Gormley asked to clarify polling card confusion

LABOUR TD Ciarán Lynch has asked Minister John Gormley to clarify the current confusion over polling cards.

According to Deputy Lynch, “The situation that has arisen where polling cards and referendum information booklets were printed and distributed together, appears to have caused huge confusion among voters.

“I know of a number of instances where members of the public disposed of their information booklet, unaware that they were also throwing out their polling cards.

“Failure to produce a polling card at the polling station, of course, does not mean that a person cannot vote, and Minister Gormley should make it clear that as long as a voter has valid ID, they are entitled to cast their vote.

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Separately, Last week Labour highlighted a situation in Kildare where many people who, by virtue of the fact that they are not citizens are not eligible to vote, were nevertheless sent polling cards.

“There was a hope that this issue was confined to one county, but I have come across a number of such instances here in Cork. These people are now likely to turn up at polling stations in good faith to vote but will now be turned away, which is a recipe for massive confusion.

“I have consistently argued that our electoral register system needs to be revamped. I believe that we need a single national commission that would take on board the present operating functions that are held by the 34 local authorities around the country.

“I also believe we need to move away from household registration to an individual, PPS-based system, which would eliminate the situation where people can be registered more than once.

“It would also greatly reduce the possibility of fraud, and make it easier for the individual citizen to get themselves registered and know where they are registered.”