WIREDGOV

Schools and colleges across Scotland are being encouraged to hold special voter registration events this week (7-11 September) in a bid to raise awareness of the lowering of the voting age and to get more young people registered ahead of Scottish Parliament election next May.

Following the lowering of the voting age in Scotland, the Electoral Commission has teamed up with councils across Scotland to invite all schools and colleges to run voter registration drives during class time.

The week-long “Time out to get #IN” event aims to see schools and colleges across Scotland taking time out from usual classes to give students an opportunity to go online and register. It’s also part of a wider campaign that the Electoral Commission has been running over the summer aimed at increasing registration rates among 15- 17 year olds.

Andy O’Neill, Head of the Scotland office at the Electoral Commission said;

“This is a fantastic chance for young people across Scotland to get involved in our campaign and make sure they and their friends are #in. Unless you’re registered, you can’t vote and we want to encourage as many young people as possible to get registered now.”

“Our campaign has already received a positive response and we would like to thank all of the schools and colleges who are taking part this week. These class time registration drives are another great opportunity for young voters to ask any questions, debate their ideas and really start getting engaged with politics and voting.”

Mary Pitcaithly, Chief Executive of Falkirk Council who was also Chief Counting Officer at last year’s referendum said;

“We witnessed how young people welcomed the opportunity to take part in the referendum last September and now that opportunity has been extended to allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote at Scottish Parliament elections and Scottish local government elections. It’s great to see so many schools and colleges already taking part to help the next generation of voters get registered, which is the crucial first step towards participation.”

“It’s also important that young voters are given the opportunity to debate issues that matter to them and to learn about politics.”

The Electoral Commission has produced a digital toolkit for schools and colleges which includes all the information that teachers need to be able to take part in the event

The toolkit can be downloaded here.

Further resources including images from the campaign can be downloaded here

For more information please contact:
Megan Phillips on 0207 271 0714 (outside office hours on 07789 920414) or email mphillips@electoralcommission.org.uk 

Notes to editors

1. The Time Out to get #IN initiative is being coordinated by the Electoral Commission in partnership with Education Scotland, the Scottish Council for Independent Schools, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, School Leaders Scotland, the Elections Management Board, the Scottish Assessors Association, Colleges Scotland and the Scottish Government Learning Directorate.
2. The initiative is part of a wider Commission social media campaign that has been running since Monday 3 August. For more information on the campaign see the press release here.
3. The Commission is also working with Global Radio to promote the registration message on radio stations across Scotland.
4. 16 and 17 year olds who registered to vote at the referendum will need to register again, as the referendum was a one-off event that used a separate register for 16 and 17 year olds