More than 18,000 electors should have received a letter telling them about a change to electoral registration – replacing a system that is almost 100 years old.
Individual Electoral Registration (IER) came into effect on 19th September and replaces the household registration system with a requirement to register individually.
The Electoral registration officer has written to more than 18,000 electors in over 11,000 homes in Shetland to inform them of the change.
Many residents will automatically move onto the new electoral register. However, some will need to take action to join or remain on it, which they will now be able to do online for the first time.
Mike Forbes, the electoral registration officer for Orkney and Shetland said: “You will have recently received a letter from me either informing you that you are confirmed on the new register of electors or an invitation to register informing you that you must re-register.
“If you have received the invitation to register you can do this quite quickly by going online and re-registering at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Please note that you will require your National Insurance Number and date of birth.”
Legislation providing for the introduction of IER was introduced by the last UK government and was followed up by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 that was introduced by the current UK administration. This legislation ensured that the move to IER in Scotland would not begin until after the referendum, although it began in England and Wales on 10th June.