Electoral Reform Act 2022

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 (Number 30 of 2022) was signed into law by the President on 25 July 2022.

This Act provides the legal basis for a range of significant electoral reforms in line with commitments in the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future.

It includes provision for:

• Electoral Commission: The establishment of an independent electoral
• Electoral registration: Modernisation of our electoral registration process to deliver greater accessibility and improved integrity, including improved voting arrangements for persons with mental health difficulties
• Online political advertising: Regulation of online political advertising to provide for transparency in political advertising in the online sphere during electoral periods.This will support open political discourse in our democratic processes in a way that will protect our electoral processes from hidden influences
• Integrity of elections: Protection of the integrity of our elections and referendums against the dissemination or publication of online disinformation, online misinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour in the online eco-sphere during electoral campaign periods
• Public health restrictions: Amendments to ensure that electoral events can proceed effectively if public health restrictions are in place due to a pandemic, including Covid-19
• Political donations: Strengthening the regulation of political donations and accounts.This includes provisions to ensure that donations and resources from non-citizens outside the State are not being used to influence our elections and political processes
• Island voting: Amendments to electoral law to provide that voting on the islands will take place on the same day as the rest of the country
• Political fund-raising: Clarification that a political party can apply for a lottery license in support of its fund-raising activities.

For each section of this Act to take legal effect it must be commenced by a statutory instrument.

The first phase of commencements of this Act are set out in S.I. No. 512 of 2022 which commenced certain provisions with effect from 13 October 2022.

Some of the key areas which have been commenced include:

• Board appointments: Certain provisions regarding An Coimisiún Toghcháin to facilitate the appointment of ordinary members and the Chief Executive
• Electoral registration: Modernisation of the electoral registration process to make it more accessible and improve its integrity
• Public health restrictions: Revisions to electoral law to ensure that electoral events can proceed effectively if public health restrictions are in place due to a pandemic, including Covid-19.These amendments will allow flexibility for polling to take place at electoral events over more than one day to facilitate social distancing
• Island voting: New provisions providing that voting at electoral events will take place on islands on the same day as the rest of the country.This entails the amendment of existing island voting provisions to remove early voting, with new powers for the Minister (in consultation with Returning Officers) to make an order to amend polling hours where local circumstances require it. Such an order must be made no later than 7 days before polling day and the amended polling period must not be less than four hours
• Special voting: Arrangements are also included to facilitate voting when the place of residence of a special voter is not accessible to the special presiding officer. These allow the returning officer to issue a postal vote to that special voter, or to apply the updated special voting procedures under Part XIV of the Electoral Act 1992 (Voting by Special Voters)
• Postal voting: Existing postal voting facilities, which are currently available to persons with physical difficulties which preclude them from attending a polling station on polling day, are also being extended to electors with mental health difficulties.

The range of measures in relation to the franchise and registration of electors commenced with effect from 13 October 2022. They aim to modernise our electoral registration process, including through:

• a move to a rolling, or continuous registration
• the standardisation and simplification of the registration process.

All applications will be made to the registration authority in the first instance and only appeals will be considered by County Registrars.

The changes include:

• a clear legal basis for data-sharing and the use of PPSNs in the process,
• a number of new provisions including supporting registration for those who have no address
• anonymous registration for persons whose safety may be at risk if their names are published in the register
• provision to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register
• abolition of the edited register.

To support the implementation of these provisions, www.checktheregister.ie has now been updated.

Further information on how the registration of electors has been modernised is available at the FAQ section of www.checktheregister.ie, including:

• for those who wish to vote for the first time
• for those who wish to update their details
• eligibility to vote
• data requirements for the registration process.

To support this modernisation process, electoral registration forms have been updated and are available on the Check the Register website. They will also continue to be available in paper format from registration authorities for voters who prefer to register with their authority using this approach.

Updated versions of the systems used by registration (local) authorities have also been rolled out and will enable and support the implementation of the new provisions. A further phase of this modernisation process will include the development and roll out of a national electoral registration system building on Voter.ie, and Dublin City Council is the lead authority in respect of that project.