Scottish Local Election Rule Changes for May 2027

This is one of those legal updates that looks small on paper but matters once you picture a real polling station. Scottish Ministers have made a new Order changing parts of the rules for Scottish local government elections. It comes into force on 13 November 2026, but legislation.gov.uk says it has no effect on any poll held on or before 5 May 2027, so the first ordinary council elections expected to use it are those due on 6 May 2027. (legislation.gov.uk) If you are a voter, candidate or polling station worker, the key point is that this is not a full rewrite of council elections. The Scottish Government’s policy note says most of the rules used for the May 2022 elections stay the same, with targeted changes instead to candidate paperwork, ballot paper wording, poll cards and disability access. (legislation.gov.uk)

One of the clearest changes is for candidates’ addresses. Under the Order, a candidate who does not want their home address published, or whose home address is outside Scotland, must give a correspondence address in Scotland on the home address form. The Order’s explanatory note says that address will only be used and published if the candidate becomes their own election agent by default. (legislation.gov.uk) That sounds technical, so it helps to slow it down. The Scottish Government policy note says election officials need a Scotland-based address that can be treated as the agent’s office address if no separate agent has been properly put in place. **What it means for candidates:** even if you keep your home address private, you still need a working address in Scotland in reserve for election paperwork and formal notices. (legislation.gov.uk)

Voters are more likely to notice the ballot paper change. From these elections onward, candidates’ names must appear with the surname first and the forename second, with a comma between them. That rule is written directly into the Order, and the official ballot paper form has been updated to match it. (legislation.gov.uk) According to the Scottish Government policy note, this followed discussion among electoral administrators after the July 2024 UK general election about exactly how names should appear on ballot papers. The aim is simple enough: make the format clearer and standardise it across Scottish elections, so voters are not faced with slightly different name layouts from one contest to the next. (legislation.gov.uk)

Another change gives returning officers more room to explain things before polling day. Poll cards, postal poll cards and proxy poll cards can now include extra information, as long as it does not relate to a candidate or registered party. The Order also allows different extra information to be sent to different electors if that is considered appropriate. (legislation.gov.uk) This may look minor, but it could be one of the most useful practical tweaks. The Scottish Government says the old rules were too rigid to let returning officers add more tailored information about support for disabled voters, while Electoral Commission guidance says election communications should cover key dates, where to vote, how to vote and what accessible help is available. **What it means for voters:** your poll card can do more than just tell you an address and a date. (legislation.gov.uk)

The biggest shift is at the polling station itself. The old rule focused on a specified device for blind and partially sighted voters. The new rule is broader: returning officers must provide whatever equipment it is reasonable to provide so that disabled voters, including people who are blind or partially sighted, can vote independently and in secret. The Order also requires the Electoral Commission to issue guidance, and returning officers must have regard to that guidance. (legislation.gov.uk) That change matters because disability access is not the same for every voter. The Electoral Commission says this newer approach replaces a narrow and prescriptive rule with a wider duty based on what disabled voters may actually need in practice. In plain English, the law is moving away from asking whether one device is present and towards asking whether the polling station is genuinely usable. (electoralcommission.org.uk)

So what could that support look like when you walk in to vote? On its public guidance, the Electoral Commission says polling stations should be as accessible as possible and may include ramps, low-level booths, chairs or seating and pencil grips. It also says blind and partially sighted voters can ask for magnifiers, a large-print reference copy of the ballot paper, extra lighting and a tactile voting device, and can ask staff for help if needed. (electoralcommission.org.uk) **What it means for you:** if you think you may need extra help to vote in person, it is worth contacting your local electoral services team or returning officer before polling day. The Electoral Commission says voters can request further support, and can in some cases bring their own aids, such as a torch, magnifier or text-to-speech app, as long as polling station staff know what is being used. (electoralcommission.org.uk)

The Order also updates the paperwork behind the scenes. Form 2, the nomination paper, has been changed because section 2 of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 altered the rules on who can stand. The Scottish Government policy note says the form now reflects the rule that foreign nationals aged 18 or over, resident in the UK and with any form of leave to remain can stand as candidates at Scottish local government elections. Form 4, the ballot paper, is updated to reflect the new surname-first format. (legislation.gov.uk) Taken together, these measures read more like a clean-up of forms, presentation and access than a rewrite of how council elections work. But that does not make them trivial. Clearer paperwork can prevent mistakes, clearer poll cards can help people turn up prepared, and better access rules can make the difference between voting with help and voting independently. The Electoral Commission has already said its council election guidance will be updated for the 2027 polls, while the current published guidance remains the reference point for any by-elections held before 6 May 2027. (electoralcommission.org.uk)