Don’t Wait for an Election – Register in Under 3 Minutes

15 September 2024 – To mark the Global International Day of Democracy, An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission is asking eligible voters not to wait for an election to be called to register to vote.

To mark the UN’s International Day of Democracy observed on 15 September each year, An Coimisiún is issuing thousands of voter registration posters to post offices, libraries, universities, student unions, Intreo offices, health settings and other places countrywide where people can quickly scan the QR code, visit the www.CheckTheRegister.ie  website, and be registered to vote in under 3 minutes.

With a General Election scheduled to take place before March 2025, and a Presidential Election before November 2025, An Coimisiún Toghcháin is warning that when an election is called, deadlines to register to vote are very short, and the window to register for a postal/special voting is even shorter, set as it is at 2 days after the Polling Day Order.

2024 is a hugely important year for Ireland’s democracy having already seen more than 6.7m individual ballots cast across two referendums, the local and European elections.

People who may have already missed out on opportunities to vote this year because they weren’t registered; people who may have moved address; people who have recently turned or are about to turn 18, should all act now to get included in the register for electors for the next election. Even if you think you are registered, it’s advised to double check your listing to ensure your details are correct.

Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, stated:

“On this International Day of Democracy, beat the rush and register to vote today. We tried it with a first time voter, and it took less than 3 minutes to register online at CheckTheRegister.ie

“Here in Ireland, we are fortunate to live in one of the longest continuous democracies in the world. To date in 2024 over 6.7m individual votes have been cast in national referendums and elections.

“There’s always a big rush of people when an election is called and the pre-election cut off deadline is looming, avoid that rush and register today.”

Among its functions, An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission, is tasked with building awareness of Ireland’s elections and increasing the numbers of people voting through education and information campaigns.

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For further information, please contact:

Brian Dawson, Communications and Public Engagement Manager, 

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission,

086 0749344 Brian.dawson@electoralcommission.ie 

Editor’s Note:

There’s two posters being issued to encourage people to register to vote which are available to download at the links below:

Register to vote poster

Postal voting poster

‘Register to Vote’

Further information about voter registration is available on our website at electoralcommission.ie/register-to-vote/

‘How to Vote’ Video

A short video showing exactly how to obtain and complete your ballot paper is available on our website at electoralcommission.ie/how-to-vote/

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission

An Coimisiún Toghcháin is a statutory, independent body, established on 9 February 2023 with responsibility for a broad range of electoral functions set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022. An Coimisiún is central to Ireland’s electoral system, carrying out a range of existing electoral functions, including:

• responsibility for the registration of political parties;
• promoting public awareness of, and working to increase public participation in the State’s electoral and democratic processes through education and information programmes;
• overseeing the modernised Electoral Register, making recommendations and setting standards in relation to its maintenance and updating;
• the regulation of online paid-for political advertising, ensuring transparency in respect of online political advertisements during the period of an election or referendum campaign; (Legislation not yet commenced); and
• responsibility for the investigation and monitoring of online disinformation, online misinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour online during election campaign periods, as well as functions to prevent manipulative or inauthentic behaviours online. (Legislation not yet commenced).

An Coimisiún is also tasked with several new electoral roles, including:

• making reports for the Minister in relation to local electoral boundaries;
• preparing research programmes and conducting research on electoral policy and procedure, and providing advice, as required, to the Minister and Government;
• the preparation of ex-post reports on the administration of electoral events;
• the decision-making, oversight, secretariat and supporting services associated with explaining the subject matter of referendum proposals, the promotion of public awareness of referendums and encouragement of the electorate to vote at referendum polls; and
• the conducting of reviews and making reports in relation to the constituencies for the election of members to the Dáil and the election of members to the European Parliament.

It is anticipated that the initial set of functions assigned to An Coimisiún will be expanded upon as it builds capacity and expertise.