On Wednesday the 8th of November, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) will be registering thousands of students to vote across Ireland as part of the annual National Day of Voter Registration. The nonpartisan campaign, “Get RegD”, has partnered with the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and SpunOut.ie to ensure as many young people get registered to vote before the deadline on November 25th.
Speaking ahead of the day of voter registration, USI President Michael Kerrigan said,
“Registering to vote is now part of coming to college. First years now get a student card, and a voter registration form. The Marriage Equality referendum showed students that voting can make a real difference, and this was evident from the queues of students up and down the country in General Election 2016. It’s important for students to be registered to vote to have the chance to elect people who have young people’s interests at heart, and have a say in the numerous referendums coming up.”
Mr Kerrigan went on to say,
“Voter registration forms are available from all Students’ Union during the nationwide drive this Wednesday. All students have to do is fill out the forms and your Students’ Union will post the form on your behalf. Students can go onto checktheregister.ie and see if they and their friends are registered to vote.”
James Doorley, Deputy Director of the National Youth Council of Ireland said,
“It’s so important that young people register to vote, to ensure that they can make their voices heard when elections and referendums take place. Excellent work has been done in the last number of years to get young people on the electoral register. However, with over 61,000 young people turning 18 and becoming eligible voters in the last 12 months alone we need to work continually to ensure all are registered.”
Ian Power, Executive Director of SpunOut.ie said,
“The National Voter Registration Day has had huge success in the past, and with a number of referendums coming up in the next two years, it’s important young people in Ireland get registered to vote so that they can have a say in their future. This is a great initiative to get students engaged and to empower them to use their vote.”
Students are urged to check if they must add their name or change their details in the draft Register. This can be done up to the 25th November of each year. Students can fill in form RFA1 for the draft Register. You also can get an RFA1 form from your local post office or public library. If you are registering because you have moved to a new address, you should include this information and your former address so that you can be removed from the register for that area.
The amended Register of Electors is published on 1 February and comes into force on 15 February.
