Last Updated on 13 May 2026 by gerry

I have collated the voter turnout for elections and referenda in Scotland since 1974 and this data suggests that there is a hierarchy at play when the Scottish electorate decides whether to vote or not depending on what type of ballot paper is in front of them.

The average voter turnout for each type of vote demonstrates this hierarchy quite clearly:

1. (69.6%) UK General Elections
2. (64.1%) Referenda
3. (55.1%) Scottish Parliament
4. (46.8%) Local elections
5. (33.7%) European Parliament

You can see the full turnout history for these different types of vote in the interactive chart below.

Notes

1. Where possible, I have recorded the total voter turnout which includes rejected ballots. If you have cast a spoilt or otherwise invalid vote, I think it is fair to say you have nevertheless turned out.
2. The first four elections for the Scottish Parliament were paired with other votes, namely local elections in 1999, 2003 and 2007 and the AV referendum in 2011.
3. The 85% turnout for the Independence Referendum of 2014 is a marked outlier on this chart. It is somewhat ironic that the Scottish Parliament election of 2011 which heralded the constitutional sea-change in the Scottish political landscape had a relatively low turnout of just 50.6%
4. Before the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, UK General Election turnout invariably exceeded 70%. With the advent of devolution, 21st century elections for Westminister struggle to return to that level of turnout. Noteably, however, the turnout at the 2015 general election seems to have benefitted from an Indyref rebound factor, achieving a turnout of 71.1%.