Little awareness of Tuesday deadline, says De Burca

More needs to be done to educate voters in Ireland about their rights and obligations, said Green Party Senator Deirdre De Burca today. “The deadline for inclusion on the electoral register is looming, and yet there is very little awareness about it,” the European candidate for Dublin said.

“Tuesday is not a final deadline, as voters can apply for inclusion on the supplemental register. But the lack of clarity people that people have around what they need to do to exercise their voting rights is a real obstacle to a properly functioning democracy,” she said.

Tuesday 25 November is the deadline for would-be voters to have their details included on the register of electors, and for making a correction to an existing record. “However those who are eligible to vote but miss the deadline, can apply to be included in a supplementary register, which will allow them to vote at the upcoming local and European elections in June 2009,” De Burca said. “Anybody that wishes to avail of this must apply for inclusion on this supplemental register at least 13 working days before polling day in early June 2009.”

“We need better information right across the board, not just about the mechanics of voting but also about the importance of doing so. The turnout for elections in Ireland is very low – only 40% voted on the Lisbon Treaty, which means you have sizeable sections of the community effectively disenfranchised, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Better voter education can really bring results. The Vincentian Partnership have been doing great work with voter education in their active citizenship programme, and that seems to be one of the reasons for the 5% rise in voter turnout for the 2007 general election.”

“And let’s not forget that most adults living in the country will be able to vote in at least one of next year’s elections,” De Burca continued. “If you come from another EU country, as long as you’re not voting back home you can vote in the European elections. If you’re from outside the EU you can vote in the local elections. I’d urge everyone to look at the Citizen’s Information Service website, http://www.citizensinformation.ie, to get the full details on how to make sure that their voice is heard.”

The register or draft register can be accessed at http://www.checktheregister.ie, or viewed during working hours at local authority offices, public libraries, post offices and Garda stations.

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Press Release by Deirdre