Legislative Changes
Some changes have been made to electoral legislation, which will affect the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections on 3 May.
The following sections highlight some of these changes.
Electoral registration changes
- Final registration date - people can now register after an election has been called, up to 11 working days before an election
- The administration of objections to entries in the register
- The procedures for alterations to the register
Absent voting changes
- Deadline for postal vote applications
- Emergency proxies on medical grounds
- A reason must be given for a postal vote to be sent to an address other than the registered address
- Spoilt and lost postal ballot papers - they can now be replaced up to 5pm on election day
- Cancellation of postal ballot papers
- An elector can now ask whether his/her postal ballot paper has been received by the Returning Officer; and whether it has been included in the provisionally rejected list
- A marked list of postal voters will be created
- The arrangements for the collection of postal votes handed in to polling stations on election day
Electoral integrity changes
- Independent observers will be allowed
- There are new electoral offences
Polling Stations
- Corresponding number lists have replaced the use of ballot paper counterfoils
- The perforating security mark is replaced for this election by alternative security measures on the ballot paper
Changes to how votes are counted
- Votes can now be counted electronically
General changes
- The minimum age of candidates has been reduced from 21 to 18 years
- Candidates can use their commonly-used names on ballot papers
- The style of ballot papers has changed
- Election information and guidance is available in alternative formats
- Postal voters will receive poll cards