Electoral register ‘all over the place’, Cllr Dollard maintains

The news that the electoral register across the country could be off by as much as half a million people is no surprise, according to Cllr Mick Dollard.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner after the head of the electoral body, An Coimisún Toghcháin, revealed that the official turnout at general election could be up to 10% higher than has been reported due to discrepancies in the electoral register, Cllr Dollard says the register in Westmeath “is all over the place”.

“I would see it first hand. There are two or three different families registered for one address in some places. There are also some people on the electoral register who have been dead for over 20 years.”

Cllr Dollard says that while he couldn’t put a figure on how inaccurate the electoral register is in Westmeath, he knows that it is “all over the place”

“As a councillor, I try to bring this to the notice of corporate services in Westmeath County Council, because I spend a lot of time putting people on the electoral register. That’s the way you know [that it is inaccurate], when you are out working in the housing estates.

“If the electoral register is wrong, that means that the percentage turnout can’t be correct. It’s not a real figure,” he said.

Noting that in the past, council staff used to go door to door when updating the electoral register, Cllr Dollard that has been made more difficult in recent decades due to so many people living in apartments and “gated communities”.

He says that the significant increase in population over the last two decades and “changing demographics” are also factors.

“You don’t have the same demographics now. I mean, I go down the town and I might know two out of every 10 people I meet on the street.

“There’s also a huge turnover of people, as well. Mullingar is now a very popular place to live because of its geographic location.

“The problem with the electoral register is a national issue though, not just a Westmeath one.”

Commenting after general election that had the lowest official turnout (59.7%) in a century, Art O’Leary, head of the electoral commission, told RTÉ that “the electoral register we know is not as complete or as accurate as it should be – there could be 500,000 people on the register who shouldn’t be on it”.

“So, these are duplicates that exist, or people who have passed away. So, I don’t know if that figure [of 500,000] is correct or not, but it sounds to me as if it’s about right,” He added. “And if that was the case, then our turnout was probably 10% more than we think it was.”

At present, there is no centralised national electoral register. There are 31 electoral registers administered by local authorities. Work is under way to create a centralised database based on dates of birth and Eircodes.