Youth Parliament

Scottish Youth Parliament Elections 2023

Message from Scottish Youth Parliament:

The election has been disrupted due to the technical issues with the Young Scot www.voting.young.scot website. Votes already cast using a mobile phone (we are not sure about tablets)  have not been recorded. Votes already cast using a desktop computer or a laptop are not affected.

Young Scot’s digital supplier cannot fix the current issue or retrieve the lost data on votes cast using a mobile phone (or a tablet in some instances). This means that, sadly, those votes have not been recorded.

I am incredibly disappointed by this situation – and I know you will share my frustrations too.

We have been working with our SYP Board, our local partners, and Young Scot, to address these IT issues. However, we now recognise that the best course of action is temporarily pausing the current SYP election.

This will allow us time to work with local authority partners, voluntary organisations, candidates, and stakeholders to agree on the best solution.

I am very sorry for the disruption to voting and we can fully understand the frustrations this will cause.

 

Message from Scotish Borders Election Coordinator

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) elections will start again once all details have been finalised

The election process is split into different stages:

Expression of interest phase 

This is the time when candidates can register that they are interested in standing to be elected as one of our next MSYPs. Registering does not commit them to anything, as they can change their mind at any time. It just lets us know they are interested and that we can contact them to talk about it further.

Registration is now closed.

Candidate training phase 

During this time there will be a range of training from both the Scottish Youth Parliament staff and the local support worker in the Scottish Borders. This may be done online or in person depending on ease of access for all candidates at that time. During this time we will also work on candidates Manifesto development and campaigning plans.

Confirmed candidates phase 

During this time we will work with all candidates to confirm that they still wish to stand for election. We will then confirm this with the Scottish Youth Parliament

Promote the vote phase 

This is the time when you campaign for people to vote for you. We will be promoting all candidates in our local area along with SYP who will promote the elections nationally. It is also the period when we will hold local hustings in each of the constituencies to enable young people to ask questions of their local candidates.

SYP elections - Dates yet to be confirmed due to temporary halt in voting

This is the period where any young person living in the Scottish Borders, aged 12-25, can vote for their prefered candidate in their local constituency.

Find out which constituencies each MSYP covers:

This year we will be using the electronic voting system on the voting.young.scot platform using your Young Scot card. More information on how you vote will be made available nearer to the date, but if you do not have a Young Scot card/National Entitlement card for any reason now is the time to get one. Now is also the time to register as a Young Scot member with your card and access all the other benefits that come with membership. If you are in a school but don't have a Young Scot card (lost it, damaged it, or never had one) then please go to admissions to get a temporary number. Anyone out of school needing a temporary number please email youth@scotborders.gov.uk 

SYP Election announcement 

This is the date when we hold the announcement event. This will be confirmed once new voting dates have been agreed.

More information

To find out more, contact your current MSYP, or to speak with the local support worker:

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