YOUR GUIDE TO VOTING IN IRELAND

Image showing an a girl putting a ballot in a voting box.

When to Vote

7 June 2024

Mark your calendars!

Anyone aged 18 or over on the election day can vote if they are Irish citizens or hold citizenship of another EU country, with legal residence in Ireland.

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Do I have an obligation to Vote?

No, there is no legal obligation to vote. But you know what we say…use your vote!

Where can I vote?

Illustration showing different ways to vote, by mail, in person or online.

If you are a Irish citizen voting in Ireland

If you live in Ireland, check your voting card, because you can vote at the polling station close to your residence. You can learn more here.

To be on the voters’ list, you have to register by submitting a form online here. And guess what?! If you are 16 or 17, you can pre-register and your name will be added to the register when you turn 18. If you registered for the previous elections, then you don’t have to do it again. You can check here if you are already on the list.

Once you register, the authorities will send a voting card to you, with the elector number and the address where you can vote. 

In some circumstances, you can vote by mail. You can find more information here.

Deadline to register: you have to register by 20 May 2024.

If you are a Irish citizen voting from another EU country

Do you live abroad? Unfortunately, you cannot vote for candidates in Ireland, unless you are in special circumstances and qualify for voting by mail.

However, you could always vote in your country of residence as an EU citizen.

If you are an Irish citizen voting from a country outside the EU

Unfortunately, the same conditions apply as living in another EU country (check above).

If you are EU citizen voting in Ireland

As a legal resident in Ireland, you can of course vote there! The same rules apply to you as to Irish citizens voting in Ireland (check above).

Deadline to register: you have to register by 20 May 2024.

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Voting Online
Can I vote online?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote online in Ireland.
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Voting by Mail
Can I vote by mail?
YES ✓ You can vote by mail in Ireland, but only if you qualify with the requirements by law.
READ MORE HERE
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Voting by Proxy
Can I vote by proxy?
NO ✖ Unfortunately, voting by proxy is not possible in Ireland.
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Voting & accessibility

Do you have a disability or an illness? If you cannot go to the polling station, there are forms of assistance available:

  • you can vote at another polling station if the one assigned is not accessible; only have to apply for it at least one week before polling day
  • you can ask for someone to assist you when voting
  • you can vote by mail, you only have to apply by 11 May 2024
  • you can request to vote at the hospital or in a nursing home, if you apply by 11 May 2024.
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fun facts

  • Ireland joined the European Union on 1 January 1973.
  • Ireland will have 14 members of the European Parliament, one more than the previous elections in 2019.
  • There are three national constituencies, the Midlands-North West with 5 seats, the South with another 5 seats and Dublin with 4 seats.
  • Ireland uses the single transferable vote, voters rank the candidates, as many as they want. Then, the candidates need to be voted a minimum, calculated by dividing the total number of valid ballot papers by one more than the number of seats to be filled and adding one to the result. Those who surpass the quota are immediately elected and the excess votes go to other candidates.
  • Since voters in Ireland vote for candidates, the threshold (quota) for the European elections is the number of valid votes divided by fourteen, the number of seats plus one.
Read More