The council is no longer using schools in Edinburgh as polling stations, and so there are some new locations for voters. Places such as churches and hotels will be used as a replacement for schools which will open as normal. The full list is below.
One of these is Summerside Bowling Club which local school pupils Luke Norman, Joe Liddall, and Anouschka Ross, visited. The S5 pupils will be voting for the first time, and spent some time talking to us about their hopes for the new council. Luke said: “I think the focus on being more eco friendly in our local area is really important to me. In 2022 we are living in a world where climate change is a major issue.”
Anouschka explained that she believes it is important for young people to vote. She said: “I know there isn’t much voter turnout for young people and it is our future. If we want politicians to cater for our issues then we do need to make sure we turn up to vote.”
S6 pupils School Captain, Sophie Robertson, and Prefect Hannah MacArthur both voted in last year’s Scottish Parliamentary Election for the first time, and although they are more comfortable with the voting procedure, they feel they may have to read up some more on the Single Transferable Vote system used at council elections as well as what the parties are promising.
On what to expect from their councillors, Hannah said: “I think a lot has changed in the last year with Covid and the changes to education. I think I will be rereading a lot of leaflets to see what is best for me and the area where I live.”
You can check where your polling station is by entering your postcode below
Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “The local elections are under a week away now. We have been working to reduce our use of schools on election day and I’m delighted that this year there will be no interruption to the school day for Edinburgh’s pupils. Due to this,you might have a different polling place this time. Check your polling card carefully or use the online tool to find out where to vote on 5 May.
“Our elections pages also contain useful information on how the single transferable vote system works, ie that you need to use numbers to rank as many or as few candidates as you choose in order of preference.
“And if you’ve applied for and received a postal ballot pack, remember to return it as soon as possible to make sure your vote counts.”
You can read all the manifestos here.
All of our council election coverage is here.
This is a complete list of street addresses and the relevant polling places.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
