Cork calls for extension of postal voting to all citizens

POSTAL voting should be extended to all citizens to ensure they can vote even if they are out of the country on polling day, says Cork East TD David Stanton.

The Fine Gael TD made the suggestion in the Dáil this week as he recounted experiences he had while canvassing for the recent local and European elections.

Mr Stanton said that he had encountered people who told him they wanted to vote but because they had arranged to go on holidays or were out of the country on business, they were unable to cast a ballot on polling day.

“Currently, Ireland’s postal voting is restricted to specific groups such as students, people with disabilities, diplomats, and members of the Defence Forces,” said Mr Stanton. 

“I argue that this system should be expanded to cover all Irish citizens who are temporarily unavailable to vote.

“Positive steps have already been taken in this regard, including the expansion of the postal voting system to those with mental health issues and the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the independent statutory body that oversees elections in Ireland, under the Electoral Reform Act 2022.”

Mr Stanton also cited examples in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and in the UK where the last day for securing a postal vote before the July 4 general election passed last week.

Mr Stanton said that the current postal voting system did establish a precedent and because a secure and efficient postal voting system was in place already, expanding it would be a “natural progression, not an unprecedented leap”.

Minister of state at the Department of Finance, Neale Richmond, said that there was a commitment made by the Elections Commission, An Coimisiún Toghcháin, to examine the issue and that a report on the commission’s research priorities would be published in the coming weeks.

While speaking in the Dáil, the Cork East TD acknowledged that it would be unlikely that the question would be resolved before the next general election.

“This demonstrates that it takes a long time to get anything done in this country,” he said.