Make sure your vote counts this election year

Can you vote in our upcoming elections and referendums? Are you sure? Are all your details correct? What will you say if you show up at the polling booth and there is a problem, or if no polling card comes in the post?

Check it out early and there will be no requirement to do it often. Even if you are sure that your name is on it, the Electoral Register needs checking. And it is easy to do.

This register is simply the official list of who in any local authority area has a vote, and in what elections they can vote. Being on the Electoral Register is the key to accessing a basic part of our democracy. Like the best nightclub, if your name isn’t on the list, you’re not getting in. And there are lots of immediate reasons coming up to be on that list. We have two referendums in March; local and European elections in June; and a General Election sometime over the next year.

The vote – your vote – matters. And not because, as some say, people died so you could have it. It matters because democracy remains the best way to organise a society that has complex needs, competing demands, and is trying to balance freedom and authority. We all know it has flaws, and some people involved in politics do not always do it with the best of intentions, but the job of any citizen is not to wait for a perfect democracy but to try and perfect the one they have. That work always goes on, and in some eras, it is harder than others. In an age of populism, disinformation, deep fakes, and the spreading of nonsense on social media, the responsibility of the responsible citizen has never been more needed.

A register is how we know who has the right to vote in a society built on the right to vote – and so, the quality of our democracy depends on the quality of that register. It isn’t just about your name being on the list: for us to live in a real democracy, everyone’s name who is entitled to be on it should be there, and any that shouldn’t need to be removed.

There have been changes to the electoral registration process resulting from a change in the law in 2022. The days of having what used to be called ‘draft’ and ‘live’ registers are over: now there is what is called a Rolling Register of Electors, which is being continuously updated. Why, you might ask? Some may ascribe it all to some bureaucracy, or some conspiracy. It’s both an awful lot simpler and more complex than that. The new system is needed because an electoral register is a fiendishly difficult thing to maintain. Even in simpler and more stable times, no Electoral Register has ever been perfect, but in this era, with so much moving about, it has become even more tricky. More people are moving and more often, constituencies changes, life changes, people move in, move out, move away, become an adult, and, alas, die. Who is anywhere is a very dynamic thing these days.

Some of the changes arising from the law change in 2022 are designed to make it easier and more timely for people to get on the register – great news if you are not already on the register and are entitled to be so. You might be an Irish citizen, about to turn 18, and you want to vote in the upcoming referendums in March. You might be a citizen who is a returning emigrant, a newly naturalised citizen, or a British national, and want to register to vote in our General Election. You might be an EU citizen who wants to vote in the European elections here (you can, so long as you don’t also vote at home). You might be an immigrant to our shores and want to vote in our local elections, which any resident in a local authority area can. In all of those categories, your point of view matters, and the way you can most effectively express it is by registering to vote. You might also need to make special arrangements to vote, and these can be sorted out in advance.

If you’re already on the register, you might be asking what has this to do with me. Quite a lot, as it happens.

As well as adding names to the list, the existing ones need to be tidied up, to respond to errors as well as to manage the possibility of electoral fraud. And so the local authorities who maintain the electoral register in their area would like some additional details from those already on the list: a PPSN; an Eircode; the date of birth of each voter. They are also keen to ensure that polling cards are not issued to those who have died, or, less seriously, to those who have left Ireland since the last election. Everyone, whether on the register already or not, can help do that by checking if their details are correct and updating the list in any way that improves it.

These are essential tasks in the life of a democracy. So, to do it most efficiently, it would help if everyone checked the register now, just to make sure all your details are correct, and to ensure that when polling day comes, you can make your mark.

In 2019, in the Ballina Electoral Area, 59% of those on the register voted in the local elections. But was that the actual turnout? How many were not on the register who could have been? Were there some who for whatever reason were on the register and should not have been? The same with the 2020 General Election, where 66% of those on the register in Mayo voted. But how many could have voted? Democracies need the maximum participation to survive. It is vital we get our Electoral Register in better shape.

Some people will grumble and blame somebody – anybody – for having to do this, and they might talk about hassle and inconvenience or what have you. If I had a sound control for such talk, you know what I would do. This is our democracy. We have to be serious about it. The people decide who rules here. So, the people should take the lead to make sure they are on the list of decision-makers – and that can be done by supporting and encouraging others to do it also.

You can now register to vote online, check out your existing registration, make changes to your details, or have any of your queries answered, at www.checktheregister.ie or by contacting the Franchise section at your local County Council.