Teenagers Urged To Register To Vote Ahead Of Council Elections

1 March 2017, 06:10 | Updated: 1 March 2017, 06:11

More than 200 high schools are staging voting workshops to encourage thousands of 16 and 17-year-old pupils to join the electoral register before this year's council elections.

Around 80,000 teenagers registered to vote last year ahead of the Scottish Parliament election and 78% of them took part in the poll, the Electoral Commission said.

A new campaign run with education bodies aims to ensure more are registered in time for the council elections on May 4, the first at which 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to vote.

The deadline to register is Easter Monday, April 17.

Andy O'Neill, head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland, said: ''Councils are responsible for so many services that are important to young people, whether that be schools, transport or sporting facilities. So we don't want young people to miss out on having their say in the council elections just because they aren't registered or don't know how to vote.

''With so many 16 and 17-year-olds still in school, this campaign is a great opportunity to take the registration and voting message directly to them and make it as easy as possible for them to register and be ReadyToVote.

''Registering to vote is easy and only takes a few minutes online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.''