Plea to Householders to Assist with Electoral Registration

Householders in the Highlands and Western Isles are being urged to register everyone in their homes who qualifies in order to ensure that they can vote in the Scottish Parliament and local council elections in May of next year.

The annual electoral canvass is in full swing and all households in the areas have received an initial postal canvass form and where this was not returned, a reminder.

Over the next ten days or so, households that have failed to make a return will be issued with a further reminder.  Householders are asked to return the form already in their possession without delay to save the expense to the public purse of additional postal reminders and other follow up work on the doorstep. 

Douglas Gillespie, Electoral Registration Officer for the Highlands and Western Isles, said: “This year’s register is particularly important as it will be used for the fixed term Scottish Parliamentary and Local Government elections in May 2007.  Failure to return a form could result in the inability to vote next May.

“Failure to register can also prejudice the granting of credit as traders routinely carry out checks, which include the electoral register. Householders should remember to include any young people over the age of 16 and any EU, Commonwealth or Irish citizens resident at the address.”

Anyone unsure of how to proceed should telephone the Electoral Registration Officer on Freefone 0800 393783.

Background Briefing Notes

The Electoral Register takes two forms, the parliamentary register which is used for Westminster parliamentary elections and the local government register which is used for Scottish parliamentary, local government and European elections.

Qualification to vote depends on being registered.  To be registered you must be:

• resident in the constituency;
• over the age of 18 (can be registered from 16 but unable to vote before turning 18);
• not subject to any legal incapacity (age apart);
• in the case of the parliamentary register must be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth  citizen;
• in the case of the local government register must be a British, Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or EU citizen.

On initial registration, EU citizens can vote only in local government and Scottish parliamentary elections.  They may vote in the European election in their home state or on further application at their place of residence in this country.

The electoral register is the subject of an annual canvass.  Research suggests that non registration is most prevalent amongst the young, ethnic minorities, particularly in inner cities, and where voters have a relatively mobile lifestyle.  Correspondingly voters who have lived in the same locality for a lengthy period tend to be registered.

In the Highlands and Islands, recent inward migration from EU states with a view to employment and residence seems likely to increase the numbers of EU citizens who qualify to register.  On the other hand a presence of a merely seasonal character would be unlikely to have sufficient permanence to merit inclusion on the register.  Freefone help lines are available to assist those who are uncertain as to whether they qualify for registration.

While electoral officials naturally encourage citizens to register in order to secure their right to vote, it is apparent that the public are aware or are commonly made aware of the relevance of the register of electors to the issue of credit cards and the granting of credit.  The main credit reference agencies have access to the full electoral register for the purpose of running their checking and scoring processes.  It is clear that, at least in some cases, the lack of a presence on the register leads to a refusal of credit.