Right Vote Foreign Res:
Foreigners have the right to vote for local elections-British citizens have right in General election too
Expat Residency Requirement:
Expatriate citizens have no right to vote except specific cases
Registration Type:
Formal registration in office
Registration Basis:
Residence requirement
Registration Flexibility:
15
Election Management & Enforcement
Nameof EMB:
Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.
Independent EMB:
No
Who Runs Election:
Government/National Administration
Nameof Elect Enforcement Body:
Supreme Court
Candidacy & Campaign Rules
Restrictto Candidacy:
To be eligible for election as President, you must be an Irish citizen and must have reached the age of 35. You must be nominated in one of the following ways: By at least 20 members of the Oireachtas, By at least 4 local authorities, By yourself, if you are a former or retiring President (but you cannot serve more than 2 terms).
Debate Average:
1
Debate Format:
2018: eight candidates on RTE Prime Time.
Electoral System & Organisation
Elect System Main Election:
Single Transferable Vote
Main Election Type:
Presidential
Main Election Cycle:
7
Numb Round Main Election:
One
Referenda_Law:
C:27:5 1° In every case in which the President decides that a Bill the subject of a petition under this Article contains a proposal of such national importance that the will of the people thereon ought to be ascertained, he shall inform the Taoiseach and the Chairman of each House of the Oireachtas accordingly in writing under his hand and Seal and shall decline to sign and promulgate such Bill as a law unless and until the proposal shall have been approved either i by the people at a Referendum in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of Article 47 of this Constitution within a period of eighteen months from the date of the President’s decision, Source: Articles 27 and 47 of the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann); the Electoral Act 1992; the Referendum Act 1994; the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Referendum Act 2001
Referenda_Binding:
Always Binding
Voting Machine:
None
Vote IDRequired:
ID check compulsory
Polling Card:
Polling card sent but not compulsory
National Holiday Elect Day:
Never
Dayof Election:
Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government
Districting Source:
Other Independent Body
Districting Flexibility:
An independent Constituency Commission draws up a revised scheme of constituencies which is given effect by an Act of the Oireachtas (National Parliament). The ratio between the number of members to be elected at any time for each constituency and the population of each constituency, as ascertained at the last preceding census, shall, so far as it is practicable, be the same throughout the country.
Frequency Districting Change:
12
Polling Station
Normal Opening Time Poll Station:
700
Normal Closing Time Poll Station:
2200
Listof Polling Station Buildings:
public buildings,
Unusual Polling Station Buildings:
temporary building used as a polling statio
Accessibility Requirement:
Party to the UNCRPD. There are several arrangements in place to enable people with certain disabilities to exercise their voting rights. You can: Vote at an alternative polling station if the local station is inaccessible; Be helped to vote at the polling station by a companion or the presiding officer; Vote using a ballot paper template if you have a visual impairment; Vote by post; Vote at a hospital, nursing home or similar institution if you live there.
Ballot Box Transparency:
Fully opaque
Box Feeding System:
Voter
Vote Receipt:
No receipt
Tellersor Party Employees:
Each of the country’s approximately 6,000 polling stations (known as “tables”) is run by a presiding officer, assisted by a poll clerk, both of whom are selected by the returning officer and who pledge to be independent in their work.
Count Locallyor Centrally:
centrally
Manualor Automatic Count:
manual
Nature Counting Personnel:
The returning officer for a constituency
Ballot Paper
Ballot Type:
Paper
Singleor Multi Paper Ballot:
Single
Ballot Paper Type Description:
The names of the candidates appear in alphabetical order on the ballot paper, together with their photograph, political affiliation and party emblem, if any. The voter indicates the order of their choice by writing 1 opposite the name of their first choice, 2 opposite the name of their second choice, 3 opposite the name of their third choice and so on.
Ballot Paper Type Photo Upload:
YES
Ballot Photos:
Freely Allowed
Ballot Logos:
Freely Allowed
Candidor Parties Information:
The names of the candidates appear in alphabetical order on the ballot paper, together with their photograph, political affiliation and party emblem, if any.
Orderof Candidatesor Parties:
alphabetical
Remote Voting
Temporal Remote Voting:
If conditions met
Geographical Remote Voting:
If conditions met
Personal Remote Voting:
No
Time Temporal Remote:
1
Remote Voting List:
Postal votes are available to people who by reason of their occupation cannot vote normally. They are also available to students living away from home, to people with disabilities, to prisoners (since January 2007), and to long term residents of hospitals, nursing homes and other similar institutions. Advance Voting.
Mobile Polling Stations:
No
Special Needs
Provision First Time Voters:
NYCI: FAQS: VOTER REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION AND FIRST TIME VOTING
Provision Illiterate Voters:
Electoral Act (1997, last amended 2014). Article 65 states: (1) Where an elector applying for a ballot paper satisfies the presiding officer that the elector's sight is so impaired or that the elector is otherwise so physically incapacitated or is unable to read or write to such an extent that he or she is unable to vote without assistance, this article shall apply.
Provision Linguistic Ethnic Minorites:
In Ireland, information about elections exists in a number of languages, including Chinese mandarin, Polish, Russian and Slovak. For the 2009 European elections, the Department of the Environment & Local Government informed us that a multi-lingual prompt card was translated into 14 languages to facilitate staff engaged by registration authorities in their door-to-door registration work. In Ireland, information about elections exists in a number of languages, including Chinese mandarin, Polish, Russian and Slovak. For the 2009 European elections, the Department of the Environment & Local Government informed us that a multi-lingual prompt card was translated into 14 languages to facilitate staff engaged by registration authorities in their door-to-door registration work. Leaflets on how to register and how members of local authorities are elected were translated into 7 different languages for the last elections, and a leaflet on how MEPs are elected was translated into 5 EU languages.
Provision Blind Voters:
Electoral Act (1997, last amended 2014). Article 65 states: (1) Where an elector applying for a ballot paper satisfies the presiding officer that the elector's sight is so impaired or that the elector is otherwise so physically incapacitated or is unable to read or write to such an extent that he or she is unable to vote without assistance, this article shall apply. - information about elections in Braille or large text for people with visual impairment
Provision Deaf Voters:
A person may vote by mail and there is some provision for mobile voting at institutions where persons permanently live. A person may be assisted by a person of his or her choice or by the president of the polling station but under supervision of another election officer, and the president may request the evacuation of the polling station to protect the confidentiality of the elector.
Provision Motor Handicap Voters:
Electoral Act (1997, last amended 2014). Article 65 states: (1) Where an elector applying for a ballot paper satisfies the presiding officer that the elector's sight is so impaired or that the elector is otherwise so physically incapacitated or is unable to read or write to such an extent that he or she is unable to vote without assistance, this article shall apply.
Targeted Initiatives
History Major Changes:
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1972 is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which lowered the voting age for all national elections and referendums in the state from 21 to 18 years of age. It was approved by referendum on 7 December 1972 and signed into law on 5 January 1973.
Failed Experiments:
Electronic voting machines were trialled in the 2002 general elections in three constituencies. The machines were again used in seven constituencies in the 2002 referendum on the Treaty of Nice. Later the government planned to introduce EVMs for local and national elections on a larger scale. However in 2009, the government announced scrapping of the electronic voting system due to cost issues and public dissatisfaction.