Glossary of electoral terms
Glossary of electoral terms
An Coimisiún Toghcháin
Ireland’s statutory, independent electoral commission established on 9 February 2023, with responsibility for a broad range of electoral functions set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022.
Anonymous electors
Voters whose safety would be at risk if their name and address were published on the register of electors.
Áras an Uachtaráin
Official residence of the President of Ireland
Approved bodies
At referendums, any organisation, public or private, and any registered political party can apply to become a temporary Approved Body for the duration of the referendum campaign. Approved bodies can appoint agents to:
– Be present at the issuing of ballot papers to postal voters, the opening of postal voters’ ballot papers, and at the counting of votes.
– Attend at each polling station (one person per polling station) to assist election officials in detecting the electoral offence of personation.
Ballot box
The box that voters place their completed ballot papers into.
Ballot paper
The paper used to cast a vote in an election. This will include instructions on how to vote, the candidates’ names, address and the name of the party and emblem that they represent if applicable.
Ballot paper template
This is a transparent plastic device that is placed on top of a ballot paper. The template has raised print and braille on it, so that visually impaired people can vote independently.
Broadcast moratorium
Broadcast moratorium is a period of time – generally from 2pm the day before polling day – in which radio and TV broadcasters must not include any information that might influence voters. The moratorium is imposed by the Coimisiun na Meán.
Bunreacht na hÉireann
The Constitution is a document which sets out Ireland’s basic laws. It describes how the country should be governed, the main institutions of the State and the rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens.
By-election
An election that occurs when a seat in the Dáil or Seanad becomes vacant during the lifetime of a Dáil, usually because the sitting TD or Senator resigns, becomes ineligible to sit for some reason, or dies.
Candidate
A person who is running for election.
Canvassing
Trying to win votes by contacting voters directly, by going door to door for example.
Census
An official count of a country’s population. In Ireland, the census is carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) every five years. A review of the Dáil and European elections takes place following the results of each census.
Checktheregister.ie
Check the Register.ie is the website to register to vote or update your details.
Citizenship
A legal status granted by the State to those who are entitled to it, either by birth, descent or ‘naturalisation’. Only Irish citizens can vote in referendums and Presidential elections.
City and county councils
Local authorities/ Local Government responsible for services such as housing, planning, roads, water supply and recreation facilities in both a city and a county.
Civic engagement
Action people use to exercise the freedoms of democracy. This can include things such as sign a petition, contact their local councillor, vote, stand for election and become informed on issues.
Companion voting
If you have a visual impairment, a disability or a literacy difficulty that prevents you from voting without assistance, you can bring a companion with you to mark the ballot paper for you. This person must be at least 16 years of age, not be an election candidate or a candidate’s agent. This person must not help more than two people per election or referendum.
Constituency
Specific region where the political representatives are elected by the voters living there.
Constituency boundary
The border between one constituency and another.
Constituency review
A review of the Dáil and European boundaries that takes place following each census. The review of local electoral areas generally takes place after every second census. For more information see: Constituency and Electoral Boundary Reviews
Constitution
The Constitution is a document which sets out Ireland’s basic laws. It describes how the country should be governed, the main institutions of the State and the rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens. In the Irish language, and commonly referred to as Bunreacht na hÉireann.
Councillor
Person elected to a local authority such as a county or city council. To represent the people living in that area.
Count
The counting of votes of an election, which takes place at a count centre under the direction of the Returning Officer.
Count centre
The location where the counting of votes take place following the transportation of all ballot boxes from all polling stations within the electoral area.
County council
A type of local authority covering a county responsible for services including housing, planning, roads, water supply and recreation facilities.
Dáil Éireann
Known as ‘the Dáil’ for short, the lower house of the Oireachtas. Elected representatives carry out a number of functions, such as debating and voting on issues and passing bills here.
Democracy
A society that favours equal rights, fair trials and freedom of speech in which people govern themselves. Ireland is a representative democracy which means we elect representatives to govern on our behalf.
Dissolution
An action by the President of Ireland (with the support of the Taoiseach) to end the current term of the Dáil so a general election can be held.
Directly Elected Mayor
The election of a Mayor by means of a direct vote of the people. The people of Limerick voted for the first directly elected mayor in Ireland on 7 June 2024.
Election
The formal process of voting to elect representatives at a local, national, European or Presidential level.
Election Agent
An officially nominated representative of a candidate.
Election day
The day when people cast their vote in an election. See also Polling Day.
Elected representative
An individual who represents an area at either local (Councillors), national (TD’s) or European (MEP) level.
Elector
A person who has the right to vote in an election and is registered to vote.
Electoral Commission
An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Irish for Electoral Commission) 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.
Electorate
All those who have a right to vote in an election and are registered to vote.
Electoral register
A list of those who have the right to vote in referendums and elections in Ireland.
Eliminated candidate
A candidate who is unsuccessful in an election and whose votes are distributed/transferred (see transfers) to the remaining candidates.
European election
Election of MEPs to the European Parliament by EU citizens, these elections are held every 5 years.
First preference vote
The first choice of a voter on their ballot paper.
Franchise Unit
The Section in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who have responsibility for electoral policy and law.
General Election
Election in which citizens on the electoral register cast their votes to elect TDs (Teachta Dála) to the Dáil.
Houses of the Oireachtas
The national parliament of Ireland which consists of the President, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. See also ‘Oireachtas’
Institutions of the State
The three main institutions of the State, are the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. For more information on this see: The Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann)
ID
Identification. You may be asked to show valid ID when you go to vote at a polling station and if asked you must show it.
For a full list of eligible ID, visit our Where to vote page.
Incumbent
A person (e.g., TD, Senator, Councillor) who currently holds a post or office.
Independent
A TD, Senator, Councillor or candidate who does not belong to a political party
Invalid vote
Votes can be deemed spoilt due to writing on the ballot paper, no clear first preference of a candidate is expressed or if the ballot paper was not stamped by the presiding officer or poll clerk. See also Spoilt Vote.
Irish Statute Book
Judiciary
The Courts have power to interpret and apply the law to disputes and conflicts which happen between the State and individual citizens, as well as disputes which happen between citizens.
Legislation
A law, or a set of laws or the act of making laws.
Legislature
The Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland which consists of the President, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann.
Local authority
Local authorities/local government are responsible for services such as housing, planning, roads, water supply and recreation facilities in both a city and a county.
Local elections
Elections that are held every 5 years to elect councillors to represent them to local authorities. There are 949 Councillors elected to 166 Local Electoral Areas across 31 Local Authorities.
Local Electoral Area (LEA)
Local electoral area is an electoral area (or constituency) for the election of 949 Councillors to the 31 local authorities. The country is split into 166 LEA’s.
Mayor
An elected head of a city or town. Most mayors are elected by Councillors of a Local Authority. Limerick is the first place to have a directly elected mayor, meaning the mayor was decided by means of a vote of the people of Limerick on 7 June 2024.
Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
An elected politician who represents their constituency in the European Parliament. There are currently 14 MEPs across three constituencies in Ireland, Midlands-North-West, South and Dublin.
Multi-seat constituencies
Constituencies that elect multiple candidates. Examples of these are Dáil and European constituencies who elect 3-5 candidates and in local elections elect 3-7 candidates.
Naturalisation
Naturalisation is when a person from outside Ireland is granted Irish citizenship by meeting certain residency conditions.
Non-party candidate
A candidate that does not belong to a political party.
Non-transferrable ballot papers
Ballot papers that have no further available preference available for distribution.
Oireachtas
The national parliament of Ireland which consists of the President, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann.
Order of preference
A voting system in which people vote for candidates in order of preference, putting 1 on the ballot paper beside their favourite candidate, 2 for their second favourite, 3 for their third favourite and so on.
Personation
Voter fraud, where a person pretends to be someone else, so that they can vote more than once, or vote in more than one constituency/LEA where they are not registered to do so.
Personation Agent
A person who attends a polling station to assist election officials in detecting the electoral offence of personation.
Plebiscite
A vote by all voters on a topic or question – for example, in a referendum; or a vote by members of a party to decide on a candidate.
Polling Clerk
Assists the presiding officer to carry out their duties.
Polling day
The day when people cast their vote for an electoral event.
Polling Day Order
An Order made by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which sets the time and date for an electoral event.
Polling Information Card
A card that has your polling information, i.e location of polling station and polling hours.
Polling station
The location in a building where voting takes place during an election.
Postal voting
Voting in advance of an electoral event by post. To be eligible you must fill certain criteria and there are separate deadlines in place for registering ahead of an electoral event.
Preferential voting
A voting system in which people vote for candidates in order of preference, putting 1 on the ballot paper beside their favourite candidate, 2 for their second favourite, 3 for their third favourite and so on.
Presiding Officer
Presiding Officers are responsible for the opening, closing and conduct of their polling station throughout the day.
President
The head of the Irish State, who signs legislation into law.
Pre-Registration
Option for 16 and 17 year olds to ‘pre-register’ and be added to the electoral register when they turn 18. Electors who will turn 18 years of age on or before polling day and are included in the Register of Electors can vote if they are eligible to do so.
Proportional Representation
An electoral system in which the number of seats won by a party is broadly in proportion to the share of the vote the party candidates received.
PR-STV
PR-STV (Proportional Representation by means of a single transferrable vote) is a system of voting where several seats are available in a constituency. A person votes for their preferred candidates in order of preference, and any unused votes for that candidate (for example, if they already have enough to be elected) are transferred to other candidates in the constituency until all seats are filled.
Quota
The number of votes that a candidate generally needs to win a seat under a PR-STV system. The quota is calculated by dividing the total valid poll by 1 more than the number of available seats and then adding 1.
Referendum
A vote by the electorate, usually on a single issue such as a change to the Constitution or a European treaty.
Recount
The recounting of votes during a count, which is ordered by the Returning Officer.
Register of Electors
A list of those who have the right to vote in referendums and elections in Ireland. The register is organised by electoral area and is put together by local authorities.
Register of Political Parties
The list of legally registered political parties, who can run candidates in elections in Ireland.
Returning Officer
The Returning Officer is the official who is in charge of the running of the election (and count) in their constituency.
Running Mate
A person who runs for election in the same constituency as another candidate from the same party.
Seanad Éireann
The Upper House of the Oireachtas; known as the Seanad for short or the Senate.
Second preference
The second choice of a voter on their ballot paper, which is marked by a number ‘2’.
Senator
A Member of Seanad Éireann.
Separation of powers
A system in which each of the three branches of government – legislature, executive and judiciary – have separate functions and powers and the right to check the activities of the other branches to make sure that none of them becomes too powerful.
Single seat constituency
A constituency who elects one person. Examples of this are Presidential and directly-elected Mayoral elections.
SIPO
The Standards In Public Office Commission (SIPO) is tasked with overseeing ethics amongst those holding public office.
Supervisory Presiding Officer
The Supervisory Presiding Officer provides assistance to electors by directing them to their relevant polling station. They can offer advice on any issues related to the process of voting and provides general supervision duties at a polling station on polling day.
Surplus
The excess votes of a candidate after they reach the quota.
Surplus distribution
The distribution of votes following a candidate who has exceeded the quota and meets the criteria for distribution.
Special voter
A special voter is a person living in a hospital or nursing home who can vote in that location if registered as a special voter.
Spoilt vote
A vote that is deemed invalid and will not count. Votes can be deemed spoilt due to writing on the ballot paper, no clear first preference of a candidate is expressed or if the ballot paper was not stamped by the presiding officer or poll clerk.
Tally figures
The unofficial results compiled by tallymen and women who observe the sorting of ballot papers at a count.
Tallyman
A person who attends the counting of votes and, by watching the process, carries out an unofficial count of the ballot papers as the official count progresses.
Taoiseach
The head of the Irish Government.
TD
Teachta Dála; Member of Parliament (Lower House, ie Dáil).
Transfers
The distribution of an eliminated candidate votes (or a candidate whose surplus is being distributed) to the remaining candidates, by way of the second or further preferences expressed.
Vote
The act of casting a preference for an outcome or candidate(s) in a referendum or election.
Voter
A person who is entitled to vote and exercises their right to do so. A voter must be over 18 years of age and whose names appear on the Register of Electors.
Voter.ie
The Website for people from four local authorities in Dublin to register and update their registration details.
Voter turnout
The number or percentage of all voters who cast a vote in a given election.