With a date to be imminently confirmed for the 2024 local elections, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, has called for a “complete overhaul” of the existing voting register.
“I strongly believe that when a person turns 18 in this country they should be automatically added to the voting register. If they don’t want to vote - they don’t have to. In my view they should definitely use their vote, but that’s a matter for each individual.
“I am four weeks into my canvass of the Athlone area for the local elections in June and it is clear to me that the voting register is totally out of date. There is currently no proactive process of renewal or updating of registers in place. It is more than 10 years now since local authorities employed personnel to go door to door to ensure we had a fit for purpose register of voting citizens for each constituency.
“In those days you could be certain that the register was very accurate. Today, it would not be unusual to find a two bedroom apartment in Athlone with eight people registered to vote at the address yet none of these people now reside there, and, more often than not, the people actually living there are probably not on the register. I have encountered such a scenario on numerous occasions.
“I recently canvassed 120 houses across three areas and as a result I had to inform the local authority of seven people who are now deceased, 29 people who are no longer living in these areas and 39 people who needed to be added to the register. At this rate the current registers in the Athlone urban area are only approximately 60% accurate.
“February 2020 was the last time we used our vote, that is over four years ago. Since then, imagine all the 18, 19, 20 and 21 year olds who are not eligible to vote because they haven’t registered. All of these young adults should in my view be added automatically to the system.
“Within days of a child turning 18 the parents receive a letter from social welfare to say they no longer qualify to receive children’s allowance payment. The authorities already have the information, so they should use it to register those turning 18.
“I would urge each individual to check if they are on the register and I would urge those whose name is not on the system to register today. It is easy to do, you just need details of your eircode, PPSN and date of birth, and you can register online at checktheregister.ie,” Cllr O’Rourke said.
