Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026
Our Policy, Projects and Communications Officer David Yule explores how the Youth Voice Network for Scotland are marking Welcome To Your Vote Week and helping young people learn more about voting ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections.
Welcome To Your Vote Week is the annual voting and democracy awareness campaign led by the Electoral Commission. The campaign aims to raise awareness among young people about voting – how to register and how to use their vote in elections.
This year marks a particularly important Welcome To Your Vote Week running from the 9th to 15th of March with the Scottish Parliament elections scheduled for the 7th of May 2026. All young people over the age of 16 will be able to use their vote and help decide who will represent Scotland in the Scottish Parliament and form Scotland’s government.
Supported by Children in Scotland, the Youth Voice Network is a group of young people from across Scotland who are passionate about voting and young people’s democratic participation. They advise the Electoral Commission on what matters to young people in Scotland, they information they need to use their right to vote and how best to reach and engage them.
The Youth Voice Network for Scotland have been busy over the last few months to prepare for a special Welcome To Your Vote Week 2026 in Scotland.
The group have said that they believe more young people should learn about voting in schools. To help school staff and youth workers inform young people they work with about elections they have developed a new ‘Snakes and Ladders’ classroom resource for young people to learn and discuss different aspects of democracy.
Members of the Youth Voice Network have also said that the believe it’s important to reach young people with important information where they already are. They identified social media as a significant space where you will find young people open to engaging with new content and information. With this in mind, the the group have made a Welcome To Your Vote Week social media video asking the public about their awareness of voting and why they believe it is important that young people use their vote in May.
The Youth Voice Network will meet this Saturday (14th of March) in Edinburgh to celebrate Welcome To Your Vote Week with a visit to the Scottish Parliament, debates and discussions!
You can learn more about the Welcome To Your Vote campaign and access information and resources visit: Welcome to Your Vote Week | Electoral Commission
About the Youth Voice Network for Scotland
On behalf of the Electoral Commission, Children in Scotland is running the Youth Voice Network for Scotland. This group is working to increase the knowledge and understanding of democracy and politics amongst young people, while supporting consistency in political education. The project is running from October 2023 until 2026, with the group meeting around four times per year. The group review programmes created by the Electoral Commission and presenting new ideas for projects they develop. The group will create resources for the UK Parliament general election and the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
