Scottish Parliament election rules change from May 2026
From 7 May 2026, the way Scottish Parliament elections are run shifts in several practical ways. The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025 updates rules on registration, accessibility, campaigning, and deadlines. These changes apply to elections on or after 7 May 2026, not before.
If you teach Modern Studies, or you’re a first‑time voter, think of this Order as a tidy‑up that makes voting a bit clearer and fairer. It strengthens how intimidation is handled, widens late proxy options in emergencies, and clarifies the timetable administrators follow so you know what to expect before polling day.
Registration first. Looked‑after and care‑experienced young people can now register by “declaration of local connection” up to age 20 (that is, under 21). This matters if you don’t have a stable address; you can still get onto the roll and have a vote at Holyrood because the local government register is the basis for Scottish Parliament elections.
Access at polling places is strengthened. Instead of prescribing a single tactile device, returning officers must provide reasonable equipment that enables disabled voters-including blind and partially sighted voters-to vote independently and in secret. The Electoral Commission will issue guidance and returning officers must have regard to it.
Life happens on polling day, and the rules now recognise that. If you discover after 5pm on the sixth day before polling that you’ll be accompanying someone for medical care or treatment and can’t vote in person, you can seek an emergency proxy up to 5pm on polling day. Your application must be attested by someone aged 16 or over who knows you and isn’t a relative.
If your appointed proxy suddenly can’t make it and they don’t have a postal vote, you can switch to an alternative proxy up to 5pm on polling day. This closes a gap that left some voters without a workable option when a proxy’s plans fell through late.
For eligible prisoners, there’s a clearer late route too. Where the grounds relate to detention, emergency proxy applications can be made until 5pm on polling day, regardless of when detention began. Replacement of a lost or spoilt postal ballot is also brought forward to a firm 5pm deadline on polling day.
The offence of undue influence has been modernised. It explicitly covers threats or acts against a person, their property, finances or reputation, as well as spiritual pressure, intimidation, and deceptive acts about how the election is administered. This replaces older wording and underlines that voters must be free to choose without fear or trickery.
Campaign rules are tidied up. Benefits in kind-such as discounted rooms or free services-only count as a candidate’s “notional spend” if their use was directed, authorised or encouraged by the candidate or their agent. Authorised third parties can both incur and pay for the expenses they are permitted to promote, rather than routing payment through the agent.
If an election is postponed by proclamation under new powers in section 2(5E) of the Scotland Act 1998, candidate spending limits rise in a measured way, and increases stack if there is more than one postponement. Security‑related costs are clarified to cover costs reasonably attributable to protecting people or property. These provisions sit alongside the 2025 Act that created the postponement mechanism.
Timetables are simpler to explain in class. Dissolution before an ordinary Holyrood election is cut from 28 to 20 days, and several duties now key off polling day rather than dissolution, which makes planning more predictable for administrators, candidates and schools organising civic education events. Computation of time continues to follow the Scottish Parliamentary Election Rules.
On candidacy, the short campaign trigger is fixed to the election timetable rather than dissolution, aligning with the approach temporarily used for the 2021 election when candidates were treated as such from 27 working days before polling day; the new Order adopts this timetable‑anchored model going forward, calculated using the election rules.
Boundaries administrators should note that references are updated to the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies and Regions) Order 2025, which implements Boundaries Scotland’s Second Review. This ensures spending calculations and other references point to the current map used for Holyrood contests.
One more practical reminder for 2026: you do not need photo ID to vote at Scottish Parliament elections. Photo ID is required for UK Parliament elections, but not for Holyrood or Scottish council elections. That means your focus should be on being registered and choosing the voting method that suits you.
Mini study prompt for teachers and students: pick a constituency and storyboard the 2026 election timeline. Mark when a person becomes a “candidate”, when registers are supplied, the 5pm absent‑vote deadlines, and the 20‑day dissolution window. This turns legal rules into a clear sequence you can track and explain to others, building confidence about taking part.