Supporting New Scots to vote in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election Facilitator Guide Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 The right to vote in Scotland ........................................................................................... 5 The Scottish Parliament ................................................................................................... 9 Registering to vote ......................................................................................................... 12 Campaigning ................................................................................................................... 14 Voting in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election .......................................................... 18 2 Introduction In February 2020, the Scottish Parliament passed a new law that means if you are over 16 and resident in Scotland, you can vote in Scottish elections, regardless of where you were born. The extension to voting rights means that refugees and other foreign citizens living in Scotland who have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or do not need such permission, can now vote in Scottish Parliament and council elections. There will be an election to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 6 May 2021. This will be the first election that many New Scots will be able to vote in. This guide has been created to support you, as someone who works with New Scots, to provide information to the people you work with so they can feel confident to take part in the election and know their vote matters. The Electoral Commission is a politically impartial and independent organisation. We oversee elections in the UK to ensure that they are well-run and that campaigners follow the political finance rules. We also work to ensure that voters understand how to participate in elections and can have confidence in the democratic process. We have designed this guide to reflect our organisation’s values of impartiality and independence. We are grateful to have received support from the following partners in the development of this guide: Scottish Refugee Council COSLA Local authority resettlement officers Maryhill Integration Network The VOICES Network Saheliya WOSDEC (West of Scotland Development Education Centre) Using this guide This guide covers the following areas: The right to vote in Scotland What the Scottish Parliament does How to register to vote How political parties campaign in the run up to an election How to vote in the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election It also contains some activities which you may find useful for encouraging conversation around the topics. 3 You can download PowerPoint slides which accompany the activities, as well as an FAQ for New Scots in English, Arabic, Farsi and Kurdish here: electoralcommission.org.uk/democratic-engagement-resources/welcome-your-vote- resources. You may choose to use the information and activities in this guide to support the New Scots you work with through online sessions, face-to-face, over the phone, or by other means. Other sources of information Electoral Registration Officers Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are appointed by councils and are responsible for registering voters. They can provide assistance with registration queries and some local EROs may offer further support including attending events. You can find contact details for your local ERO by entering your postcode here: electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am- a/voter/your-election-information. The Scottish Parliament You can find further information about how the Scottish Parliament works by visiting parliament.scot. 4 The right to vote in Scotland This section of the guide will help you to explain: Who can vote in elections in Scotland How voting rights have changed over time in Scotland The right of the voter to choose how they want to vote It also includes an activity to encourage discussion around how politics affects our everyday lives. Who can vote in Scottish elections? Anyone aged 16 or over and resident in Scotland can vote in Scottish Parliament and council elections, regardless of where they were born. This includes citizens from other countries who have permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who do not need such permission. Those with a pending asylum application in Scotland are not eligible to vote in Scottish elections. To vote in UK Parliament elections you must be 18 or over and a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen. More information about who can vote in elections in Scotland is available here: electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/which-elections-can-i-vote. Timeline of voting rights 1918 - Voting rights extended to men aged 21 and over, and some women over 30 1928 - Voting rights extended to all women over 21 1969 - Voting rights extended to men and women over 18 2014 - 16 and 17 year olds allowed to vote in Scottish Independence referendum 2015 - 16 and 17 year olds given right to vote in Scottish Parliament and council elections 2020 - Voting rights extended in Scotland to give qualifying foreign citizens the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and council elections 5 Your vote In all elections in Scotland, your vote belongs to you. You can decide whether or not you want to vote and who you want to vote for. Whether you vote at a polling station, by post, or via a proxy (where you ask someone you trust to vote on your behalf), it’s your decision. It’s illegal for anyone to influence you to vote a certain way against your will. How does politics affect our lives? Politics impacts everything around us. From what jobs we do, to the rules for renting, to bus and train services, and to how often your bin is collected. By voting in elections, New Scots can have their say about the issues that matter to them and help to choose who represents them in the Scottish Parliament and in their council. 6 Activity 1: Everyday politics Time 20 minutes Overview This activity is designed to help New Scots identify how politics impacts just about every aspect of everyday life. You can download PowerPoint slides for this activity. Instructions Ask the group to consider the statement ‘Politics doesn’t affect me’ and where they would place themselves on the scale from ‘Agree’ to ‘Disagree’. You could also ask the participants to use an arrow or icon to select their position on the scale. Ask the group to consider the four images associated with everyday life: breakfast travel to work or school schools/universities sports/leisure facilities Ask the group to think about how politics affects these different aspects of everyday life. Starting with breakfast, note some of the group’s thoughts down, then move on to the other areas. Ideas could include: where the food they eat for breakfast comes from how often the bus runs what time school starts which local sports facilities are available 7 Ask the group to consider the statement ‘Politics doesn’t affect me’ again and where they would place themselves on the scale following the discussion. 8 The Scottish Parliament This section of the guide will support you to provide an overview of: What the Scottish Parliament does Who represents us in the Scottish Parliament How to contact your MSP It also includes information on councils and the UK Parliament. What does the Scottish Parliament do? The Scottish Parliament makes laws in a number of areas, including: health education training housing tourism economic development Its other functions include: debating important issues conducting inquiries holding the Scottish Government to account Who represents you in the Scottish Parliament? The people who represent you in the Scottish Parliament are called Members of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs for short. There are 129 elected MSPs and every person in Scotland is represented by eight of them. Each MSP looks after a particular area in Scotland. 73 MSPs are constituency MSPs, representing local areas. 56 are regional MSPs who look after a much bigger parliamentary area, known as a region. You are represented by one constituency MSP and seven regional MSPs. Your MSPs divide their time between work at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and local work in the area they represent. You elect your MSPs every five years. 9 Your MSPs might: look at the work and policies of the Scottish Government to check that they are serving the people of Scotland take issues forward on behalf of the people they represent respond to letters and emails from local people respond to an issue in their area by asking an official question in the Scottish Parliament hold regular open meetings with constituents to discuss the problems in their area, known as a surgery debate issues vote on changes in the law sit on committees to look at issues in more detail How to contact your MSPs You can contact any of the MSPs who represent you to ask questions about issues that are important to you. You can speak over the phone, by email, or face-to-face if they hold an open meeting in your area, known as a surgery. You can find their contact details on the Scottish Parliament’s website at parliament.scot/msps. You can also watch debates and Committee meetings on Scottish Parliament TV at scottishparliament.tv. Councils Qualifying foreign citizens can also vote in council elections. You might also hear local councils be called ‘local government’ or ‘local authorities’. The next council elections are scheduled to take place in May 2022. Your local council is responsible for: education services youth and leisure facilities planning decisions council housing managing parks and other public places social services such as foster care, help for disabled people, or care for the elderly local roads and footpaths rubbish and recycling The people elected to represent you in your council are called councillors. The geographic area covered by your council is divided into smaller areas called wards. Your ward could be represented by up to four councillors. 10 You can contact any of the councillors who represent you, and you’ll usually find their contact details on your council’s website.