SERIOUS reform of the electoral register has been called for by Limerick councillors after a new report highlighted issues of concern including duplication of polling cards and deceased persons names not being removed.
The reported electoral register numbers for Limerick City and County Council for the period February 2023 to December 2024 showed an overall increase of 11 per cent in voter registrations.
In 2023, when there were no electoral events, numbers on the register were relatively stable, increasing by less than one per cent. Leaving the bulk of registrations made throughout 2024, on the run up to the mayoral, local, and general elections.
According to the report, issues raised around the 2024 Family and Care Referendum included polling cards being received by individuals not entitled to vote (non Irish citizen), as well as polling cards being received for deceased electors.
The reported data included a low level of coverage of key variables such as date of birth, PPSN, and Eircode, coupled with an estimated 96.2 per cent of potential eligible electors on the electoral register.
The Electoral Commission said that this indicates that Limerick City and County Council needs to make significant efforts to increase the overall quality of its electoral register.
“Further analysis of the registers is required, including the carrying out of accuracy audit,” the Commission said.
The Electoral Commission’s findings were deemed by local councillors as “fairly damning” and showing evidence of “sheer sloppiness”.
Some local councillors now want to see a modern fit for purpose electoral register.
Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely told the Limerick Post she was contacted by a number of people who were not allowed to vote on polling day in the recent elections. According to Cllr Kiely, in some instances, voters were left “furious” after they went to the poling station and were refused.
“It’s just not good enough. They were taken off the register and nobody can tell us why. We need a serious reform of how we maintain the register and promote voting rights and registration,” she insisted.
Fianna Fáil councillor Catherine Slattery considered it “disheartening” to see that errors were made.
“The Register of Electors is a vital part of Irish democracy and it is up to the local authorities to maintain and manage this register,” she said.
“We all can make mistakes, but what I have read in that report were not just mistakes but sheer sloppiness. Very important information was not recorded and this has a knock on affect not just to the person voting but to the candidate, and in fact, the results, in some cases.”
Labour Party councillor Joe Leddin regarded the Electoral Commission’s report as extremely worrying. However, Council staff, Cllr Leddin pointed out, can only do so much based on the resources available to them.
“Limerick has been rated near the bottom of all local councils based on glaring inaccuracies and persons being registered in multiple locations and indeed multiple names appearing in one or two-bed apartments,” Cllr Leddin claimed.
“It is unacceptable that there are thousands of names remaining on the register for people who have either died, relocated, or are registered more than once. In an era of technology, we must introduce a system that tracks people based on a unique identifier such as their PPS number.”
Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan also considered the findings of the report extremely concerning, especially in relation to Limerick and the lack of accuracy found here.
“If you add those findings to the appalling error with the Limerick City ballot paper in November where candidates, including myself, were listed in the wrong order and the mistake was not spotted until people started voting, I think that it’s clear there is a lack of transparency and oversight that needs to be addressed here,” Cllr O’Donovan said.
“We have never needed trust in our electoral system more and findings like these, and errors with ballot papers, erode public faith in political systems. As a matter of urgency we need to start rebuilding public trust and make sure that errors like these never happen again.”
