{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-absent-voting-miscellaneous-amendment-scotland-regulations-2026/regulation-28",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-absent-voting-miscellaneous-amendment-scotland-regulations-2026/regulation-28.json",
  "legislation": "sdsi/2026/9780111065211",
  "legislation_title": "The Absent Voting (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-absent-voting-miscellaneous-amendment-scotland-regulations-2026",
  "path": "regulation/28",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "28",
  "heading": "Postal vote address discrepancies and termination of certain devolved postal vote entitlements",
  "text": "(1) This regulation applies where immediately before the relevant day—\n(a) a person (“P”) has—\n(i) a devolved postal vote entitlement, and\n(ii) a reserved postal vote entitlement,\n(b) there is a discrepancy in the postal vote addresses held on the records kept by the registration officer for those entitlements.\n(2) P’s devolved postal vote entitlement ceases to have effect on the relevant day.\n(3) Before the relevant day, a registration officer must, where reasonably practicable, send to P at P’s qualifying address a notice informing P that—\n(a) the postal vote address kept in the registration officer’s record in respect of P’s devolved postal vote entitlement differs from the postal vote address kept in the registration officer’s record in respect of P’s reserved postal vote entitlement,\n(b) the postal vote address details for P’s devolved postal vote entitlement and P’s reserved postal vote entitlement must be the same if both are to be in place from the relevant day, and\n(c) if a fresh application to vote by post is not made before and determined by the relevant day, P’s devolved postal vote entitlement will cease to have effect on the relevant day.\n(4) As soon as practicable after the relevant day, the registration officer must send to P, at P’s qualifying address—\n(a) a notice informing P that P’s devolved postal vote entitlement has ceased to have effect and the reason why it has ceased to have effect, and explaining the effect of that entitlement ceasing to have effect, and\n(b) information about how to make a fresh application to vote by post.\n(5) As soon as practicable after the relevant day, the registration officer must update—\n(a) the records, as applicable to P, kept under—\n(i) article 8(4), 8(9), or 9(8) of the 2015 Order, or\n(ii) paragraph 3(4), 3(9) or 4(6) of schedule 4 of the 2000 Act, and\n(b) the postal voters list, as applicable to P, kept under—\n(i) article 9(5) of the 2015 Order, or\n(ii) paragraph 5(2) of schedule 4 of the 2000 Act,\nto reflect that P’s devolved postal vote entitlement has ceased to have effect due to the operation of paragraph (2).\n(6) In this regulation “postal vote address” means—\n(a) for a Scottish parliamentary election, Scottish parliamentary elections, or local government and Scottish parliamentary elections, where the application was made under article 8 or 9 of the 2015 Order, the address stated in accordance with paragraph 1(1)(e) of schedule 3 of the 2015 Order, being the address to which the ballot paper is to be sent if different from the qualifying address,\n(b) for a local government election, or local government elections, in Scotland, where an application has been made under paragraph 3 or 4 of schedule 4 of the 2000 Act, the address stated in accordance with regulation 51(2)(d) of the 2001 Regulations or regulation 3(2)(d) of the 2007 Regulations, being the address to which the ballot paper is to be sent if different from the qualifying address,\n(c) for a parliamentary election, or parliamentary elections, in Scotland, the address stated in accordance with regulation 51(2)(d) of the 2001 Regulations.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Paragraph 3(4) was amended by paragraph 2(4) of schedule 3 of the Elections Act 2022 (c. 37). Paragraphs 3(9) and 4(6) were inserted by section 14(1) and (2) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Paragraph 5(2) was amended by paragraph 137(6) of schedule 1 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Regulation 51(2)(d) was amended by S.I. 2008/305."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2026/9780111065211/regulation/28",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:27:59.268802+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}