Remember, you can join The National for just £1 for three months with our exclusive offer for newsletter subscribers.

GRASSROOTS campaigners have created an app to encourage voter registration in the run up to the Holyrood 2026 elections, with the hope of seeing an increase in turnout.

AyeApp was launched in May and aims to make it easier for grassroots campaigners to register people to vote by having all the necessary tools in one place, including registering for a postal vote and registering for a certificate of authority.

Speaking to The National, Geoff Bush – one of the app’s creators – described the app as a “democracy tool”.

He said the app received "generous funding” from the Scottish Independence Foundation, a group which funds various grassroots projects.

The app is not affiliated to a political party, but the idea for the project was inspired by the 2014 independence referendum, which saw a “mass campaign of voter registration” in the run-up to the vote.

“The number of people who had never voted in their lives prior to the referendum was relatively high,” Bush said.

It led him to wonder what would happen if a similar campaign was to be held in the run up to the Holyrood elections in 2026. Could it potentially help to achieve independence?

'People just get it'

Bush decided the best way to spread the word about the app was at independence marches. He attended the All Under One Banner rally in Glasgow earlier this month, where he said he had “never talked as much” before whilst on a march.

He said people were confused initially why they might need the app, as most people on the march were already registered to vote.

Once they realised it was for them to use to encourage others to register, “the penny suddenly dropped”.

“I’ve been on dozens of independence marches, and I’ve never talked so much on marches as I did then.

“People just get it,” Bush said, adding that Boris Johnson’s failure to bring ID when he voted in the local elections helped to draw more people into the conversation.

The app is party neutral, Bush told The National, adding that it was simply a tool for activists to use on the doors and at stalls to make it easier to register voters.

He added that he had worked alongside the Electoral Commission to develop the app to ensure they remained neutral, in order to “maintain credibility” as a voter registration app.

Looking ahead to the future, Bush said the team is working on how signatures are captured, to avoid complications which may prevent people from being able to vote.

This project is the perfect example of grassroots campaigners taking matters into their own hands, showing the true power of the movement.

Nearly 100 activists have already downloaded the app, with more expected as the election continues to creep closer.

AyeApp is available to download from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Events

Future events and ticket information are listed here.

If you or a group have a grassroots event, let us know at grassroots@thenational.scot.