Local Government Election 2022: Guidance on activity in and around polling places
General guidance about polling places
Passes: Candidates and their agents will only be admitted on production of a valid ID Pass on every occasion they seek admission. This will be strictly enforced. If a pass is lost, a replacement can be issued by the Elections Office at the City Chambers. Please use the contact numbers at the end of this guidance to arrange this, if required. Please help to ensure the safety and security of the Ballot by signing in and out when you attend the polling place.
Requirements of Secrecy: Agents must read and abide by the Requirement for Secrecy (see Appendix 1). This is a very serious matter and breaches may be investigated by Police Scotland and could lead to fines or imprisonment.
Within a polling place, it is strictly forbidden to offer documentation or literature or to make any other attempt by whatever means to influence voters as to how they cast their votes.
Poll Cards are the property of voters. They are not required to surrender them and must not be pressurised to do so. POs will not accept polling cards from voters.
Marked Registers: Lists of electors who have or have not voted or any other polling information must not be taken out of polling stations before the poll closes.
The fixing of bills/posters to any part of polling place eg walls, railings, fences, etc is not permitted. Bills will normally be allowed on the pavements outside a polling place if they are positioned so as not to cause any obstruction to pedestrians, vehicular traffic or to polling place signage. Any question of obstruction will be managed by the SPO or SSPO in conjunction with the Police, if required.
Cars displaying election material are not normally allowed within the polling place. However, cars which bring disabled or elderly persons to vote may, where local conditions permit, be allowed to bring those persons to the door of the polling place. In such circumstances the cars should wait in a discreet place while the persons are voting and should leave the polling place without delay as soon as the persons have voted or as directed by the SPO or SSPO.
There is no specific entitlement for Agents to be informed of the number of persons who have voted. However, to assist in giving live information on turnout, Returning Officers have asked their POs to tell polling agents how many papers they have issued at the time of the request. The information is to be supplied if asked for, however POs can ask agents to wait if they are busy dealing with voters when the request is made.
Smoking in polling stations and within polling places is not permitted. Candidates and their agents are required to comply with this restriction. Please also pay attention to the requirements of the polling place which many have a no smoking policy covering the grounds and in these cases, please respect these restrictions. In any case, please be considerate and do not litter the area.
