Ireland’s Referendum Commission is about to launch a new Facebook app that will direct users to check the voting register and ensure they can vote ahead in the upcoming European Fiscal Treaty referendum.
The app will launch as part of a two-week advertising campaign. Citizens have until 14 May to make sure they are registered to vote with their local authorities.
It directs people to a step-by-step procedure of checking the register and applying for inclusion.
Users of the app will then have the option of telling their friends via their Timeline that they have used the app and that others should check to see if they’re registered.
“Many voters, particularly younger voters, don’t know about checking the register and getting added onto it in time for polling day,” chairman of the Referendum Commission Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said.
“We are using Facebook this time around to ensure we get to people who don’t get this information from traditional media.
Registering enters the Timeline
“It is particularly useful that users of this app can, with one click, tell all their Facebook friends about this and spread the word that they can check the register in a matter of seconds in this way. Every Irish citizen aged 18 or over on polling day is entitled to vote.
“Yet many people can’t use this vote for the simple reason that they have not been put on the register, or they are registered at an old address.
“The vote on this Treaty is important as is every vote to amend the Constitution. This is one of those occasions where an important decision is made not by Government, the Oireachtas or the Courts but by the general public.
“It is a pity that many people don’t have their say on matters such as this for the simple reason that they have not checked the register and ensured in time that they can vote,” Feeney said.
People can also check with their local authority directly, or on www.checktheregister.ie to see if they are registered to vote. For those not registered, registered at the wrong address or registered incorrectly, forms are available from your local authority to put this right, and they can also be downloaded from www.checktheregister.ie.
