Running electoral registration - Scotland

Any elector due to provide a new signature in 2026 for their permanent postal or proxy voting arrangement at Scottish Parliamentary and/or local council elections, will not be required to do so until 2027.1

Electors who have a proxy voting arrangement for UK Parliamentary elections who are due to supply new signatures in 2026 are unaffected by the postponement.

If you have not received a fresh signature before the end of the six week period following the date of the original notice you must immediately remove the entry from the relevant absent voting records and relevant lists (postal voters list, list of proxies or proxy postal voters list).2 You must also remove that person’s entry from the relevant record of granted absent vote applications.

The records and lists should be updated on the day after the deadline. Where the deadline falls on a non-working day, it is extended to the next working day.

You must, however, keep the elector’s signature and date of birth previously provided on the record of personal identifiers for a period of twelve months from the date on which the elector is removed from the record of granted applications.3  

You must notify the elector in writing that you have removed their proxy arrangement for all polls or postal vote arrangement for Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections. The notice must:4   

• explain that the person’s absent vote has been removed because of a failure to provide a fresh signature and if they wish to vote at Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections, they can now only do so at a polling station
• inform them of their polling station
• remind them that they may make a fresh absent vote application, which must include their identifiers

You should include a new absent vote application form with the removal notice. There is no provision to pre-print the date of birth that you already hold for the elector on the new application form.

Where a postal proxy is removed from the record and list of postal proxies, you must also write to the elector who appointed the proxy and explain that while the proxy appointment remains in place (provided the elector has not also lost their entitlement to vote by proxy), their proxy must now attend the elector’s polling station to vote on their behalf or re-apply for a postal vote.5   

You should also write to any proxy or postal proxy where the elector has failed to respond to the request notices to inform them that their proxy or postal proxy appointment has been cancelled.

We have produced a template cancellation letter due to a failure to supply a fresh signature which you could use.