THE ELECTORAL REGISTRATION officer for Grampian has issued reminders to 2620 Moray residents who have not yet registered to vote in May’s Scottish Parliament election.
Following insideMoray’s report of concerns by MSP’s that thousands of people around the country may be unaware that they are no longer registered because of a change of rules, Ian Milton, the Electoral Registration Officer for Grampian, has moved to clarify the situation in Moray.
Mr Milton said that a full audit of existing entries on the electoral register has been undertaken to ensure that anyone who has moved away from the area is removed from the register – and that all eligible voters living in Moray are registered in time for the May election.
The MSP’s fears expressed are based on changes last year that meant that individual voters had to register their own right to vote, whereas prior to February 2015 a single member of the household could register all voting members. That, it has been reported, resulted in a fall of 800,000 people in Scotland from the register.
However, Mr Milton told insideMoray: “The current electorate for the Moray constituency for the Scottish Parliament is just over 61,400 whereas in February 2015, prior to the completion of the transition to individual electoral registration, it was 61,723.
“In addition, we have asked a further 2620 residents whether they would like to register, and have delivered registration forms to their address to assist them.”
Poll cards for the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5 have been issued to all registered electors in Moray – with Mr Milton adding: “[People in Moray] who have not received a poll card and not updated their registration details in the last few weeks are probably not registered and should register to vote at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
“The 2620 residents who have not yet responded to forms we sent to them can also apply at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or complete the forms we have provided.
“The deadline for applying to register to vote on May 5 is April 18 – however, I would strongly recommend that applications are made as soon as possible.”