Absent voting at Scottish Parliament and local government elections: equality impact assessment

Recommendations and Conclusion

While this assessment identified a theoretical potential negative impact on any person whose signature might change over time - and in particular older, younger and potentially some disabled voters - there is no evidence to suggest this will actually occur in practice. In fact, experience with UK-wide elections in 2024 (where the UK Government made a similar change) suggests that no discernible impact is likely to materialise. This conclusion has been reached in close consultation with Electoral Registration Officers, who will deal with absent vote applications affected by the change.

Monitoring and Review

The changes made in this Order will come into force on 1 December 2025 ahead of the requirement to request fresh signatures from relevant absent voters ahead of the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election. After each election, the Electoral Commission publishes a report discussing how the election was run. This report includes assessment of the experience of voters, and the accessibility of the election. The report which will be published after the 2026 Scottish Parliament election will be assessed for any impacts on the protected characteristics explored in this impact assessment as a result of the changes made in this Order. Officials regularly engage with the Electoral Commission on the impacts of changes to legislation, and on potential future improvements. This forms part of the Scottish Government’s routine monitoring of the impact of legislative and policy changes on protected characteristic groups.

Officials engage regularly with electoral administrators on the impact of Government policy changes on a range of activities, including electoral registration, and accessibility of elections. Officials will monitor the impact of the change with Electoral Registration Officers and assess whether any further changes are required to assist those with an absent vote.