THE number of people in Scotland registered to vote by post has increased by 38% since December 2020, according to statistics published by National Records of Scotland (NRS) yesterday.
The figures show that for UK Parliament elections 23.1% are now registered to vote by post. A similar increase in registrations for postal ballots in Scottish Parliament and council elections puts that figure at 22.5% ahead of May’s local authority vote.
The figures also show that 77,600 young people aged 16 or 17 were registered to vote at Scottish Parliament and local government elections. This increase of 4300 (5.9%) means young people now account for 1.8% of Scotland’s electorate. While 16 and 17-year-olds can vote in the Scottish Parliament and council elections, the minimum voting age for UK elections is still 18.
The total number of registered voters for Scottish Parliament and local government elections was 4,245,200, an increase of 36,300 (0.9%) on the previous year.
The number of registered voters in Scotland for UK parliamentary elections was 4,028,700, up 16,300 (0.4%) on the previous year.
There were 172,100 foreign nationals registered to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections. This represented 4.1% of the total electorate and showed an increase of 14,700 (9.4%) on the previous year.
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NRS head of electoral statistics Sandy Taylor said: “In December 2021, nearly a million people in Scotland, around 23% of the electorate, were registered to vote by post.
“This 38% increase in postal voters over the last year is most likely driven by the Covid pandemic.”
The full publication, “Electoral Statistics for Scotland, as at December 1, 2021”, is available on the NRS website.
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