School leavers are being urged to make sure they do not lose out from voting in this year’s independence referendum when they leave for university.
It was announced that 41,080 people in Scotland had applied for a place at university next year the first time the 40,000 barrier has ever been broken.
However, as most university courses commence at the start of September, there are concerns many students will miss out on the opportunity to vote as they will not be registered in their place of study.
For example, of the 1,700 Scots who started at Dundee University last year, 1,300 had moved to Tayside from another part of the country.
To avoid any problem, Dundee University Students’ Association is to send electoral registration forms to students who have accepted a place at Dundee University this summer.
DUSA president Iain MacKinnon said: “It is a problem we are aware of. Over summer, when a student accepts a place, we send them a welcome pack about Fresher’s Week and so on.
“This year it will include a form from the council so once they know what halls they are in, they can register to vote before they arrive.”
Mr MacKinnon said students could register for postal votes at their home address but had to make sure they sign the declaration, rather than letting their parents do it for them.
“If it doesn’t match the signature when they signed up to the electoral register then the vote is not counted,” he added.
A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “We became aware the timing of the referendum could be an issue at an early stage. We need to reach students before they go away for the summer and make sure they are aware of their options.
“We will be running a large scale advertising campaign about how to register to vote during the summer.”