The 24-hour TV and radio moratorium before polling day for referendums should be scrapped because they have become “anomalous” in the age of social media and online media, the Electoral Commission has recommended.
The commission has responsibility for running elections and referendums – including information campaigns – and the referendums on family and care earlier this year were its first operation. Both referendums, held on March 8th, were comprehensively defeated.
In a report on the campaign, published on Monday, the commission recommends it be given sufficient time (16 weeks) to prepare information campaigns in advance of future referendums and distribute more than 2.3 million booklets to households across the State.
It also said there should be a period of 60 days after the signing of a Polling Day Order to allow the commission to give due consideration to the agreed wording of the amendment, to develop text to explain that wording, as outlined in the Electoral Reform Act, and to provide that text in the referendum information booklet.
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In setting out the argument for scrapping the moratorium, the commission said: “At a time when online media and social media is so prevalent, these guidelines are now anomalous and open to potential exploitation.”
A broadcasting moratorium also applies for all national elections but the report did not specifically recommend any change in relation to those.
The commission carried out surveys in the wake of the vote which showed that uncertainty over certain phrases were important factors.
Almost four in 10 No voters in the family referendum reported that the main reason for voting no was because the phrase “durable relationships” was poorly defined and open to interpretation. It also stated that more than three in 10 No voters reported that the wording was confusing or unclear.
The report states the commission made it clear that the phrase “other durable relationships” would ultimately be interpreted by the courts as a new constitutional concept.
It also said the word “strive” was the main issue requiring explanation in the care referendum.
The layout and design of the ballot papers for referendums were “not sufficiently clear”, the report found. It said the ballot paper for the family question did not mention “An Teaghlach” until the 44th word in the Irish version, and it was 53 words in before “the family” was mentioned.
More than 160,000 people used the commission’s website during the campaign, with the highest numbers recorded in the days immediately before and on the day of the referendums.
The turnout of just over 44 per cent for both referendums was in the mid-range when compared with previous referendums.
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