Electoral Act , 1963

PART I. Prelminary and General.

1 Short title, commencement and collective citations.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Electoral Act, 1963.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

(3) The Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1961, and Parts I, II, III and VIII of and the First and Second Schedules to this Act may be cited together as the Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1963.

(4) The Presidential Elections Acts, 1937 to 1960, and Parts I, IV and VIII of and the First and Third Schedules to this Act may be cited together as the Presidential Elections Acts, 1937 to 1963.

(5) The Referendum Acts, 1942 to 1960, and Parts I, V and VIII of and the First and Fourth Schedules to this Act may be cited together as the Referendum Acts, 1942 to 1963.

2 Interpretation generally.

2.—(1) In this Act “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government.

(2) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that Act as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

3 Repeals.

3.—The enactments mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that Schedule.

PART II. Franchise and Registration.

4 Interpretation and construction (Parts II and III and Second Schedule).

4.—(1) In this Part and Part III of this Act “the Principal Act” means the Electoral Act, 1923.

(2) The Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1961, and this Part and Part III of and the Second Schedule to this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

5 Franchise.

5.—(1) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a Dáil elector in a constituency if he has reached the age of twenty-one years and he was, on the qualifying date—

(a) a citizen of Ireland, and

(b) ordinarily resident in that constituency.

(2) (a) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a local government elector in a local electoral area if he has reached the age of twenty-one years and—

(i) he was, on the qualifying date, ordinarily resident in that area, or

(ii) he has, during the whole of the period of six months ending on the qualifying date, occupied, as owner or tenant, any land or premises in that area.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection—

(i) where two or more persons jointly occupy land or premises, each such person shall be treated as occupying the land or premises, subject to the proviso that not more than two persons shall be entitled to be registered in respect of the same land or premises, unless they are bona fide engaged as partners carrying on their profession, trade or business on the land or premises,

(ii) the occupation of a dwellinghouse shall be deemed not to be interrupted by reason only of permission being given by letting or otherwise for the occupation of the dwellinghouse as a furnished dwellinghouse by some other person for part or parts of the qualifying period not exceeding four months in the whole.

(c) Where, for the purpose of registration as a local government elector in a county, county borough, borough, urban district or town, a person has more than one property (that is to say, land or premises)—

(i) he may, not later than the last day for making claims for registration, nominate the one for which he wishes to be registered by giving notice to the registration authority, stating the addresses of the properties and the one for which he wishes to be registered, and he shall be registered accordingly;

(ii) where he does not so nominate and one of the properties is his residence situate in a county borough, borough, urban district or town, he shall be registered in respect of his residence;

(iii) in any other case, he shall be registered in respect of such one of the properties as the registration authority may decide.

(d) The registration authority shall make such alterations and corrections in the draft register as they think necessary—

(i) in order to secure that no person is registered more than once as a local government elector in a county borough, borough, urban district or town or in an administrative county exclusive of any borough, urban district or town therein, and

(ii) having regard to paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(e) In this subsection—

“local electoral area” means the area or any of the areas (as may be appropriate) by reference to which a local election is held;

“local government elector” means a person entitled to vote at a local election.

(3) (a) Where, not later than the last day for making claims for registration, an elector who is a whole time member of the Defence Forces furnishes a statement of the premises in which, but for his service, he would be ordinarily resident on the qualifying date to the registration authority for the registration area in which those premises are situate, the statement shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be accepted as a correct statement and he shall be registered in respect of those premises.

(b) (i) In this subsection “a whole time member of the Defence Forces” means—

(I) a member of the Permanent Defence Force, or

(II) an officer of the Reserve Defence Force employed continuously on military service or duty during a period during which a proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service is in force, or during a period during which reservists are called out on permanent service under section 88 of the Defence Act, 1954, or

(III) a reservist called out on permanent service.

(ii) In the foregoing subparagraph “the Permanent Defence Force”, “officer”, “the Reserve Defence Force”, “proclamation authorising the calling out of reservists on permanent service” and “reservist” have the same meanings respectively as they have in the Defence Act, 1954.

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a person shall be deemed not to have given up ordinary residence if he intends to resume residence within eighteen months after giving it up,

(b) a written statement by a person that he intends to resume residence within eighteen months after giving it up shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be conclusive evidence of that fact.

(5) Where—

(i) on the qualifying date, a person is a patient or inmate in any hospital, sanatorium, county home, home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or similar institution or is detained in any premises in legal custody, and

(ii) in the case of a person who is such a patient or inmate, he is not—

(I) a person in employment in the hospital, sanatorium, county home, home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or similar institution who is resident therein for the purposes of such employment, or

(II) a person who, in the opinion of the registration authority, will continue for an indefinite period to be such a patient or inmate,

he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be resident in the place where he would have been residing but for his having been such a patient or inmate or having been so detained in legal custody.

(6) (a) The qualifying date for every register of electors shall be such date as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a person's age shall be taken to be that person's age on such date as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister.

(c) Where regulations specifying the date referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection are proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.

6 Register of electors.

6.—(1) A register by reference to registration areas consisting of administrative counties and county boroughs shall be prepared and published in every year of persons who were entitled to be registered as electors on the qualifying date and, in so far as it relates to Dáil electors, the register shall be the register of Dáil electors and, in so far as it relates to persons entitled to vote at local elections, it shall be the register of local government electors.

(2) Every register of electors shall come into force on such date as may be specified by regulations made by the Minister and shall remain in force until the day before the date on which the next register comes into force.

(3) Where regulations specifying the date referred to in subsection (2) of this section are proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.

7 Registration duties.

7.—(1) It shall be the duty of each council of a county and corporation of a county borough to prepare and publish the register of electors in accordance with regulations made by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Justice, and references in this Part of this Act to the registration authority shall be construed accordingly.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may provide for all or any of the following matters:

(a) furnishing by the corporations of boroughs which are not county boroughs and the councils of urban districts, to the councils of the counties in which such boroughs and urban districts are situate, of lists in the form of a draft register for the boroughs and urban districts,

(b) identification, in draft registers, lists of claimants and registers of electors, of persons who are jurors and specification therein of places in respect of which persons are to be indicated as jurors,

(c) making to and deciding by county registrars of claims for and objections to the entry of names in draft registers,

(d) appointment of deputies for such registrars,

(e) notification of decisions with respect to such claims and objections to the registration authority concerned,

(f) the form of draft registers and registers of electors,

(g) the inquiries to be made by the registration authorities,

(h) the date of publication of registers of electors,

(i) failure to publish registers of electors,

(j) the fees to be charged for copies of draft registers and registers of electors,

(k) specification of the substituted dates referred to in subsection (6) of this section.

(3) If any person, having been duly required pursuant to regulations under this section to give any information in his possession which the registration authority or county registrar may require for the purposes of their duties, fails to give the information or gives false information, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(4) An elector shall be entered in the postal voters list if he is—

(a) a member of the Garda Síochána, or

(b) a whole time member of the Defence Forces (as defined in paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 5 of this Act).

(5) The registration authority shall, within such period after publication of the register of electors as may be specified by regulations under this section, ascertain if any corrections in the register of electors are necessary because of errors of a clerical or typographical nature and, if any such corrections are ascertained to be necessary, the registration authority shall publish a list of them within the said period and the list shall be deemed to form part of the register of electors.

(6) For each reference to a date contained in subsection (1) of section 13, subsections (3) and (4) of section 15 and subsection (2) of section 16 of the Juries Act, 1927, there shall be substituted a reference to such date as may be specified by regulations under this section as being substituted therefor.

(7) In subsection (6) of section 40 of the Court Officers Act, 1926, “under the regulations made pursuant to section 7 of the Electoral Act, 1963” shall be substituted for all words from “as registration officer” to the end of the subsection.

(8) No person shall be entered more than once in a register of electors for a registration area as a juror.

(9) (a) The Minister shall procure all printing required for registration purposes to be done in such manner as he considers proper.

(b) The Minister shall, by arrangements made with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, secure that the total cost of preparing and publishing the register of electors, shall be borne in approximately equal proportions by the State and by registration authorities.

(10) (a) Any person who, without lawful authority, wilfully destroys or mutilates any notice, draft register, copy of the register of electors or other document made available for public inspection in connection with the preparation of the register of electors shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(b) An offence under this subsection may be prosecuted by the authority which caused the notice, draft register, copy of the register of electors or other document to be made available for public inspection.

(11) A reference in any enactment to the electors lists shall be construed as a reference to the draft register prepared for the purposes of this section.

(12) Where regulations under this section are proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.

8 Appeals.

8.—(1) An appeal shall lie to the Circuit Court from any decision on any claim or objection which has been considered under the regulations under section 7 of this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be subject to the proviso that an appeal shall not lie where a claimant or objector has not availed himself of an opportunity provided in the regulations under section 7 of this Act, of having his claim or objection decided in the first instance by the authority specified in that behalf in the regulations.

(3) An appeal to the Supreme Court shall lie on any point of law from a decision of the Circuit Court on any such appeal, but, save as aforesaid, there shall be no appeal from any such decision.

(4) The right of voting of any person whose name is for the time being on the register of electors shall not be prejudiced by any appeal pending under this section, and any vote given in pursuance of that right shall be as good as if no such appeal were pending, and shall not be affected by the subsequent decision on the appeal.

(5) The qualification or liability of an appellant to serve as a juror shall not be affected by the fact that an appeal is pending under this section.

(6) Notice shall be sent to the registration authority in manner provided by rules of court of the decision of the Circuit Court or the Supreme Court on any appeal under this section, and the registration authority shall make such alterations in the register of electors as may be required to give effect to the decision.

PART III. Conduct and Costs of Dáil Elections.

Chapter I. General.

9 “General Election”, “Bye-Election” and “excluded day”.

9.—(1) Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for the definitions of “General Election” and “Bye-Election” of the following definitions:

“The expression ‘General Election’ shall mean a general election for members of the Dáil held in accordance with subsection 2 of section 3 of Article 16 of the Constitution;

“The expression ‘Bye-Election’ shall mean an election of a member of the Dáil to fill a vacancy occasioned by a person having ceased to be a member of the Dáil otherwise than in consequence of a dissolution;”.

(2) In this Part of this Act “excluded day” means any of the days which are specified in subsection (1) of section 60 of the Principal Act as days not to be reckoned.

10 Maximum duration of Dáil.

10.—The same Dáil shall not continue for a longer period than five years from the date of its first meeting.

11 Returning officers and assistant, deputy and acting returning officers.

11.—(1) The returning officer for a constituency shall be—

(a) in case the whole of the constituency is situate in a county or county borough for which there is a sheriff—the sheriff,

(b) in case part of the constituency is situate in a county borough and part in a county and there is a sheriff for the county borough and a sheriff for the county—such one of the sheriffs as the Minister appoints from time to time,

(c) in any other case—the county registrar or, where part of the constituency has one county registrar and part another county registrar or parts other county registrars, such one of the county registrars as the Minister appoints from time to time.

(2) (a) Where a constituency does not consist of the whole or part of a county or county borough, the returning officer may appoint the appropriate officer to be assistant returning officer for part of the constituency.

(b) The exercise of the power conferred by the foregoing paragraph shall be obligatory if the appropriate officer requires its exercise.

(c) In this subsection the “appropriate officer” means the county registrar for the county or county borough in which the part of the constituency is situate or if there is a sheriff for that county or county borough, such sheriff.

(3) Where the same person is returning officer for two or more constituencies, in each of which there is at the same time a contested election, he shall—

(a) in case those constituencies are two and not more, appoint in respect of one of them, a deputy returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes,

(b) in any other case, appoint, in respect of each of the constituencies (except one), a deputy returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes,

and he may include in any such appointment, if he so thinks proper, an appointment to receive nomination papers.

(4) A person shall not be appointed under subsection (3) of this section unless the appointment has been approved of by the Minister.

(5) Where a vacancy occurs in the office of county registrar or sheriff and the holder was a returning officer, the Minister, if he so thinks proper, may appoint a person to act as returning officer during the period of the vacancy.