THE National launches a new campaign today and we need your help.
The first thing we need from you is to make sure you’re on the electoral register.
You may think you’re registered, you may even have voted in May’s elections for the European Parliament, but are you sure?
If you have access to the internet, stop what you’re doing right now and head over to registertovote.scot. It’ll take less than five minutes.
READ MORE: Herald poll suggests support for SNP and independence
If you don’t have access to the web you can contact your local Electoral Registration Office. You should be able to find their number in the phone book.
The second thing we need you to do is make sure your family, your pals, your neighbours, and anyone else you can find is registered to vote. Ask them. Pester them. Get them telt.
If they’re over the age of 18 and a British or Irish or Commonwealth citizen – who meets certain eligibility criteria – they can vote.
British citizens living abroad who have been registered to vote in the last 15 years also get a say in December’s poll.
Only the Queen, members of the House of Lords, convicted prisoners, anybody found guilty of electoral fraud within the past five years, and people with a “legal incapacity” that would impair their judgement don’t get a say.
READ MORE: Election: Jo Swinson calls to be included in 'three-way' TV debates
And don’t worry if you or your pal is already planning on being away from home on December 12 and nowhere near your polling station, there’s still time to arrange a postal or proxy vote.
Figures released by the Government last night suggest that thousands are making sure they’re on the list. On Tuesday, when MPs voted for the snap election, around 139,000 people registered – around 90,000 of whom were under the age of 34.
Earlier this month, a major study by the Electoral Commission on the “completeness” of the roll revealed that between 630,000 and 890,000 people in Scotland who were eligible to vote were not correctly registered.
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) warned that this meant “hundreds of thousands of people are missing from the electoral roll for a snap election in Scotland”.
READ MORE: SNP urge Scots to register to vote before General Election
When the study was released the ERS’s director of policy and research, Jess Garland, warned that a snap election “will be on the basis of a flawed franchise”.
“Hundreds of thousands of potential voters in Scotland are effectively missing from the electoral roll, representing a major barrier to political equality and democratic engagement,” she said.
Speaking to The National last night, SNP depute leader Keith Brown said his party were worried they could be hit hard by the incomplete registers: “In 2014, there’s no doubt the Yes campaign benefited because of the work done by the SNP and the wider Yes movement to get people back on to the register.
“My concern is that we have been seeing a lot of people coming off the register and that could be a factor in the election with the SNP as the biggest party set to suffer most.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn took to Twitter with a succinct message for his supporters: “Register to vote. Now.”
Anyone the application. Those who aren’t able to get to their polling station on 12 December can arrange either a postal or proxy vote.”
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We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
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The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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