MORE THAN 2,730 electors have been removed from the Dublin City electoral register since January.
Figures obtained by Fine Gael Councillor Noel Rock reveal that more than treble the number of people have been “struck off” in 2015 in comparison to 2014 figures.
“I have been contacted by a number of people recently who were concerned when they couldn’t find themselves on checktheregister.ie, despite having not moved address and previously being on the register. This is a deep concern for me,” he said.
Last year, between January and March, 837 electors were removed from the register.
The register is updated each year. If people have not checked it this year, there is a possibility they have been removed.
“This constitutes nearly 1% of the entire number on the Dublin City electoral register being removed in just three months. I worry that this figure is very high,” said Rock.
Rock was also critical that while electors can check if they are on a register via Check the Register website, there is no online facility available for people who want to change where they vote, take themselves off the register or indeed add themselves on.
“Our current system of registering to vote is antiquated and laborious,” he said.
The Dublin councillor said it’s “high time” Ireland introduced a proper online system for vote registration, similar to the one that exists in the UK.
I would urge people to check that they are registered to vote. In addition, I am calling on Dublin City Council officials to exercise absolute caution before removing anyone from the electoral register. We need to ensure that nobody is incorrectly denied their democratic right on 22 May.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say