COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 14, 2019

QUESTION NO. 34

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

To ask the Chief Executive for a report on work towards the publication of the 2020 Voting Register and will he make a statement?

REPLY:

The work on the Draft Register 2020-2021 is ongoing. RFA forms were delivered to all households in the county in July inviting electors either to amend their details or to register for inclusion in the Draft Register, either directly online on www.voter.ie or using the enclosed form. Advertisements have been placed in the local papers and ongoing promotion through the Council website and social media to promote that the preparation of the Draft Register is underway and to encourage all citizens to ensure that they are registered to vote. 

Circa 2,500 RFA forms have been returned by post to date and circa 520 applications processed online through www.voter.ie. The processing of these returns is almost complete.

The Council sent correspondence to the Department of the Defence Forces, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, all registered Nursing Homes in the County, Headquarters of the Prison Service, and Disabled Persons at home regarding their postal vote – circa. 800 electors have been returned for processing.

On 1st November 2019 the Draft Register will be available for checking online at www.voter.ie.  It is also circulated to local Post Offices, Libraries and Garda stations in South Dublin's Administrative area. This will also be notified to the public through advertisements in the local media and promoted through the Council’s website and social medial channels.

During the period of 1st November to 25th November members of the public are afforded the opportunity to

  1. Check whether or not they are on the draft Register on www.voter.ie, and either
  2. Change their address or other details, including citizenship or change of name, or
  3. Add themeslves to the Register of Elector, or
  4. Remove themselves from the Register

If they wish to register or change their details on Voter.ie they must verify their identity through www.mygovid.ie.  MyGovID is an online identity service, developed by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, that allows you to access online Government services in a safe and secure manner. 

The final register will be published on 1st February 2020 and will come into force on 15th February 2020.  This register will then be used for any elections / referenda to be held during the period 15th February 2020 to 14th February 2021.

This is the first year the online facility for the electoral register is available on www.voter.ie which is a signficantly improved system where electors can directly amend their details or register for the Draft Register online. The new online facility has been developed as shared service across the four Dublin local authorities only at this point, but work is beginning on preparing to roll the service out to the rest of the country.