Voting By Post

If you know that you won’t be able to get to the polling station on poling day, you can apply to vote by post.

You can apply for a postal vote if you’re away on holiday or because your work schedule means you can’t get to the polling station. You can also choose to vote by post simply because it would be more convenient for you.

Note that the Ballot Paper(s) will not be issued immediately on receipt of your application and may be sent to you less than a week before an event.

How Do I Apply For A Postal Vote?

The process for applying for a postal vote in Scotland depends on the type of election:

If you require an application form to be sent to you.

Angus electors: email [email protected] or call 01307 499910

Perth & Kinross electors: email [email protected] or call 01738 630303

A pre-paid reply envelope will be provided to return the form.

How Long Does My Postal Vote Last?

For UK Parliamentary elections, a postal vote can last no more than three years before you need to reapply.

The Electoral Registration Officer will be issuing new postal vote forms and notices in March, April and May 2025 to electors across Angus and Perth & Kinross so they may reapply before the 31 January 2026 deadline.

For Scottish Parliamentary and local council elections, you can have a postal vote for an indefinite period, but we will contact you to refresh your signature after five years.

How to complete a paper postal or proxy vote application form:

The application form includes instructions on how to fill it in correctly.

Once you have fully completed the form and made sure you have signed it, you need to send it to the Electoral Registration Officer either by a scanned image attached to an email, by post or you can deliver it to the Electoral Registration Office.

Contact details are listed at the foot of this page.

Applications to vote by post must be submitted to the Electoral Registration Officer by 5pm, eleven working days before an election.

Note: If you’re unable to sign the form, or are unable to sign in a consistent way, you can contact the Electoral Registration Officer for more information and to arrange a waiver for this requirement.

You can find out more about voting by post by visiting https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/how-vote-post

Postal Voting at an election

You will be a sent a postal vote ballot pack before the election.

After the deadline to become a candidate has passed (usually around three weeks before polling day), ballot papers are produced and printed. Yours will then be sent to you, in your postal voting pack.

Once you receive your postal voting pack, make sure to keep it somewhere safe. Don’t let anyone else handle it, and avoid leaving it where someone else could pick it up.

If you won’t be at your address to get your postal vote, you might want to think about a proxy vote instead – see Proxy Voting section below.

Voting By Proxy

If you know that you won’t be able to get to the polling station on polling day, you can ask someone you trust to vote on your behalf. This is called a proxy vote and the person casting your vote is referred to as your proxy.

You are required to give a reason why you can’t get to your polling station in person (e.g. because you are going to be on holiday, away with work, or unable to get to your polling station due to a disability).

How Do I Apply For A Proxy Vote

The process for applying for a proxy vote in Scotland depends on whether you are applying for a particular election or a permanent/long-term proxy vote:

What your appointed proxy needs to do on polling day:

The person you have appointed as your proxy will need to go to your polling place to cast your vote. They will receive a proxy poll card telling them where and when to cast your vote for you.

If they don’t receive a proxy poll card, they should check with the elections team at your council. They will be able to tell them where to go and vote.

You can still vote in person if you have a proxy vote, but only if you do so before your proxy has voted for you.

Find out how to vote by proxy by visiting https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/how-vote-proxy

Emergency Proxy Votes:

In certain circumstances, where you have an emergency that means you can’t vote in person, you can apply for an emergency proxy.

This must be something that you weren’t aware of before the normal proxy vote deadline.

  • You have a medical emergency*
  • You are away for work
  • You are a Scottish prisoner serving a sentence of 12 months or less (Scottish Parliament and Scottish Local Government elections only)
  • Your photo ID is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged after the deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate has passed and you want to vote in an election which requires photo ID. This form can also be used if your Anonymous Elector’s Document is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged. (UK Parliament elections only)
  • These applications can be made up to 5pm on polling day.

* Please note that if a person’s disability meant that they were unable, perhaps due to being unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate instructions in relation to apply for a proxy before the deadline for an ordinary proxy application; they may apply for an emergency proxy.

Please visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person-post-or-proxy/apply-vote-proxy to download the appropriate form.

Alternatively, electors in Angus may email [email protected] or call 01307 499910 to request a form to be posted. A pre-paid reply envelope will be provided to return the form.

Electors in Perth & Kinross should email [email protected] or call 01738 630303 to request a form to be posted. A pre-paid reply envelope will be provided to return the form.

These applications can be made up to 5pm on polling day.

Postal Proxy Votes:

If your trusted person can’t get to the polling place, they can apply to vote for you by post. This is called a postal proxy vote.

The deadline to apply for a postal proxy vote is usually 5pm, 11 working days before the poll.

Your appointed proxy will need to contact the Electoral Registration Officer to be sent a form to complete.

Electors in Angus should email [email protected] or call 01307 499910 to request a form to be posted. A pre-paid reply envelope will be provided to return the form.

Electors in Perth & Kinross should email [email protected] or call 01738 630303 to request a form to be posted. A pre-paid reply envelope will be provided to return the form.

Completing the Form

Please note that you will need to complete the paper form in BLACK ink and either return by post to the Electoral Registration Officer at the address listed below, or you can scan the completed form and send the image by email to the Electoral Registration Officer for Angus or Perth & Kinross:

Angus

By email to: [email protected]

By post or hand deliver to:

Electoral Registration Officer

William Wallace House

Orchardbank Business Park

Orchard Loan

Forfar, DD8 1WH

Perth & Kinross

By email to: [email protected]

By post or hand deliver to:

Electoral Registration Officer

Robertson House

Whitefriars Crescent

PERTH

PH2 0LG