Tag: voting

Notice of Scottish Parliament Election published

  • The Scottish Parliament Notice of Election has been published.
  • Nominations open tomorrow (Tuesday 16 March) for candidates wanting to stand in the election.
  • Additional hygiene and distancing measures will be in place on polling day for voter and staff safety
  • If voters do not want to go to a polling place to vote they have the option of voting by post. Anyone can apply for a postal vote but this should be done as soon as possible.

Nominations open tomorrow (Tuesday 16 March) for candidates to stand in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament Election.

The Notice of Election was published today for Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western Constituencies and the Lothian Region.

In order to stand as a candidate, individuals must submit nomination papers, which are available on the Council website, by 4pm on Wednesday 31 March.

The Scottish Parliament Election will take place on Thursday, 6 May 2021, when people living across Scotland will elect MSPs to represent them at Holyrood.

Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for the Edinburgh constituencies and the Lothian Region, said: “The Notice of Election signifies the official start of the election period.

“The forthcoming election will allow the city’s residents to have their say about the government of Scotland, and I urge all citizens to make sure they’re registered in plenty of time, think now about the way they’ll vote and then to use that vote on 6 May.

“We are keen to continue the enthusiasm demonstrated by voters during the UK Parliamentary Election in 2019 and even our recent by-election in Craigentinny/Duddingston when we had the same range of safety measures in place. Anyone unsure about how to register, where to vote or how to vote by post can find more information on the Council website.”

At the UK Parliamentary Election in December 2019 turnout in the capital was high, at an average of 73% across Edinburgh’s five constituencies.

People aged 16 and over and all those legally resident – including foreign citizens – can register to vote in this election.

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 register to vote is midnight Monday 19 April, to apply for a postal vote the deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 6 April, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 27 April.

Find out more about voter registration and the election, including the safety measures we’re taking to ensure polling stations are safe and covid secure, on the Council’s website.

Voters urged to have their say as General Election approaches

Edinburgh’s Returning Officer has urged residents to have their say on 12 December, with just days to go until Thursday’s UK Parliamentary Election.

In the Capital, 362, 956 people are currently registered to vote following the registration deadline on 26 November, with around 20,000 residents registering since the notice of election on 8 November. Continue reading Voters urged to have their say as General Election approaches

Votes for foreign residents and prisoners?

Foreign nationals resident in Scotland should be able to have a say in how the country is run. This the view of the majority of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee following its consideration of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill. Continue reading Votes for foreign residents and prisoners?

Edinburgh’s general election by numbers

With less than a week to go until the UK General Election, preparations are well under way in Edinburgh. Here are some of the numbers that go into running the election in the Capital’s five constituencies:

143: the number of polling places across the city (buildings in which people vote), which house 336 polling stations, each with one ballot box.

There are five constituencies in Edinburgh: Edinburgh East, Edinburgh North and Leith, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh South West and Edinburgh West.

22 candidates are standing across the five constituencies, representing 6 different parties.

There are 352,600 people registered to vote in Edinburgh, with 79,963 of these postal voters. This is an increase of 8.3% in postal voters compared to the local elections on 4 May (74,481) and the highest number of postal voters since the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 (81,666).

As of Tuesday 30 May, Edinburgh has had 33.1% of all the postal votes returned.

3000 books of ballot papers will be used by polling staff on 8 June.

More than 3600 pencils will be available and attached to polling stations using a total of 360 balls of string (more than two miles in length) – though voters do not have to use pencil and can bring their own pens.

745 polling staff will make sure voting runs smoothly in Edinburgh during the day on 8 June, while 510 count staff will count the city’s votes that night.

There is one mobile polling place in Edinburgh, the mobile library, which is parked at Forrester Park Avenue.

Amongst the equipment used across polling places during the day will be approximately 300 yellow post-its, 150 black bin bags, 84 sets of pliers and 500 fingerettes.

While 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote in the Scottish Referendum and the recent local elections, voters must be 18 to take part in the General Election.

More numbers still…

At the recent Scottish Local Government Elections on 4 May 2017, Edinburgh had more postal votes returned – 55,056 – than any other council in Scotland.  Edinburgh also had more votes to count 187,157 than any other of the 32 councils.

Edinburgh counts for around 9% of Scotland’s electorate – second most behind Glasgow.

Sweet spot: count staff will eat around 2800 boiled sweets on the night of 8 June.

Edinburgh uses cardboard polling booths – they are recyclable and save over £5000 in repair and maintenance costs for each election.

Polls open at 7am on 8 June and close at 10pm.

Find out more about when, where and how to vote.