Where to vote

Once you are registered to vote and you meet the eligibility criteria for voting in Irish elections, a polling information card will be posted to your registered home address before polling day.

The polling information card includes: your elector number, the name of the polling station where you will go to vote, a formal statement explaining which election you will be voting in; and the opening and closing times of your polling station.

You can only vote in your designated polling station.

Polling stations are often local schools or community buildings that are close to your registered address.

If you do not receive a polling information card, that does not mean that you cannot vote. You can use www.checktheregister.ie or you can call your local authority to see if you are on the register, and where your polling station is.

It is very important to remember that you can only vote at the polling station listed on your polling information card. You don’t need to bring your polling information card with you to vote but you must bring a form of valid ID.

You can use the following documents to prove your identity:

• a passport;
• a driving licence;
• an employee identity card containing a photograph;
• a student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph;
• a travel document containing name and photograph;
• a Bank or Savings or Credit Union book containing address in constituency;
• a Public Services Card;
• a Temporary Residence Certificate;
• a Garda National Immigration Bureau Card;
• an Irish Residence Permit;

Or the following items accompanied by a further document which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency:

• a cheque book;
• a cheque card;
• a debit card;
• a credit card;
• a birth certificate;
• a marriage certificate

When voting in these elections, you need to be careful to ensure your ballot is filled in correctly so that your vote counts. Find more information in our how to vote section.

There are special arrangements to assist those electors with an illness or disability 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 for people with a visual impairment, physical disability or literacy difficulty;

• Vote using a ballot paper template if you have a visual impairment;

• Vote by post;

• Vote at a hospital, nursing home or similar location if you live there.

Read more information by visiting our accessible voting section.