The Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act , 1923

PART I. Corrupt Practices.

1 Definition of corrupt practice.

1.—(1) The expression “corrupt practices” as used in this Act means any of the offences stated in this section to be a corrupt practice, and any person who commits any of such offences shall be guilty of a corrupt practice.

(2) The following offences as more fully defined in the following sections of this Part of this Act shall be corrupt practices, that is to say:—

(a) bribery,

(b) personation,

(c) treating,

(d) undue influence.

(3) The following offences shall also be corrupt practices, that is to say:—

(a) aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence of personation;

(b) knowingly publishing, before or during a Dáil or Seanad election, a false statement of the withdrawal of a candidate at such election.

2 Definition of bribery.

2.—The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly:—

(1) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or shall offer, promise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration or any office, place or employment, to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter or to or for any other person, in order to induce any voter to vote, or to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid, on account of such voter having voted or voted in a particular way or refrained from voting at any election;

(2) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf make any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid, to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure, or endeavour to procure, the return of any person to serve in the Oireachtas, or the vote of any voter at any election;

(3) Every person who shall, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement, procure or engage, promise, or endeavour to procure the return of any person to serve in the Oireachtas, or the vote of any voter at any election;

(4) Every person who shall advance or pay, or cause to be paid, any money to or to the use of any other person with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who shall knowingly pay or cause to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any election;

(5) Every voter who shall, before or during any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive, agree, or contract for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment, for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote in a particular way or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting, or from voting in a particular way, at any election;

(6) Every person who shall, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or to refrain from voting, at any election;

(7) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, corruptly induce or procure any person to withdraw from being a candidate at a Dáil or a Seanad election in consideration of any gift, loan, payment, office, place or employment or of any promise of any gift, loan, payment, office, place or employment;

(8) Every person who shall withdraw from being a candidate at a Dáil or a Seanad election in pursuance of any such inducement or procurement as aforesaid:

Provided always that this section shall not extend or be construed to extend to any money paid or agreed to be paid for or on account of any legal expenses bon fide incurred at or concerning any election.

3 Definition of personation.

3.—Every person who at an election applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether that name be the name of a living person or of a dead person or of a fictitious person, or who having voted once at an election applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name, shall be guilty of the offence of personation.

4 Definition of treating.

4.—(1) Any person who corruptly by himself or by any other person, either before, during, or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expenses of giving or providing, any meat, drink, entertainment or provision to or for any person, for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote or refrain from voting at such election, shall be guilty of treating.

(2) Every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section shall also be guilty of treating.

5 Definition of undue influence.

5.—Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to withdraw from being a candidate at any election or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting or having been or withdrawn from being a candidate at any election, or who shall by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise by any elector, or compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector either to give or to refrain from giving his vote at any election, or who shall by abduction, duress or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent any person from being a candidate at an election, or compel, induce or prevail upon any person to withdraw from being a candidate at an election, shall be guilty of undue influence.

6 Penalties for corrupt practices.

6.—(1) A person who commits any corrupt practice other than personation, or aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of the offence of personation, shall on summary conviction be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one year.

(2) A person who commits the offence of personation, or of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of that offence shall—

(a) in the case of a first offence be liable, on summary conviction, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than two months nor more than twelve months, and to be fined a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds;

(b) in the case of a second or any subsequent offence be liable, on summary conviction to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than six months and not more than twelve months and to be fined a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds, or on conviction on indictment to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than six months nor more than twelve months or to be sent to penal servitude for a term of three years, and in either case to be fined a sum of not exceeding two hundred pounds.

(3) A person who is convicted of any corrupt practice shall (in addition to the punishments mentioned in the foregoing sub-sections) be incapable during a period of seven years from the date of his conviction—

(a) of being registered as a Dáil, Seanad or Local Government elector; or

(b) of voting at a Dáil, Seanad or Local Government election or at a Referendum; or

(c) of voting at an election for any public office; or

(d) of holding any public or judicial office; and if any such person at the date of his conviction holds any public or judicial office, such office shall thereupon be vacated.

(4) A person who is convicted of any corrupt practice shall (in addition to the punishments and incapacities mentioned in the foregoing sub-sections) be incapable during a period of seven years from the date of his conviction of being a member of or elected to Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann or any local authority and if at the date of such conviction such person is a member of or has been elected to Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann or any Local Authority he shall as from such date cease to be a member thereof and his election thereto shall as from such date be void.

(5) In this section the expression “public office” means membership of any local authority, and the expression “judicial office” means the office of every judge who is required by Article 68 of the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann to be appointed by the Representative of the Crown on the advice of the Executive Council.

7 Disqualification of candidate guilty of corrupt practices.

7.—(1) Whenever an election court reports that any corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to any election to either House of the Oireachtas by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election, such candidate shall for ever be incapable of being elected to or being a member of the Oireachtas, and if he has been elected to either House of the Oireachtas, his election shall be void, and he shall also be subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of a corrupt practice.

(2) Whenever an election court reports that any corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to an election to either House of the Oireachtas by any agent of a candidate at such election, such candidate shall, during a period of seven years from the date of the report, be incapable of being elected to or being a member of the Oireachtas and, if he has been elected to either House of the Oireachtas, his election shall be void.

PART II. Illegal Practices.

8 Excessive employment or payment to be illegal practice.

8.—(1) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance, of this Act, no person shall be employed by a candidate at an election, or by his agent, in any capacity in relation to the conduct or management of such election in excess of the maximum number of persons authorized by this Act to be employed in that capacity.

(2) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act no sum shall be paid by a candidate at an election or by his agent for any purpose in relation to the conduct or management of such election in excess of the maximum amount authorized by this Act to be paid for that purpose.

(3) Any candidate or election agent who knowingly acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

9 Voting by prohibited persons to be illegal.

9.—(1) Any person who votes or induces or procures any person to vote at any election knowing that he or such person is prohibited, whether by this or any other Act, from voting at such election, shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) Provided that a candidate shall not be liable, nor shall his election be avoided for any illegal practice under this section committed by his agent other than his election agent.

10 Voting when disqualified or more than once to be illegal practice.

10.—(1) Every person who votes at an election while he is, by or under this or any other Act, declared to be incapable of voting at that election, shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) Every person who votes more than once at an election (whether in the same or in different constituencies) shall, notwithstanding the fact that the name of such person appears on the register of electors, be guilty of an illegal practice.

(3) The Court before which a person is convicted under this section of having voted more than once at an election may, if it is satisfied that the second question prescribed by sub-section (1) of section 29 of the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923) was not asked of such person on the second or any subsequent occasion on which he so voted, and the Court thinks it just in the special circumstances of the case so to do, mitigate or entirely remit any incapacity imposed by this Act by reason of such conviction.

11 Certain false statements concerning a candidate to be illegal practice.

11.—(1) Every person who, before or during any election and for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate at that election, makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of such candidate, and the directors of any body or association corporate which before or during any election and for the purpose aforesaid makes or publishes any such false statement as aforesaid, shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) No person shall be guilty of an illegal practice under this section if he shows that he had reasonable grounds for believing, and did believe, the statement made or published by him to be true.

(3) A candidate shall not be liable nor shall his election be avoided for any illegal practice under this section committed by his agent other than his election agent, unless it is shown that the candidate or his election agent authorised or consented to the committing of such illegal practice by such other agent, or paid for the circulation of the false statement constituting the illegal practice, or unless an election court reports that it was proved that the election of such candidate was procured or materially assisted in consequence of the making or publishing of such false statement.

(4) Any person charged with an offence under this section, and the husband or wife of such person, as the case may be, shall be competent to give evidence in answer to such charge.

(5) Any person who shall make or publish any such false statement as is mentioned in this section may be restrained by injunction from any repetition of such false statement or any false statement of a similar character in relation to such candidate, and for the purpose of granting an interim injunction prima facie proof of the falsity of the statement shall be sufficient.

12 Disorderly conduct at a meeting to be illegal practice.

12.—(1) Every person who at a meeting to which this section applies acts in a disorderly manner for the purpose of preventing the transaction of the business for which the meeting was called together shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(2) Every person who incites others to commit an offence under this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(3) This section applies to all lawful public political meetings held in a constituency either—

(a) between the date of the issue of a writ for the election of a member or members of Dáil Eireann for that constituency and the day after the day on which such election is held; or

(b) between the date of a proclamation appointing the day on which a Seanad election is to be held and the day after the day on which such election is held; or

(c) between the date of a proclamation appointing the day on which a Referendum is to be taken and the day after the day on which such Referendum is taken.

13 Name and address of printer to be on all placards, etc.

13.—Every bill, placard, or poster having reference to an election shall bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher thereof; and any person printing, publishing, or posting, or causing to be printed, published, or posted, any such bill, placard, or poster as aforesaid, which fails to bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher, shall, if he is a candidate, or the election agent of a candidate, be guilty of an illegal practice, and shall, if he is not a candidate, or the election agent of a candidate, be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

14 Expenses incurred by unauthorised persons.

14.—(1) A person other than the election agent of a candidate shall not incur any expenses on account of holding public meetings or issuing advertisements, circulars or publications for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any candidate at an election, unless he is authorised in writing to do so by such election agent.

(2) Every person who acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice.

(3) Any expenses incurred on account of any such purpose as aforesaid and authorised by the election agent of the candidate shall be duly returned as part of the candidate's election expenses.

15 Punishment on conviction of illegal practice.

15.—Every person guilty of an illegal practice, whether under any of the foregoing sections or any of the provisions hereinafter contained in this Act, shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and shall, during a period of five years from the date of his conviction, be incapable of being registered as a Dáil, Seanad or Local Government elector, or of voting at any Dáil, Seanad or Local Government election or at a Referendum.

16 Disqualification of candidate guilty of illegal practice.

16.—(1) Whenever an election court reports that any illegal practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to an election to either House of the Oireachtas by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election, such candidate shall during a period of seven years from the date of the report, be incapable of being elected to or being a member of the Oireachtas, and if he has been elected to either House of the Oireachtas his election shall be void, and he shall also be subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of an illegal practice.

(2) Whenever an election court reports that any illegal practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to an election to either House of the Oireachtas by any agent of a candidate at such election, that candidate shall be incapable of being elected to or being a member of Dáil Eireann during the continuance of that Oireachtas and shall be incapable of being elected to or being a member of Seanad Eireann before the next triennial elections thereto and if he has been elected his election shall be void.

17 Certain expenditure to be illegal payment.

17.—Every person who knowingly provides money for any payment which is contrary to the provisions of this Act, or for any expenses incurred in excess of any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or for replacing any money expended in any such payment or expenses shall be guilty of illegal payment, unless such payment is allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception.

18 Certain employment to be illegal.