Scotland’s election rulebook for Holyrood has been updated after ministers signed off a statutory order on 30 October 2025. The measure came into force on 31 October and will apply to polls after 6 May 2026, according to the text published on legislation.gov.uk. It matters now, as parties and community groups begin to map out the next Scottish Parliament campaign in May 2026.

Called the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025, the instrument tweaks campaign spending rules, registration for care‑experienced young people, accessibility inside polling stations, and the nuts and bolts of postal and proxy voting. Graeme Dey authorised the order on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, with the draft approved by the Scottish Parliament following consultation with the Electoral Commission.

Care leavers get a practical boost. The age cap for registering via a ‘declaration of local connection’ rises from under‑16 to under‑21, amending section 7B of the Representation of the People Act 1983. In plain terms, young people leaving care who move frequently can still get on the roll more easily and cast a vote in Holyrood elections from age 16.

Campaign finance is tightened where it usually frays. Authorised third parties can now both incur and pay for expenses they are permitted to run on a candidate’s behalf, rather than routing everything through the candidate’s agent. Notional spending is clarified too: benefits in kind only count if the candidate or agent directed, authorised or encouraged their use.

Spending limits flex if election day shifts. Where a poll is postponed by a further proclamation under section 2(5E) of the Scotland Act 1998, each candidate’s cap rises by half of the base limit. If a poll is re‑run because a candidate dies, the cap goes up by the full base amount. If more than one of these events happens, the increases stack.

Security costs are also tidied up. Only expenses reasonably attributable to protecting people or property sit outside the cap, replacing older wording about rallies and public events. The order updates references to the 2025 constituencies and regions set by Boundaries Scotland.

The timetable shifts at both ends. A person already declared as a candidate is treated as a candidate for spending and reporting 27 days before polling day. Meanwhile, the minimum formal dissolution period for the Scottish Parliament falls from 28 to 20 days, quickening the sprint between dissolution and the vote.

Watch the 5 pm cut‑offs. Replacement postal ballot deadlines move forward from 10 pm to 5 pm on polling day, and the official forms are being updated to match. That earlier finish matters for voters travelling after work and for campaign teams working tight operations in the final hours.

Emergency proxy rules expand in a way carers will recognise. Voters who find themselves accompanying someone to medical care on polling day can apply for a late emergency proxy up to 5 pm, as long as the reason only became clear after 5 pm on the sixth day before the poll. Applications must be attested by someone aged 16 or over who knows, but is not related to, the applicant.

Where a voter already has a proxy, but that person cannot reasonably get to the polling station and does not have a postal vote, the elector can switch to an alternative proxy up to 5 pm on polling day. Prisoners who are eligible to vote in Holyrood elections can also apply for an emergency proxy until 5 pm, regardless of when they were detained.

Inside polling stations, the focus moves from a single device to a wider duty of reasonable support. Returning officers must provide equipment that enables, or makes it easier for, disabled voters-including blind and partially sighted people-to vote independently and in secret. The Electoral Commission will issue guidance after consulting disability groups, and officers must have regard to it.

The offence of undue influence is restated in modern terms, expressly covering threats, intimidation, reputational or financial harm, spiritual pressure and acts designed to deceive in how an election is run. The Electoral Commission’s compliance remit is widened to include restrictions made by Acts of the Scottish Parliament and devolved secondary legislation when policing Holyrood contests.

For councils, parties and volunteer teams along the Border and across the North who pitch in on Scottish campaigns, the takeaway is clear: bring forward postal vote support to the 5 pm line, refresh accessibility training, and review authorised spending controls. The full order sits on legislation.gov.uk and took effect on 31 October 2025, with changes biting for elections after 6 May 2026.