THE number of registered voters in Scotland has dropped by more than 145,000 since just before last September's independence referendum.
Latest figures from the Electoral Commission found that last month there were 4,138,345 people in Scotland listed on the electoral register.
That is a drop of 3.4 per cent, or 145,593 registrations, from the high point of 4,283,938 immediately pre-referendum.
The drop is in large part down to the exclusion of 16 and 17-year-olds, who were allowed to vote in the referendum, from May's poll.
That leaves the number of people aged 18 and over who are registered to vote 76,592 less in March than was the case in September.
However, anyone who registered for the September poll will be eligible for May, with the new system coming into effect for elections after that.
Under the new system, which the UK Government says offers better protection against electoral fraud and is more convenient, people must register to vote individually rather than one member of a household filling in a form.
In Glasgow there were concerns earlier in the year that around a quarter of those of voting age had not switched to the new system. Since then the authority said it has broadly the same number as it did this time last year.
The Electoral Commission report said the position last September "represented a high point against which any subsequent registers were more likely to decrease than increase".
It added: "The lack of comprehensive household canvass activity since the end of the 2013 canvass is likely to be a key reason for this fall."
But the number of registered voters in Scotland is higher than it was in March 2013, having increased by 0.4 per cent.
The report said this slight increase compared to a "decrease of approximately 2 per cent in England and Wales where the December 2014 registers contained approximately 920,000 fewer entries than the registers published in February/March 2014".
Electoral commissioner for Scotland John McCormick said: "The registers published on March 2, 2015 are a snapshot of the electorate at that time and work is continuing to get as many people as possible registered in time for the May election.
"There is still time to register before the April 20 deadline and we would urge anyone who is not registered to take action now by going to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It's easy and only takes a few minutes."
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