Scottish and Welsh voters could soon apply for postal votes online
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Voters in Scotland and Wales could soon apply for Holyrood and Senedd postal votes online after MPs backed a change in the law. The Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill passed its second reading on Friday without a division and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
Voters throughout Great Britain can apply for a postal ballot paper online for general elections and national referendums. But residents of Scotland and Wales have to use a paper form if they would like a postal vote for elections to the Scottish Parliament, Senedd, or their local councils.
If it clears both Houses of Parliament, the Bill would change this system to bring electors in line throughout Great Britain. Democracy minister Rushanara Ali described the paper form process as one which “could be cumbersome and difficult as a process and one that some electors may have had to rely on others to support them”.
She added the Government is “wholeheartedly in support of the aim of removing that divergence” in voting practices throughout Great Britain. Ms Ali also said that legislation to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in England “will be introduced in due course, strengthening our democracy and empowering young people to participate in it”.
