Publication
Voting
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
This department is responsible for the legislation dealing with the registration of electors and the conduct of elections and referendums.
This involves:
- an ongoing review of electoral law
- review of constituencies and local electoral areas
- the provision of information and advice to registration authorities, returning officers and the general public together with the publication of election results.
For more detailed information you should consult the relevant constitutional and legislative provisions relating to electoral law, available on the Irish Statute Book. on the Irish Statute book website.
In order to be able to vote at an election or referendum, a person's name must be entered on the register of electors for the locality in which the person ordinarily resides. Registration authorities (county, city and city and county councils) publish the register of electors every year. The register comes into force on 15th February and is used at each election and referendum held in the succeeding 12 months.
Further information is available on the register of electors in a range of different languages
You can check if you are registered on the Check the register website.
A person who becomes an Irish citizen, who is not already on the register of electors, and who wishes to apply to be included in the supplement to the register of electors, should complete form RFA 2 which is available here.
Form RFA5 is to facilitate voters who are already on the register of local, European or Dáil electors who have become Irish citizens and wish to be included in the supplement to the register of electors so that they can also vote at Dáil and presidential elections, and referendums.
Voting at Presidential, Dáil, Seanad, European and local elections is by secret ballot on the principle of proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies (Ireland is a single constituency at a Presidential election), each voter having a single transferable vote. You can see further information here. You can see further information here
Franchise Section
Address:
Franchise Section, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Custom House, Dublin 1
Email:
Phone number:
