Tens of thousands of people across Tayside, Fife and the Forth Valley risk missing out on the chance to vote in the crucial independence referendum.
Yes campaigners launched an appeal to encourage Scotland’s “missing million” unregistered voters to make sure they are on the electoral register in time to cast their vote on September 18 and help shape Scotland’s future.
Their appeal was launched on the UK’s first ever National Voter Registration Day, which is aimed at encouraging 250,000 new voters to sign up to the register.
Bite the Ballot ran the event with support from organisations such as the National Union of Students.
But despite being given a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to settle the question of Scotland’s sovereignty, there are still tens of thousands of unregistered voters in Courier Country who risk not being able to have their say in what will be the most important day in Scotland’s history for more than three centuries.
In Fife there are around 290,000 people on the electoral register but another 20,000 have so far failed to return their annual canvass form.
In Angus there were 87,459 people on the voters’ roll last month, even though the adult population stood at 96,232 in 2012.
Clackmannanshire has 36,815 voters on the electoral register compared to its adult population of 42,114.
Stirling, which has a population of 75,097, has 64,294 people on the electoral register.
Perth and Kinross has a population of 122,768 but the electoral register is being compiled and up-to-date figures are not available.
In Dundee one in six households have not returned their registration forms.
A council spokeswoman said: “We will be knocking on the doors of over 12,000 households which have still to give a response.
“Over 60,000 households have already registered and 20 teams from the Electoral Registration office will be canvassing on February 14 to encourage more people to fill in the form.
“The new register of electors will be published on March 10.”
Bite the Ballot’s Scotland organiser Liam O’Hare said: “There are approximately a million people in Scotland who don’t vote in elections.
“With the independence referendum approaching, there is no better time to engage this ‘missing million’ and help everyone to participate in this pivotal democratic process.”
However, just being on the electoral register does not mean a person will actually vote.
Turnout in elections for both the Scottish and UK parliaments has been declining for years.
In the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999 some 59% of eligible voters cast their ballots but this dropped to 49.4% four years later.
In 2007 turnout rose to 51.8% but then fell again to 50.4% in 2011.
In some constituencies in Courier Country, including both Dundee City East and West, fewer than 50% of the electorate bothered to vote.
Turnout is even worse in by-elections. At the two recent contests in Fife Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath the turnout was just 42.65% and 34.78% respectively.
And although a greater proportion of people vote in UK general elections, turnout has also fallen over the last 15 years.