Data reveals how many Fifers didn’t vote in last council elections

One of the keys to success in council elections is getting your vote out - and that could be a huge challenge for all the political parties.

By Allan Crow

Published 4th May 2022, 08:08 BST

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The last time Fife elected councillors, less than half the population bothered to take part.

Electoral Commission data shows that at the 2017 local authority elections,, 280,848 people in the region were eligible to vote.

But only 126,974 returned valid ballot papers – giving a valid voter turnout of 45.2%.

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Around 37,000 postal votes were included in the count, while 2184 votes were rejected, which can occur if a paper is not marked properly or has been spoiled.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout in Fife that year was 46.0%, which was lower than the Scotland average of 46.9%.

Data Fife Electoral Commission Scotland