Electoral Commission urges legal overhaul to modernise Seanad voter registration and ballot process
This will be a single six-seat constituency, with any graduate of a third-level institution eligible to vote. Picture: Houses of the Oireachtas
The Government should amend laws to ensure Seanad voter registration does not close in the months before an election, the Electoral Commission has said.
The Commission has recommended creating a new supplementary register for Seanad elections, rather than relying on a single fixed deadline each year for voter registration.
Other elections allow for a timeframe in which citizens can register to vote in the run-up to polling day, with applications typically due 15 days before an election or referendum.
The recommendation comes after the Commission completed its review of the upcoming 2025 Seanad election, issuing several proposals related to the newly established Higher Education constituency.
This will be a single six-seat constituency, with any graduate of a third-level institution eligible to vote.
The new constituency is not yet in effect; the most recent election followed the previous structure: the three-seat National University of Ireland constituency and the three-seat University of Dublin constituency.
Recommendations from the Electoral Commission include strengthening quality assurance checks on the new register of electors for the Higher Education constituency and reviewing procedures for delivering ballot papers.
It is also calling for the use of a “standardised stamp or watermark” on each Seanad ballot paper before it is issued to voters.
For the Seanad panel elections — where voters are TDs, councillors, and outgoing Senators — the Commission has recommended that the Government amend current laws to allow candidates to decline or withdraw a nomination.
It also calls for additional support for the Seanad Returning Officer, as well as streamlining the vote count process for the panel elections.
In a statement, Head of the Electoral Commission Art O’Leary said Seanad elections are unique in Ireland and, for the first time, have been scrutinised to identify where improvements can be made.
