REFERENDUM (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1959

AN ACT TO AMEND THE REFERENDUM ACTS, 1942 AND 1946. [18th March, 1959.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Form of ballot papers at constitutional referendum.

1.—At a constitutional referendum—

• (a) every ballot paper shall be in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Act, and

• (b) the proposal which is the subject of the referendum shall be stated on the ballot paper by citing by its short title the Bill containing such proposal passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

2 Amendments consequential on section 1.

2.—The Referendum Act, 1942, shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in the Second Schedule to this Act.

3 Voting by persons in employment of local returning officers.

3.—Where—

• (a) a person is entitled to vote at the poll at a referendum,

• (b) he is employed, by the local returning officer for the constituency in which he is entitled to vote, for any purpose in connection with the poll in that constituency, and

• (c) the circumstances of his employment are, in the opinion of that officer, such as to prevent him from voting at the polling station at which he would otherwise be entitled to vote,

that officer may authorise him in writing to vote at a specified other polling station in that constituency, and the polling station so specified shall, for the purpose of rule 8 of the rules contained in the First Schedule to the Referendum Act, 1942, be deemed to be the polling station allotted to him.

4 Polling day at constitutional referendum also polling day at presidential or general election.

4.—(1) Whenever the polling day at a constitutional referendum is also the day on which the poll at an election of a person to the office of President of Ireland or at a general election is taken, an authorisation under section 3 of this Act, as well as operating to authorise the person to whom it is given to vote at the poll at the referendum at the polling station specified in the authorisation, shall also operate to authorise him to vote at the poll at the election at that polling station, and that polling station shall, for the purposes of (as may be appropriate) rule 7 of the rules contained in the First Schedule to the Presidential Elections Act, 1937, or rule 16 of the rules contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923, be deemed to be the polling station allotted to him.

• (2) Section 28 of the Referendum Act, 1942, as well as applying whenever the polling day at a constitutional referendum is also the polling day at a general election, shall also apply whenever the polling day at a constitutional referendum is also the day on which the poll at an election of a person to the office of President of Ireland is taken and, for that purpose, references in that section to a general election shall be construed as including references to an election of a person to that office.

5 Constitutional referendum in relation to Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1958.

5.—At a constitutional referendum in relation to the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1958—

• (a) a polling card sent under subsection (1) of section 4 of the Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1946, shall contain the statement set out in the Appendix to this section,

• (b) a polling card shall also be sent by the local returning officer for a constituency to every elector whose name is on the register of Dáil electors for such constituency and is on the postal voters' list for such constituency,

• (c) a polling card sent under paragraph (b) of this section—

• (i) shall indicate that it is for a postal voter and shall accordingly not state the number and situation of polling place referred to in subsection (1) of the said section 4,

• (ii) shall contain the statement referred to in paragraph (a) of this section, and

• (iii) shall be sent by post to the elector at the same time as his ballot paper is sent, being addressed to him at the same address as is stated on the envelope in which the ballot paper is sent,

• (d) subsections (3) to (6) of the said section 4 shall apply in relation to polling cards sent under paragraph (b) of this section,

• (e) copies of the statement referred to in paragraph (a) of this section may be displayed in or in the precincts of polling stations,

• (f) notwithstanding section 2 of this Act and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule thereto, in applying paragraph (3) of rule 18 of the rules contained in the First Schedule to the Referendum Act, 1942—

• (I) the following subparagraph shall be substituted for subparagraph (a) of that paragraph:

• “(a) the presiding officer shall read out to the voter the short title of the Bill containing the proposal to amend the Constitution as stated on the ballot paper and then ask the voter, ‘Do you approve of or do you object to that Bill becoming law ?’;”

• (II) the following subparagraph shall be substituted for subparagraph (c) of that paragraph:

• “(c) where the voter fails to understand the import of the said question, the presiding officer—

• (i) shall read out to the voter such summary of the proposal which is the subject of the referendum as is contained in the statement set out in the Appendix to section 5 of the Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1959,

• (ii) shall then ask the voter ‘Which do you wish to do—to vote in favour of the proposal? or to vote against the proposal?’, and

• (iii) shall then mark the ballot paper in accordance with the answer of the voter;”

APPENDIX

The following Summary of the principal proposals in the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1958, is circulated for the information of voters:

At present, members of Dáil Éireann are elected on a system of proportional representation for constituencies returning at least three members, each voter having a single transferable vote.

It is proposed in the Bill to abolish the system of proportional representation and to adopt, instead, a system of single-member constituencies, each voter having a single non-transferable vote.

It is also proposed in the Bill to set up a Commission for the determination and revision of the constituencies, instead of having this done by the Oireachtas, as at present.

If you APPROVE of the proposals in the Bill, place an X opposite the word YES on the Ballot Paper.

If you DO NOT APPROVE of the proposals in the Bill, place an X opposite the word NO on the Ballot Paper.

A copy of the full text of the Bill can be inspected and purchased at all Post Offices throughout the country.

6 Short title, collective citation and construction.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1959.

• (2) The Referendum Acts, 1942 and 1946, and this Act may be cited together as the Referendum Acts, 1942 to 1959.

• (3) This Act shall be construed as one with the Referendum Acts, 1942 and 1946.

FIRST SCHEDULE. Form of Ballot Paper at Constitutional Referendum.

Form of front of ballot paper.

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SECOND SCHEDULE. Amendments of Referendum Act, 1942.

• (i) in applying paragraph (1) of rule 3 of the rules contained in the First Schedule, the following subparagraph shall be substituted for subparagraph (b) of that paragraph:

• “(b) the short title of the Bill containing the proposal which is the subject of such referendum, and”; and

• (ii) in applying paragraph (3) of rule 18 of those rules, the following subparagraph shall be substituted for subparagraph (c) of that paragraph:

• “(c) where the voter fails to understand the import of the said question, the presiding officer shall read out to the voter the short title of the Bill to amend the Constitution as stated on the ballot paper and then ask the voter, ‘ Do you approve of or do you object to that Bill becoming law?’ and then mark the ballot paper in accordance with the answer of the voter;”.