NO ONE MAY VOTE AT ELECTIONS TO PARLIAMENT, SCOTTISH OR EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS, OR LOCAL COUNCILS UNLESS THEIR NAME APPEARS IN THE REGISTER OF ELECTORS.
A revised Register of Electors is produced on1st December annually and is available for inspection at council offices and libraries. The main source of information in Orkney and Shetland is a postal canvass of all households. The law requires householders to supply the information necessary to ensure that all eligible persons are included. The penalty for failure to supply information or for the provision of false information is a fine of up to £1000 on summary conviction.
Eligibility for registration
All BRITISH CITIZENS, OTHER COMMONWEALTH CITIZENS, CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND and CITIZENS OF ALL OTHER EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES who will be resident at an address in Orkney or Shetland on 15 October will be included in the Register published on the following 1st December, provided they are aged 17 or over on 1st December.
Names normally included in the register
- 16 AND 17 YEAR OLDS - They can vote as soon as they are 18. This is the reason why you must supply their date of birth.
- THOSE WHO NORMALLY LIVE AT AN ADDRESS BUT ARE TEMPORARILY AWAY, For example on holiday; as students; in hospital (including voluntary patients in mental hospitals); or as a reservist called up for service or training.
- MERCHANT SEAMEN who live at an address when not at sea.
- ANYONE WHO IS AWAY WORKING, unless the absence will be for more than six months.
- CITIZENS OF OTHER MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION - These states are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. These persons are permitted to vote at Local Government and Scottish Parliamentary elections. They are sent a separate form to allow them to register to vote at European Parliamentary elections in the UK.
Persons not normally included
- ANYONE WHO IS NOT A BRITISH, COMMONWEALTH, IRISH, OR OTHER EUROPEAN CITIZEN.
- PEOPLE UNDER 16.
- CONVICTED PERSONS - Anybody normally resident at an address who is serving a prison sentence.
- SHORT-STAY GUESTS at an address who have their normal place of residence elsewhere.
Anyone on the electoral register can vote by post. You can arrange to have a postal vote for a particular election, for a set period or for an indefinite period. You may also be able to vote by proxy. Contact the Electoral Registration Officer for further details.
Anyone moving address can apply to have his or her details amended on the Register of Electors. Forms are available from the Electoral Registration Officer or can be downloaded from this page. Please note that each member of a household must complete an individual signed application.
Two Versions of the Register
The Electoral Registration Officer makes and keeps two versions of the electoral register - the full register and the edited register.
The Full Register - The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by calling at the council offices or at some of the local libraries. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for special purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. The full list of such persons is given in the Representation of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. It is a criminal offence for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.
The Edited Register - The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for their names to be excluded from that version of the register. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they may use it for any purpose.
Form Downloads
To read and print the forms below you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is a free utility and can be downloaded by clicking " DOWNLOAD ADOBE ACROBAT" below.
Application forms must be downloaded, printed and then returned to the Electoral Registration Officer by hand, post or fax. Forms can not be returned by e-mail or over the web.
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DOWNLOAD ADOBE ACROBAT |
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RoP 5 |
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RoP 50 |
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RoP 70 |
