More than one million postal ballots for next month's Holyrood poll have been registered in a new record for a Scottish election.
The Electoral Commission announced today that almost a quarter of the electorate north of the Border had requested to vote by post.
The Scottish Government actively encouraged the public to register for postal ballots due to lockdown restrictions which will likely limit the number of people who can enter polling stations at once come May 6.
It means that a large chunk of the final result will already have been cast by the time polling stations open for business at 7am.
Postal ballots will be issued from April 14 and must be completed and returned to the address provided by 10pm on May 6 to count.
Malcolm Burr, convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, said: “We can’t count any votes that come back to us after 10pm on 6 May so if you have a postal vote make sure you send it back in plenty of time.
"If you do leave it late then you can drop your completed pack at your local polling place on election day.”
As well as marking their ballot papers, postal voters must also complete and return a statement with their date of birth and signature.
These are checked against the ones they provided when they first applied for the postal vote and is an important measure to keep their vote safe.
Andy O’Neill, head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland said: “With many people voting by post for the first time this May, it’s really important that they follow the instructions in their postal ballot pack to make sure their vote can count.
"Half of all postal votes rejected at the last UK general election were because the signature or date of birth did not match their application, so extra care needs to be taken when filling in these parts of the postal voting statement.”
While the postal vote deadline has now passed, it is still possible to apply for a proxy vote where a voter can appoint someone they trust to cast their vote. The deadline to appy for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday, April 27.
