refusal to supply a new sample signature does not prevent the elector from re-applying for an absent vote 
• how the required signature and date of birth are used to assist in deterring misuse 
• the circumstances in which the signature requirement may be waived 
• the deadline for the ERO to receive the signature (i.e. by no later than six weeks from the date of the notice)

What is not included on absent vote refresh notices?

There is no provision in law for the elector’s date of birth to be pre-printed on the refresh notice. Existing postal voters at Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections and proxy voters at all polls do not need to provide their date of birth again in order for their absent vote to continue. 

Where should the absent vote refresh notice be sent?

You must send the notice to the current or last known address of the absent voter.2   

You must enclose a pre-addressed pre-paid postage reply envelope with every notice sent to a UK-based absent voter.3  

Notices sent to absent voters with non-UK addresses must also enclose a pre-addressed reply envelope, but this is not required to have pre-paid postage.4    

Reminder notices

You will need to scan in or otherwise record which notices are returned to allow you to produce an accurate list of those who need a reminder notice.

If, within three weeks of the original notice date, an absent voter has not responded and the absent vote has not in the meantime been cancelled by the voter, you must send a reminder notice as soon as is practicable.5   

The reminder notice is a copy of the contents of the original notice.

Templates

We have produced a template postal vote identifier request letter and a template proxy vote identifier request letter which you may find helpful.