Voters Urged To Register In Time To Have Their Say In May
18th March 2021
On Thursday 6 May residents in the Highlands and Western Isles can have their say on who represents them in the Scottish Parliament.
In order to vote in the election, residents must be on the electoral register. With the deadline to register to vote fast approaching, the Highland & Western Isles Electoral Registration Officer is urging anyone who has not registered at their current address to make sure they are registered in time.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 19 April. It takes just five minutes to apply online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
The Scottish Parliament has powers to make laws for Scotland in a range of areas including health, education, housing, justice and the environment.
Bill Gillies, Electoral Registration Officer for Highland & Western Isles said: "This is an opportunity to make your voice heard and have a say on who represents you on issues that directly affect your day-to-day. If you're not registered by 19 April, you won’t be able to vote."
“If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you don’t need to take any action. If in doubt, you can contact us on 0800 393 783.”
Andy O’Neill, Head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland said: “You can’t have your say in these important elections unless you are registered to vote. It’s quick and easy - it takes just five minutes online at www.gov.uk/registertovote (external link).”
“It doesn’t matter where you were born, if you are aged 16 or over and live in Scotland then you can now vote in the Scottish Parliament election. But only if you have registered to vote first.”
Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot – in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote. For those who choose to vote in person, polling stations will be following all public health guidance on 6 May.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on 6 April, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5pm on 27 April.
To vote in a Scottish Parliament election you must be registered to vote in Scotland and aged 16 years or over on the day of the poll. You must also be:
· a British or Irish citizen, or
· a Commonwealth citizen, who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK, or
· a citizen of another European Union country, or
· a qualifying foreign citizen, who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need such permission. Full details on who can vote in elections in Scotland can be found here (external link).
For information on how to register to vote, or how to apply to vote by post or by proxy, voters can visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter (external link). This page will continue to be updated ahead of the polls.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate. The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate.
Following the success of its Business Digital Grant scheme launched last year, The Highland Council is delighted to announce further funding. This is to help Highland companies access digital support alongside other business growth support.
The Highland Council is delighted to confirm a highly successful second year for Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights between Wick and Aberdeen. The period from April 2023 to March 2024 has seen a substantial increase in passenger numbers, with several months seeing over 1,000 passengers using the service, and overall the service has seen year on year growth of 25%.
Members of Highland Council, who met on Thursday 14 March 2024, approved a corporate Digital Ambition, which has been designed to deliver significant organisational change across Council services, recognising the current priorities within the organisation. The Strategy, which is embedded within the wider Council Delivery Plan, has been developed to focus attention and resources on areas of change which will deliver the greatest benefit to the Council.
The Council remains committed to supporting mentoring in our schools, including the support that is currently delivered through the MCR Pathways programme. Highland Council is currently undertaking a review of Employability Support provided by a number of different council services and how these relate to the work carried out by external partners and in our schools.
Highland Council members have considered and agreed a revised draft Highland Outcome Improvement Plan. The partnership plan has been reviewed and updated by the Community Planning Partnership.
Members at today's (14 March 2024) meeting of The Highland Council agreed the local authority's new draft Community Wealth Building Strategy. They were also asked to note that a period of public engagement on the draft will now begin, with a final strategy returning to full Council for consideration in September.
