2024 will be a year of voting – in referendums and elections. For example, there are two referendums on the 8th of March this year. There are also upcoming European and Local elections that will be taking place across the country in June. For many young people, this will be their first time to vote. To Vote, you must be registered! It takes just 30 seconds to check the register to see if you are registered to vote. This also applies to young people who will be able to vote for the first time this year.
There are slightly different rules for different kinds of elections.
You can vote in the local elections if you are:
You can vote in the general elections if you are:
You can vote in a referendum if you are:
You can vote in the European Parliament elections if you are:
You can go online and check the register at www.checktheregister.ie or click on the button below, to make sure that you are registered to vote.
Not registered? No problem! Simply go to the Check the Register website and complete your details in order to be added to the electoral register. Registering online is easy – you just need your:
*If you are 16 or 17 you can pre-register but you won’t be able to vote until you turn 18. By pre-registering at the age of 16, it means that your local authority will be able to move you to the live electoral register when you turn 18.
An Post has set-up an address point service, which gives people without a fixed address a personal postal address and mail collection point. You can use this address to register to vote as well as access other services that otherwise may be difficult or impossible to get without an address. Examples of these include:
You can now change your voting information any time of the year. The simplest way to do this is by going online to the Check the Register website. You will need to update your details at least 15 days before the day of the vote. It’s good to remember that bank holidays, Sundays, or public holidays don’t count as part of these 15 days.
If you are registered to vote, a polling card will arrive in the post before the voting day. It’s really important to make sure you have entered your details correctly when registering to vote to make sure that polling card comes to the right address! When you go to the polling station, you will need to remember to bring a form of photo ID, otherwise you won’t be able to vote.
A referendum is when Irish citizens vote to change the Constitution. This is the only way the Constitution can be changed. For example in the referendums taking place on 8th March 2024, the first asks you to consider the definition of the family. The second asks you if we should remove phrasing on the role of women in the home and replace it with gender-neutral language.
Even thought the deadline to register for this referendum has now passed, it is still important to register to vote for the other elections that are happening this year.
Voting is your right! Registering to vote and acting on your right to vote means that you are able to have your voice heard. In a democratic society like Ireland, change is often brought about by voting. Other reasons voting is so important include:
In recent years Ireland has seen a lot of changes to our constitution that have been brought about by voting. Same-sex marriage becoming legal, the rights for women to access abortion at home and the abolition of the crime of blasphemy are all changes that happened in Ireland relatively recently, because of referendums and how people in Ireland voted.
This article from Spunout, written by a young person, gives a great insight into why voting is so important for young people and how it impacts them: Why voting is so important for all young people
So make sure you #CheckTheRegister to ensure you are already registered to vote and if not, get registering!
If you have any questions about voting or registering to vote , you can also chat online to a trained Youth Information Officer or contact us on yicsligo.ncycs@gmail.com / 085 8041020 (WhatsApp) and we can get back to you.