HELICOPTERS are on standby. Jeeps are being lined up. Even lifeboats could be commandeered to take ballot boxes across stormy, wind-lashed waters.

As Scotland prepares for the first general election in December for almost a century – and the first winter poll for more than four decades – councils across the country are gearing up for a mammoth logistical exercise.

It might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is also the wettest, the windiest, the coldest and the darkest.

Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, told The Herald on Sunday the UK is “stepping into the unknown”.

Meanwhile, in the Western Isles, officials are reckoning with unpredictable weather, short daylight hours and a potential air traffic control strike meaning ballots can’t even be transported by plane on the night.

Orkney and Shetland are grappling with similar issues, with bosses warning there is a limit to how much they can prepare.

It is shaping up to be the most unpredictable election in decades. And it’s not just the political climate that’s volatile.

Derek Mackay, deputy returning officer for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said the highlands and islands “could have significant issues with a winter poll”.

He said: “Weather is a major consideration. We often have challenges with a summer poll, never mind something in winter, because we’ve got to transport the ballot boxes and the ballot papers up from Barra to South Uist.

“So you’re going across the Sound of Barra and the Sound of Harris – two stretches of water.

“We always have a contingency arrangement for that, using boats, but that would obviously take pretty much till the next day before we get the papers there. So we usually use either a helicopter or a plane.”

If weather conditions are so severe that even boats can’t make it across, officials will simply have to wait.

Mr Mackay added: “We have in the past looked at having the lifeboat in the Sound of Barra route, if we can do that.

“It is a shorter route, so it won’t take the lifeboat far away from its normal base. But we just have to see what the weather’s like on the day.

“In the evening and in the morning, we’ll obviously be watching the forecast well in advance so that we can make any logistical decisions.

“And if it is delayed, it’s delayed, but hopefully not for a significant amount of time. But that’s very much out of our hands. The risk is significantly higher at this time of year.”

There is also the possibility of strike action by air traffic controllers employed by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial), amid an ongoing pay row.

This could rule out using a plane, while helicopters can be weather-dependent.

Mr Mackay continued: “There’s also the issue of getting the ballot papers from the mainland to Stornoway and then on to Uist and Barra.

“We’ll have contingency arrangements in place for that as well. That usually happens several days in advance of the poll.

“We may have to bring that forward, depending on weather. So there’s issues there.

“Getting postal packs to and from the islands, if there’s weather disruption with the Royal Mail – especially if it’s on polling day, a lot of people could end up disenfranchised because their postal votes are stuck in Glasgow.”

Elsewhere, seasonal flu means more staff could be off sick, while officials are also looking at buying additional lighting to cope with the dark winter days.

Mr Mackay said: “We’ll be meeting with the various emergency services and our own technical services staff to look at options for their potentially having to have 4x4s or all-terrain vehicles on the road.”

In 2007, when the local government and Holyrood elections were held on the same day, last-minute fog grounded the helicopter on the Western Isles and delayed the count. And that was in May, not December.

John Mundell, the interim chief executive of Orkney Islands Council and returning officer for Orkney and Shetland, said there is a “significant potential risk around the winter weather”.

Ferries could be cancelled, planes grounded and roads and footpaths covered with ice or snow.

On Shetland, ballot boxes in the outer islands have be transported down to Sumburgh on the southern tip and then across the sea to Orkney, by plane or boat.

Mr Mundell said: “It’s unpredictable at the best of times, but during the winter you can get hit with all sorts that makes it even more unpredictable.

“It’s quite acute, and the risks are quite hefty. And obviously, from my perspective, I’ll be watching the weather forecasts very closely.”

Mr Mundell stressed returning officers up and down the country have been anticipating a winter election.

He added: “However, given the circumstances, there is a limit to what we can do if we are hit with the worst of the weather.

“Obviously, the intention from the outset is to have the count completed in a professional and organised manner.

“But under no circumstances will I be allowing my team to put lives or property at risk.”

Elsewhere, David Sutherland, Highland Council’s elections manager, said a “multi-agency coordinating group” will be set up to assist with any events or incidents under severe conditions.

He said: “We have been planning for a snap election for some time now and are very mindful of the possibilities of conducting an election in winter in the highlands of Scotland, which has the largest geographical election area in the UK with some of the most challenging distances to cover, including island communities.”

Scotland’s cities also face a logistical juggling act to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have been unable to secure their preferred venues for the election count due to the late notice.

Andrew Kerr, chief executive of Edinburgh Council and the city’s returning officer, oversees one of the largest operations in the UK, coordinating votes from five constituencies.

He said: “It’s not so much that it’s winter, it’s that now we don’t have very much notice before we go to the polls, with 350,000 polling cards going out.”

He said there are 290 polling stations to organise, with 650 staff manning them.

A further 750 staff will be needed on the night of the count, which is likely to take place at the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston.

Mr Kerr said a small number of Christmas parties and other events had to be rescheduled to free up polling stations.

He said: “It’s just about getting yourself prepared. It’s a big logistical exercise – a big complex logistical exercise.”

But he added: “Local governments all had some practice, I think, because of the European election, which were done at speed as well.

“So we’re just using the same protocols. I’ve just stood up the full-time team again as of Monday. My election team – some of whom had gone back to their day jobs – are now back full-time.”

Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said councils will need to use “innovative thinking”.

He said: “We’re stepping into the unknown, because we haven’t had a national poll in December since the 1920s.”

He said there is a legal requirement to start counting the votes within four hours of polls closing.

If this window is missed, he said, officials need to formally state the reasons for this.

Mr Stanyon added: “One of the things that we’ve been talking to the Electoral Commission about is an understanding that, for example if there’s a heavy dump of snow, or if there’s gales in the Northern Isles forecast for polling day, then clearly the count won’t start within that four hour period. It’s testing anyway, obviously, for the islands regardless.

“So I think there will need to be a degree of understanding that every effort will be made to run this poll in exactly the same way as if it were in the spring or summer months, but there will be that challenge.

“I know in the past, for example, when there have been weather issues, they’ve actually helicoptered the boxes in from the islands.”

He continued: “The good news, I suppose, is that ironically because of the European election, that we had been told wasn’t going to happen, the councils have been through this process recently.

“If there had been any issues in the run up to the European elections, they will have been ironed out now in time for this particular poll. So there are some benefits that flow from that.”