Scottish Statutory Instruments
2025 No. 263
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE
The Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025
Made 18th September 2025
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 22nd September 2025
Coming into force 1st December 2025

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 22(3) and 61(2) of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 and all other powers enabling them to do so.
2006 asp 14 (“the 2006 Act”). See section 36(2) of the 2006 Act, read with section 202 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2), for the meaning of “prescribed” in relation to section 22(3), to mean prescribed by regulations.

Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 and come into force on 1 December 2025.

Amendment of the Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 2007
2. After regulation 15C (consequence of failure to provide required information) of the Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 insert—

“Disapplication of fresh signatures requirement for signatures due before May 2026
15D. Where a registration officer may be required to send a person a notice under regulation 15A(1) and (2) (requirement to provide fresh signatures) before 7 May 2026—
(a) that requirement does not apply,
(b) the absent voter does not, for that reason, cease to be entitled to vote by post or by proxy for a failure to provide a fresh signature,
(c) the registration officer does not, for that reason, require to remove that person’s entry from the absent voting records due to failure to provide a fresh signature, and
(d) the registration officer must send a notice under regulation 15A(1) and (2) to that person by 31 January 2027.”.

S.S.I. 2007/170 as relevantly amended by S.S.I. 2009/35 and S.S.I. 2011/399.
JAMIE HEPBURN
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers
St Andrew's House
Edinburgh
18th September 2025

Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (“the 2007 Regulations”). The 2007 Regulations apply where a postal or proxy vote is being or has been sought in respect solely of local government elections in Scotland or of a particular local government election in Scotland.
Regulation 2 inserts a new regulation 15D into the 2007 Regulations. This temporarily disapplies any requirement under regulation 15A(1) and (2) of the 2007 Regulations for registration officers to send a notice requesting a fresh signature from any person entitled to vote by post or proxy and whose signature on record is more than 5 years old. This is temporarily disapplied where the notice under regulation 15A(1) and (2) would otherwise be sent by 7 May 2026. The registration officer is instead to send the notice by 31 January 2027.