Franchise
Section 4 – Those who are entitled to vote
21.Section 4 provides details of those who can vote in a referendum. The franchise is the same as at local government elections and Scottish Parliament elections which is set out in section 2 of the Representation of People Act 1983. An individual is entitled to vote in a referendum held under this framework if the person meets all the following criteria as at the date of the referendum:
aged 16 or over.
registered in the register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 for any area in Scotland.
not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart).
a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a relevant citizen of the European Union (defined in schedule 7 as a citizen of the EU who is not also a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland).
Section 5 – Those who are subject to a legal incapacity to vote
22.This section sets out that a person is subject to a legal incapacity to vote in a referendum if they would be legally incapable under any enactment or rule of law of voting in a local government election held in Scotland on that same date.
