The Electoral Process
There are a set of legal processes that must be followed for an election to run. The processes are set out briefly below:
The Notice of Election will be published approximately 6-7 weeks before the date of the election. At the same the election timetable is published, providing the key dates and deadlines for both the candidate and voter. These notices will appear in the regional press and on the council website.
The candidate nomination packs will be available from the Election Office as soon as the Notice of Election is published. The packs contain all of the key information for the candidate. More information about becoming a councillor for local government is available.
In the nomination pack there is a form for the appointment of the candidate's election agent, This can either be a person appointed by the candidate or it can be the candidate themselves. Later on in the process the candidate can also appoint polling or counting agents to assist/represent them on polling day and at the count.
Once the deadline for nominations has passed, the Notice of Poll (the statutory list of the candidates standing for election), Notice of Election Agents, and the Situation of Polling Places (list of polling stations being used) will be published.
About 3-4 weeks prior to polling day the Returning Officer will host a briefing session for candidates in which further key information will be given to candidates about the election. This focuses on the arrangements for the count and the election day, and it is important that candidates and agents attend.
There is a set date by which voters must be registered prior to the election. This cut off date allows the electoral registers to be finalised before the election and postal votes to be printed prior to dispatch. This is approximately 10-14 working days before polling day, and if you are not registered by this date you will not be able to vote in that election,
Following the close of the Electoral Registers, postal votes will be issued about 10-14 days prior the election and candidates will receive notification of this. Candidates and Agents are not legally entitled to attend the issue, as they are sent out direct to the voter from a central printing provider.
All postal votes are accompanied by a signed statement completed by the voter, These statements undergo a statutory verification process by the Returning Officer to prevent fraud. Candidates and Agents are entitled to observe these sessions if they wish.
Postal votes can be returned via Royal Mail, handed into any council office or any polling station in the constituency by 10pm on polling day. Votes returned after this time will not included in the count.
Postal votes can be return via Royal Mail, handed into Reception at the Moray Council Annexe, or handed into any polling station in the constituency by 10pm on polling day. An accompanying form must be completed for those votes handed in to ensure validity of the vote. The form will be given to you by Polling Station staff if handing in at a polling station, or by Moray Council reception staff if handing in at the Annexe. If the form is not completed, or if the vote is received after 10pm, the vote(s) will not be included in the count.
A list of polling stations shows where the polling stations for the election are.
The poll opens at 7am and closes at 10pm.
There will be between 200-250 polling staff working in polling stations across the constituency, ensuring the smooth running of in-person voting and the handing in of postal votes.
The count is either held at close of poll at 10pm or the following day. For a full election this is usually held in Elgin Town Hall. For Local Government by-elections the count will usually be held at a venue within that ward.
As the ballot boxes arrive at the count the ballot boxes will be verified. Once the Returning Officer is satisfied with this check, they will announce the total number of votes cast for the whole election and the voter turnout.
The count proper then starts and the votes will be counted by enumerators (and for STV will go through several stages to take account of the preferences marked). The result will be calculated by the Returning Officer and thereafter they will declare the result and the winner.
The count usually takes between 2-6 hours, depending on voter turnout and the method of voting being used.