Welcome to Your Vote Day!

New Scots urged to register to vote in May elections

The Electoral Commission is running a Welcome to Your Vote Day, today Thursday 10 March, to raise awareness amongst New Scots about their right to vote ahead of the upcoming council elections.

In 2020 the Scottish Parliament voted to extend the franchise for Scottish Parliament and council elections to include anyone aged 16 or over who is resident in Scotland, regardless of their nationality. This means that the upcoming elections will be the first opportunity for many New Scots to vote in Scottish council elections. 

Anyone who wants to vote in the Scottish council elections on 5 May must be registered by midnight on 18 April.

Andy O’Neill, Head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland said: “Welcome to Your Vote Day aims to raise awareness that New Scots have the right to register to vote and have their say on 5 May.

“We have information to help new voters understand the voting process in various languages on our website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter.

“You can’t have your say in the council elections taking place this May unless you are registered to vote, which you can do online now at www.gov.uk/registertovote.”    

The Electoral Commission is also working with organisations across Scotland to ensure that recently-enfranchised voters have the tools they need to confidently cast their vote on issues that affect their day to day lives.

This includes providing resources which community groups and other organisations can use to raise awareness amongst New Scots they work with and run their own registration events.

Luis, who is a member of JustRight Scotland’s JustCitizens Panel and came to Scotland from Mexico in 2014, said: “This year I am going to vote, after living here for a couple of years. I feel like I belong and I would like to think that I have the power to shape the society I live in.” 

Mira from the Just Citizens Panel, who is originally from Poland, said: “I voted in Scotland for the first time in 2017 at the local council elections and, emotionally speaking, it was quite an emotive and powerful event.

“It felt like, even though I had already lived in Scotland for seven years at that point, it really felt like I was part of the society and like I was taking an active role in what was happening to the city that I live in.”

Organisations and individuals who want to raise awareness about the right to vote for New Scots can access the free resources from the Electoral Commission website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/democratic-engagement-resources.