Elections and voting

20 January 2025

Ward 2 - Kilmarnock North By-Election - Thursday 20 February 2025

A by-election will take place within Ward 2 - Kilmarnock North on Thursday 20 February 2025 for the election of one Councillor.

Nominations have now closed and the following people stand nominated for election in the by-election for Ward 2 (Kilmarnock North) which will take place on Thursday 20 February 2025.

Finlay Affleck, Scottish Greens
Caroline Barton, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Ian Grant, Independent
Sandra Joanne Kirkwood, Reform UK
Allan MacDonald, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Greg MacKenzie, Scottish Labour Party
Lee Manley, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Stephen McNamara

Further information can be found on:

Voting in elections

There is now a rolling registration, which means the electoral register is updated every month, however, registration has changed to individual registration.

So, if you've moved house or have been missed from the register, you can get your new details added much quicker, and you can also register online at GOV.UK.

The local Register of Electors can be checked:

in your local library
at Council Headquarters, London Road, Kilmarnock
or you can contact the Electoral Registration Office (Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board)

Once you've registered you can choose to vote by proxy or by post.

Proxy votes

A proxy vote can be granted to anyone who satisfies the local registration officer that he or she cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person on polling day.

Examples include people who:

are on holiday
are ill or in hospital
away on business
have moved house but have not had time to register at their new address and are still on the register at their old address

Proxies may vote by post if they want to.

Postal votes

Postal votes can be set up on a permanent basis, or as a one-off in advance of any election. The video below explains what happens to your postal vote after you send it.

Registration forms

To be registered to vote you must be:

resident or deemed resident in the registration area
a British, other Commonwealth, Irish, European Union citizen or Foreign National
aged 14 or over
not subject to any legal incapacity

You can use the online registration service at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to register to vote. Alternatively, you can contact the Electoral Registration Office at Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board on 01292 612221 and they can take your details over the telephone and get you registered.

You can vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections as soon as you are 16 years old. Once you are 18 you can vote in Westminster Parliamentary elections too if you are a British or Commonwealth citizen. If you are not a British or Commonwealth citizen you are not entitled to vote in Westminster Parliamentary elections.

You can download registration forms for the electoral register, proxy votes and postal votes via Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board's website.

Forms should be printed, completed and returned to Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board.

For more information contact the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board.