App bid to persuade teenagers to vote

The gizmo is part of a bid to ensure East Renfrewshire teenagers aged 15 to 17 don’t miss out their chance to vote in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Changes to the rules on voting mean next year’ election will be the first time 16 and 17 year olds will be eligilbe to take part in elections to the Scottish Parliament, n at local elections in Scotland.

The app aims to encourage all those who will be eligible to vote for the first time to sign up and register, and is part of a wider campaign launched nationally by the Electoral Commission.

It is freely available to download on Google Play for Android smartphones and iTunes for apple smartphones.

Voters with a Young Scot NEC card can also obtain reward points by downloading the app. It aims to keep new and existing voters up-to-date with all the current electoral news, campaigns and events in East Renfrewshire.

East Renfrewshire council chief executive Lorraine McMillan said: “It’s important that those who will be 16 or 17 by next May don’t miss out on having their say because they didn’t know that they could register or because they don’t know how to register.”

As well as the launch of the new campaign to encourage young voters to register, all households in the East Renfrewshire area should have received a household enquiry form asking them to check that the details for the household are correct on the electoral register.