Electoral Registration
New electors can register to vote at any time by visiting www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and following the instructions provided. Alternatively, an elector can contact our offices on 01586 555 300 for Argyll & Bute Council area or 0141 562 1200 for East and West Dunbartonshire Council areas and a member of staff can assist with telephone registration. If preferred, an Invitation to Register form can be sent to you or you can download one from this website.
Applying to register only takes a couple of minutes but you need your national insurance number and date of birth to complete an application.
It is important that electors make their registration applications as early as possible after the event e.g. when moving house.
The Register of Electors (Voters Roll) is principally based on an annual electoral canvass of all households. The Register is effectively a list of addresses with names of persons qualified to vote and shows their entitlement to vote at various types of elections and referendums.
The Electoral Register is updated and re-published following the canvass each year, normally at 1 December. It is used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, UK Parliament (Westminster), local elections to appoint Councillors, at national referendums and in the election of Community Councils.
Not everyone whose name appears in the Register has the right to vote at all elections or referendums. The Register contains statutory coding to indicate where such limited qualification exists.
The Open Register
Like all registration offices, we keep two registers – the Electoral Register and the Open Register (previously known as the edited register).
The Electoral Register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections and is also used for calling people for jury service, preventing and detecting crime and checking applications for credit. It is not sold on to anyone. Credit Reference agencies may only use it to check the customer’s name and address if applying for credit and for other purposes specified in law.
The open register is an extract of the electoral register but it is not used for elections. It may be purchased in whole or in part by any person, company or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details.
How Do I Opt Out of the Open Register?
Your name and address will be included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. You can ask to be removed from the Open Register at any time and this will not affect your right to vote. If you are already registered,please fill in this online form. Once completed this will be automatically sent to us.
Or you can complete this form (pdf version) and email this to us at
[email protected] – Argyll & Bute Council
[email protected] – West Dunbartonshire Council
[email protected] – East Dunbartonshire Council
Or you can post it to The Electoral Registration Officer at:
Argyll and Bute
Kilbrannan House, Bolgam Street, Campbeltown, PA28 6JY
East and West Dunbartonshire
235 Dumbarton Road, Clydebank, G81 4XJ
If you need to register to vote, you can now register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote – make sure you tick the relevant box if you want to Opt Out of the Open Register.
The following links will provide further information on each topic
