Polling stations will open today at 7am and will close at 10pm.
A black-and-white polling information card, with text in English and Irish, will have been sent to most eligible voters by post informing them of the location of the correct polling station in their constituency and their number on the register of elections.
The polling card itself does not constitute evidence of identity. Voters should bring a certain type of proof of identification, which they may be required to produce.
A passport or driving licence is among the acceptable documents. Other acceptable forms of identification include an employee identity card featuring a photograph or a student ID card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph.
Voters may also bring a birth certificate or a travel document featuring a name and photograph. Credit cards and cheque cards are also acceptable, as are bank, savings or credit union books containing the voter’s address in the constituency. Voters who bring either a marriage certificate or a cheque book must also provide a further document establishing that their address is in the constituency.
In the event of polling cards not having arrived in time for whatever reason, electors who are registered are still entitled to vote provided they are in possession of the correct form of identification.
A website, www.checktheregister.ie, allows those who want to vote to confirm they are on the electoral register for 2011/2012, which came into force on February 15th. This can be established by clicking on the link to the relevant local council and submitting surname, first name and street or townland. Registered voters can find the location of their polling station by clicking on their name.
Voters who have received polling cards but have forgotten or mislaid them can still vote with the correct form of identification. Anyone failing to produce evidence of identity if requested, or anyone who fails to satisfy the presiding officer that they are the person to whom the document provided relates, will not be allowed to vote.
Votes can be rendered invalid if, in the opinion of the returning officer, a first preference is not indicated or is set opposite the name of more than one candidate. A mark or writing on the ballot paper, which in the returning officer’s opinion is calculated to identify the elector, can also render a vote void.
After the close of poll, the ballot boxes used at each polling station will be conveyed to a count centre for the constituency concerned. At 9am tomorrow, the returning officer will open the ballot boxes for their constituency and verify the ballot paper accounts by comparing the number of papers found in each box with the relevant account furnished. The counting of votes will then proceed.
