Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006

1. Interpretation.

1.— In this Act—

“Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act 1992;

“constitutional referendum” means a referendum on a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“ordinary referendum” means a referendum on a proposal other than a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution;

F1["prison" means a place to which the Prisons Acts 1826 to 2015 apply;]

“referendum” means a constitutional referendum or an ordinary referendum;

“Regulations of 1995” means the Local Elections Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 297 of 1995);

“relevant official”, in relation to a prison, means the governor or other person in charge of the prison or any person employed in the prison who is authorised by the said governor or other person in charge to perform any function expressed by this Act, other than this section, to be performable by such an official.

2. Entry of names in postal voters list.

2.— (1) The registration authority shall enter in the postal voters list the name of every elector who—

F2[(a) applies, subject to section 14(2) of the Act of 1992, to be so entered,]

(b) satisfies the registration authority that the circumstances of the elector’s detention in prison, pursuant to an order of a court, are such as to render it likely that he or she will be unable to go in person on polling day to vote at the polling place for the polling district, and

(c) satisfies the registration authority that he or she was ordinarily resident in the State prior to his or her detention in prison.

(2) For the purposes of—

(a) determining in which of the postal voters lists (for the various constituencies in the State) his or her name shall be entered, and

(b) otherwise for the purposes of this section (other than subsection (1)(c)),

a person to whom this section applies shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident in the place where he or she would have been residing but for his or her detention in prison.

3. Application to be entered in postal voters list.

3.— (1) The following provisions shall apply in relation to an application to be entered in the postal voters list pursuant to section2:

(a) the application shall be in the form directed by the Minister;

(b) the application shall be signed by the applicant or, if the applicant is unable to write, he or she shall place his or her mark on the application form and, in either case, the form shall be completed in accordance with the instructions provided thereon;

F3[(c) the application form, duly completed and accompanied by the certificate referred to insubsection (2), shall be handed to the relevant official who shall send it or cause it to be sent to the registration authority, and where polling day has been appointed in respect of a particular election or referendum, or both, shall be sent so as to be received by the authority before the dates specified in section 14(2) of the Act of 1992.]

(2) The certificate referred to in subsection(1)(c) is a certificate, in the form directed by the Minister, under the hand of the relevant official of the prison concerned stating that the applicant is a person who is detained in prison pursuant to an order of a court and the circumstances of the elector’s detention are such as to render it likely that he or she will be unable to go in person on polling day to vote at the polling place for the polling district.

4. Applicant to provide information or documents.

4.— (1) A person making an application to be entered in the postal voters list pursuant to section2 shall furnish to the registration authority any information or documents in the applicant’s possession or procurement which the authority may require for the purposes of—

(a) satisfying itself that the applicant is a person to whom section2 applies, or

(b) determining the place where he or she would have been residing but for his or her detention in prison.

(2) If a registration authority makes a requirement pursuant to subsection(1), it may specify in the requirement or in a subsequent notice given by it in relation to the requirement the period of time within which the requirement shall be complied with and, if the applicant does not comply within the period so specified, the application referred to in subsection(1) shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

(3) The period of time (if any) specified in the requirement or notice referred to in subsection(2) shall not be less than 7 days from the day on which the requirement is made or the notice is given, as the case may be.

5. Notices and application forms.

5.— (1) F4[The registration authority shall arrange, at least on an annual basis, for the giving of public notice of—]

(a) the category of electors entitled to apply to be entered in the postal voters list pursuant to section2,

(b) the manner in which, and the time before which, applications under that section must be submitted, and

(c) the times and places at which application forms for that purpose may be obtained.

(2) The registration authority shall arrange for the provision of application forms referred to in subsection(1) at such times and places as are specified in a notice pursuant to that subsection (and the places so specified shall include every prison situated in the area of the registration authority) and such an application form shall be supplied free of charge to any person who requests such a form.

6. Consideration of applications.

6.— (1) Where the registration authority is satisfied that a person making an application under section2 (the “applicant”)—

(a) is an elector to whom section2 applies,

(b) has duly completed the application form referred to in section3, and

(c) has furnished the certificate required under section3,

the registration authority shall—

(i) rule that the application is granted and mark the application form accordingly, and

(ii) notify the applicant of that ruling.

(2) Where the registration authority is not satisfied, as respects the applicant’s application with regard to the matters referred to in subsection(1)(a), (b)and(c), the registration authority shall—

(a) rule that the application is refused and mark the application form accordingly, and

(b) notify the applicant of that ruling and of the reason therefor.

(3) Subject to subsection(4), whenever an application is received by the registration authority after the date specified in section2(1)(a), the application shall be disregarded and the applicant shall be notified accordingly.

(4) An applicant may apply to be entered in the postal voters list in force at the date of coming into operation of this Act and, in this regard, the Minister may by order appoint—

(a) a date to be the latest date for receiving applications under section2 in lieu of the date specified in paragraph(a) of subsection(1) of that section and section3(1)(c), and

(b) a period within which the notice referred to in section5(1) shall be given in lieu of the period specified therein,

and subsection(3) shall be construed accordingly.

(5) The Minister may include in an order under subsection(4) a provision providing that—

(a) applicants who are duly entered in the postal voters list referred to in that subsection (“the first-mentioned list”) following an application in that behalf made before the date appointed by that order shall be deemed also to be so entered in the postal voters list which comes into force immediately following the first-mentioned list ceasing to be in force, or

(b) applicants who have applied for entry in the first-mentioned list before the date appointed by that order and whose applications are granted under this section shall, in lieu of being entered in the first-mentioned list, be duly entered in the postal voters list which comes into force immediately following the first-mentioned list ceasing to be in force.

F5[(6) Where an application to be entered in the postal voters list undersection 2is refused by the registration authority, the applicant may appeal in writing to the county registrar in accordance with Rule 39 of Part VIII of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1992.].

7. Voting by electors under this Act.

7.— (1) The provisions of Part XIII of the Act of 1992 shall apply to the issue of ballot papers to, and the return of such ballot papers by, electors at a Dáil election whose names are entered in the postal voters list pursuant to this Act, subject to the following modifications:

(a) an elector whose name is so entered in the postal voters list, in order to vote, shall in the presence of the relevant official of the prison in which he or she is detained do the following things in the following order:

(i) produce to the relevant official the envelope addressed to the elector pursuant to section 68 of that Act, the ballot paper (in relation to which the relevant official shall establish that it is unmarked) and a form of declaration of identity in the form directed by the Minister;

(ii) complete and sign the declaration of identity;

(iii) hand the declaration of identity to the relevant official who shall, on being satisfied as to the identity of the person who has signed the declaration, witness the signature and stamp the declaration of identity with the stamp of the prison and destroy the envelope addressed to the elector;

(iv) mark, in secret, the ballot paper;

(v) place the marked ballot paper in the ballot paper envelope, and effectually seal such envelope;

(vi) place the ballot paper envelope and the completed declaration of identity in the covering envelope and effectually seal that envelope;

and shall hand the last-mentioned envelope to the relevant official who shall send it or cause it to be sent by post to the returning officer;

(b) a reference to “receipt”, in relation to documents appropriate to such electors, shall be construed as a reference to “declaration of identity”;

(c) a reference to “receipt duly signed”, in relation to such documents, shall be construed as a reference to “declaration of identity duly signed and witnessed and stamped with the stamp of the prison”; and

(d) a reference to “sign”, in relation to an elector who is unable to write, shall be construed as a reference to the making by the elector of his or her mark.

(2) The modifications of Part XIII of the Act of 1992 provided for in this section shall have effect in relation to the provisions of the said Part XIII as applied to presidential elections by section 40 of the Presidential Elections Act 1993, and to referendums by section 28 of the Referendum Act 1994.

(3) In this section—

“ballot paper envelope” has the meaning specified in section 68(3) of the Act of 1992;

“covering envelope” has the meaning specified in section 68(3) of the Act of 1992.

8. Amendment of Second Schedule to European Parliament Elections Act 1997.

8.— The European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following Rule after Rule 29A (inserted by section 69 of the Electoral Act 1997) of the Second Schedule:

“Voting by electors referred to insection2of theElectoral (Amendment) Act 2006.

29B.— (1) The provisions of this Part shall apply to the issue of ballot papers to, and the return of such ballot papers by, electors whose names are entered in the postal voters list pursuant to the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006, subject to the following modifications:

(a) an elector whose name is so entered in the postal voters list, in order to vote, shall in the presence of the relevant official of the prison in which he or she is detained do the following things in the following order:

(i) produce to the relevant official the envelope addressed to the elector pursuant to Rule 32(3), the ballot paper (in relation to which the relevant official shall establish that it is unmarked) and a form of declaration of identity in the form directed by the Minister;

(ii) complete and sign the declaration of identity;

(iii) hand the declaration of identity to the relevant official who shall, on being satisfied as to the identity of the person who has signed the declaration, witness the signature and stamp the declaration of identity with the stamp of the prison and destroy the envelope addressed to the elector;

(iv) mark, in secret, the ballot paper;

(v) place the marked ballot paper in the ballot paper envelope, and effectually seal such envelope;

(vi) place the ballot paper envelope and the completed declaration of identity in the covering envelope and effectually seal that envelope;

and shall hand the last-mentioned envelope to the relevant official who shall send it or cause it to be sent by post to the local returning officer;

(b) a reference to ‘receipt’, in relation to documents appropriate to such electors, shall be construed as a reference to ‘declaration of identity’;

(c) a reference to ‘receipt duly signed’, in relation to such documents, shall be construed as a reference to ‘declaration of identity duly signed and witnessed and stamped with the stamp of the prison’; and

(d) a reference to ‘sign’, in relation to an elector who is unable to write, shall be construed as a reference to the making by the elector of his or her mark.

(2) In this Rule—

‘ballot paper envelope’ has the meaning specified in Rule 32(3);

‘covering envelope’ has the meaning specified in Rule 32(3);

‘relevant official’ has the meaning specified in section1 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006.”.

9. Amendment of Regulations of 1995.

9.— The Regulations of 1995 are amended by inserting the following Article after Article 30A (inserted by section 70 of the Electoral Act 1997):

“Voting by electors referred to insection2of theElectoral (Amendment) Act 2006.

30B.— (1) The provisions of this Part shall apply to the issue of ballot papers to, and the return of such ballot papers by, electors whose names are entered in the postal voters list pursuant to the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006, subject to the following modifications:

(a) an elector whose name is so entered in the postal voters list, in order to vote, shall in the presence of the relevant official of the prison in which he or she is detained do the following things in the following order:

(i) produce to the relevant official the envelope addressed to the elector pursuant to Article 33(3), the ballot paper (in relation to which the relevant official shall establish that it is unmarked) and a form of declaration of identity in the form directed by the Minister;

(ii) complete and sign the declaration of identity;

(iii) hand the declaration of identity to the relevant official who shall, on being satisfied as to the identity of the person who has signed the declaration, witness the signature and stamp the declaration of identity with the stamp of the prison and destroy the envelope addressed to the elector;

(iv) mark, in secret, the ballot paper;

(v) place the marked ballot paper in the ballot paper envelope, and effectually seal such envelope;

(vi) place the ballot paper envelope and the completed declaration of identity in the covering envelope and effectually seal that envelope;

and shall hand the last-mentioned envelope to the relevant official who shall send it or cause it to be sent by post to the returning officer;

(b) a reference to ‘receipt’, in relation to documents appropriate to such electors, shall be construed as a reference to ‘declaration of identity’;

(c) a reference to ‘receipt duly signed’, in relation to such documents, shall be construed as a reference to ‘declaration of identity duly signed and witnessed and stamped with the stamp of the prison’; and

(d) a reference to ‘sign’, in relation to an elector who is unable to write, shall be construed as a reference to the making by the elector of his or her mark.

(2) In this Article—

‘ballot paper envelope’ has the meaning specified in Article 33(3);

‘covering envelope’ has the meaning specified in Article 33(3);

‘relevant official’ has the meaning specified in section1 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006.”.

10. Amendment of section 15A of Act of 1992.

10.— Section 15A of the Act of 1992 (inserted by section 76 of the Electoral Act 1997) is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting “, in section 63 of the Electoral Act 1997 or in section2 of the Electoral(Amendment) Act 2006” for “or in section 63 of the Electoral Act, 1997”;

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b) of subsection (2):

“(bb) The provisions of sections3,4,5 (other than subsection(1)) and 6 (other than subsections(3), (4), (5) and (6)) of the Electoral(Amendment) Act 2006 shall apply to an application for entry in the supplement to the postal voters list under this section from an elector referred to in section2 (but who has not complied with subsection(1)(a) of that section) of that Act as if:

(i) references to ‘postal voters list’ were references to ‘supplement to the postal voters list’;

(ii) references to ‘section2’, other than those which occur in sections4(1)(a) and 6(1)(a), were references to this section;

(iii) in section3(1)(c), ‘to the registration authority’ were substituted for ‘so as to be received by the registration authority not later than the last date for making claims for corrections in the draft register’; and

(iv) in section5(2), ‘section3’ were substituted for ‘subsection(1) at such times and places as are specified in a notice pursuant to that subsection (and the places so specified shall include every prison situated in the area of the registration authority)’.”.

11. Amendment of Rule 1 of Second Schedule to Act of 1992.