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Elections in your area

Thursday 20 November 2025

You will have one ballot paper to fill out.

Get ready to vote:

Thursday 7 May 2026

You will have two ballot papers to fill out.

Get ready to vote:

There may also be parish, town or community council elections in some areas.

Dumfries and Galloway local by-election

Stranraer and the Rhins ward by-election

This election will be held on Thursday 20 November 2025.

This by-election was called because the elected member resigned.

There is one seat up for election, and you can choose from eight candidates.

Get ready to vote:

  • How to vote

    This election uses Single Transferable Vote.

    Rank the candidates by your preference: 1, 2, 3… You don't have to rank all the candidates, but you must at least mark your first choice.

    Read the instructions at the top of your ballot paper carefully.

    For more information, visit The Electoral Commission's website or ask an official at your polling station.

Scottish Parliament elections

Galloway and West Dumfries constituency

This election will be held on Thursday 7 May 2026.

  • Members of the Scottish Parliament are elected every five years. The Parliament has responsibility over areas including health, transport, local government and education, as well as some tax raising powers. Learn more about your MSPs.

    When voting for Members of the Scottish Parliament you will have two ballot papers: one for a member to represent your constituency, and one to represent your region. You can vote only once on each paper.

    Your constituency may have changed. A new set of constituency and regional boundaries will be used for the 2026 Scottish parliament elections. The boundaries have been reviewed by the independent organisation Boundaries Scotland to take account of population changes since 2011. This means that your constituency or region may have changed since the last election. Learn more about the review.

We are currently aware of three candidates for this position. The official candidate list will be published after 2 April 2026, when this page will be updated. You can help improve this page: add information about candidates to our database.

Scottish Parliament elections

South Scotland region

This election will be held on Thursday 7 May 2026.

We are currently aware of 14 candidates for this position. The official candidate list will be published after 2 April 2026, when this page will be updated. You can help improve this page: add information about candidates to our database.

  • You should get a "poll card" through the post telling you where to vote.

    If you haven't got one, or aren't sure where to vote, you should call Dumfries and Galloway Council on 030 33 33 3000.

    Dumfries and Galloway Council
    https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
    elections@dumgal.gov.uk

    Read more about how to vote.

  • Register to vote

    You need to be registered in order to vote. If you aren't registered to vote visit https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

    Register before midnight on 04 November 2025 to vote on 20 November 2025.

    Send your postal and proxy vote applications to your local electoral registration team. You can also contact them to find out if you’re on the electoral register, and if you already have a postal or proxy vote.

    Electoral Registration

    Electoral Registration Officer
    Militia House
    English Street
    Dumfries
    DG1 2HR
    https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
    ero@dumgal.gov.uk

    Your Local Council

    Dumfries and Galloway Council English Street
    Dumfries
    DG1 2DD
    DG1 2DD
    https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
    elections@dumgal.gov.uk

  • Voting by post

    If you know that you won't be able to get to the polling station on polling day, you can vote by post. You have until 05 November 2025 to Apply for a postal vote.

    Read more about applying for a postal vote.

    If you have a postal vote, your local council will send your postal voting pack around three weeks before polling day.

    If you have not received your postal voting pack, you can contact Dumfries and Galloway Council on 030 33 33 3000.

    Dumfries and Galloway Council
    https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
    elections@dumgal.gov.uk

  • Add future elections in DG9 9BH to your calendar

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    2. If presented with the option to choose a calendar type, choose web calendar.
    3. Enter this URL and save: webcal://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/DG9%209BH.ics

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