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 to vote 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.
Elections and voting postal votes video
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 also register to vote online at GOV.UK.
Alternatively, you can contact the Electoral Registration Office at Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board 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.
Forms should be printed, completed and returned to Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board.
For more information contact the Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board.
Annual Electoral Canvass
The annual electoral canvass is a legal requirement and takes place every year from July to November.
If you are already registered to vote, but do not respond to the e-mails/letters we send each year checking there have been no changes to your household you could be at risk of being removed from the register.
If you are not yet registered to vote at the address in which you permanently reside, you are still required to respond to the annual canvass communication as well as applying to register on the register-to-vote site.
For further information on the Annual Electoral Canvass 2025 please visit Annual Electoral Canvass - Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board
Current political composition and past election results
View the current political make up of the Council and past Council election results.