Council Elections - Registration and postal voting deadlines imminent

 Issued on behalf of the Returning Officer

Voters are reminded of the deadlines for both registering to vote and applying to vote by post in the forthcoming Highland Council elections on Thursday 4 May.

Registration: To be able to vote in the elections, voters must be 16 years or over on 4 May 2017 and must be registered to vote.  Anyone not registered and who is eligible to vote in the election should contact the Highland and Western Isles Electoral Registration Officer at Moray House, 16-18 Bank Street, Inverness on freefone 0800 393 783. The deadline to register is midnight on Monday 17 April. However Monday 17 April is a public holiday and there are no postal deliveries on that date. You may prefer to use the on-line registration service www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. The electorate for the Council elections currently stands at 183,028.

If you have received a poll card from the Returning Officer, there is no need to re-register.

Postal Voting: Electors who are or will be registered to vote are entitled to apply for a postal vote. If an elector is away or cannot go to the polling station on Thursday 4 May 2017, they can apply to vote by post or apply to vote by proxy. Eligible voters wishing to apply to vote by post should contact the Electoral Registration Officer (contact details above). A requirement of the application form and voting by post is to provide a signature and date of birth. Currently more than 35,450 people in the Highlands are registered to vote by post. 

The deadline for receiving new postal vote and postal proxy applications, and for changes to existing postal or proxy votes is 5pm on Tuesday 18 April.

Election Information: The election is to elect 74 members of The Highland Council, who will serve on 11 four-member and 10 three-member wards.

Polling will take place at 267 polling stations throughout the Highlands between 7 am and 10 pm on Thursday 4 May. The electronic count will take place on Friday 5 May at Inverness Leisure, Bught Park, Inverness.

An election helpline has been set up by the Returning Officer to assist the public and candidates with any queries.  The number is 01349 886657.