Make your vote count, public urged

With a referendum looming, a new campaign has been launched to urge voters to confirm or update their details online by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, T.D, it was recently announced.

The new Check the Register campaign, which was launched in June, is aimed at improving the accuracy and integrity of the Register of Electors.

Aside from the referendum that is set to take place later this year, local and European elections are also set to take place within the next 12 months.

Minister Noonan said: “Local authorities around the country are gearing up for a substantial body of work over the summer months to update the electoral register and further improve its accuracy but they can’t do it on their own. Even if we’re already on the register, we all have a part to play and we can do this by checking and either confirming or updating our information. Adding details including date of birth, EIRCODE and PPSN allows local authorities to cross-check and confirm the information provided by each person, adding to the integrity of the process.”

A month long national campaign run in November 2022 yielded over 35,000 applications through the Check the Register website and this figure has since increased to 76,000 nationally. In County Leitrim, since last November, over 700 people have engaged with the campaign and have updated their details either through the Check the Register website or by submitting an application form to the County Council.

Over the course of the next week, Leitrim County Council will distribute application forms and information leaflets to every household in County Leitrim. Individuals may return completed copies of the application form by FREEPOST to: Register of Electors, Áras an Chonate, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim or they may submit a scanned copy of the application form by email to registerfelectors@leitricoco.ie. Even if you are already on the register of electors, complete and return the form, as by adding your EIRCODE, PPSN and date of birth, it will greatly improve the accuracy of the Register of Electors.

Welcoming this campaign, Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council, Cllr Ita Reynolds Flynn encouraged locals who have recently tuned 18 to engage with this campaign, either through the Check the Register website or by completing and returning the forms that Leitrim County Council are distributing this week. “The right to vote is a corner stone of our democracy and an important privilege that we should not take lightly. We should all ensure that our details are accurate and correct on the Register of Electors. The Check the Register website is straightforward and easy to use, and I urge people to engage with this campaign, or simply let the local authority know that their details are current and correct by adding their PPSN, EIRCODE and date of birth to their existing entry on the Register of Electors.”

For more information log on to www.checktheregister.ie or contact Leitrim County Council by phone on 071 9620005 or email: registerofelectors@leitrimcoco.ie.