An astonishing 5,435 extra voters have been included on the 2024 electoral register, with the current headcount standing at over 54,000 electors to choose 18 city councillors next Friday, June 7. This is an 11 per cent increase on the almost 49,000 people registered to vote five years ago.
The Galway City East Local Electoral Area (LEA ) has seen by far the greatest number of new registrations with a whopping 2,263 extra voters added since February this year. Often cited as the most ethnically diverse local authority area in the State, registration drives by a number of City East candidates and civil society groups have added an estimated 1,000 new voters to the electoral roll, while a further 1,300 are thought largely to be minors who have reached voting age over the past five years.
City East includes Murrough, Ballybane, Ballybrit, Castlegar, Mervue, Wellpark, Lough Atalia and Renmore. Canvassers on the ground report a sizeable number of young adults living in parents’ or grandparents’ homes in these areas, which may disrupt traditional voting patterns in the more “settled” suburbs.
Registrations in the City Central LEA have also shot up with 1,907 new additions since February. The greatest increases are thought to be across the Rahoon, Dangan and Newcastle districts. However modest rises are also likely in Menlo, Shantalla, Claddagh, Eyre Square, Nuns Island and the St Nicholas electoral division which includes Woodquay.
The City West LEA has seen a similar surge to the city centre, with 1,831 additions to the register since February. Population growth across all areas of this residential area will have lifted numbers, including registration drives by some candidates and community groups. The Bearna division, Knocknacarra, Rockbarton and Salthill have all seen natural population increase, while canvassers in Taylors Hill also report a surge in young adults living in multi-generational family homes.
Anyone living at an address in Galway city aged over 18 may vote in local elections, regardless of citizenship, and the latest figures show 63% of Galway city’s population is registered for next week’s local authority poll.
Legislation introduced in 2022 means there is no longer a supplemental register for last-minute registrations at City Hall. Instead, a rolling register is available online up to around two weeks before a vote. The current local electoral register closed on May 20.
