Voting in the 2015 Referendums: your questions answers
On Friday 22 May, two referendums will take place in Ireland.
Our Constitution can only be changed through a public vote – this is called a
Referendum.
The two referendums are:
1. The Marriage Referendum: This ballot asks if two people should be allowed
marry each other, regardless of their sex. Simply put, should same-sex
couples be allowed to marry?
You can answer YES or NO.
2. The Age of Presidential Candidates Referendum: This ballot asks if a
person should be allowed to be a candidate for President of Ireland once they
are 21 years of age or older? Currently a person must be 35 in order to run for
President.
You can answer YES or NO.
Who can vote?
All Irish citizens who are over 18 years of age can vote in a Referendum.
However, their name must be on the Register of Electors.
The Register of Electors is a list of the names and addresses of all voters.
You can check to see to see if you are registered to vote by clicking on the following
link: www.checktheregister.ie.
If your name is not on the Register, unfortunately, you will not be able to vote in
these referendums.
However, you can add your name to the Register for any votes which will take place
in the future. Please visit your local authority, where they can help you. You can find
your local authority here: http://www.lgcsb.ie/en/irish-local-government.
How do I vote?
About a week before the referendum you will receive a polling card in the post. This
will tell you where to go to vote. You will vote at your nearest polling station.
Polling station simply means the place where you vote.
On the day of the referendum, bring some photo identification with your name with
you to your polling station.
Valid forms of identification (with both name and photo) are:

Passport

Driving Licence

Bus pass

College or work ID
You do not have to bring your polling card with you.
Tell the officials your name and address.
How do I vote?
You will be given two separate ballot papers.
You can vote YES or NO on each ballot. Put a large X in the box next to your choice.
The white ballot paper allows you to vote on the question of marriage.
The green ballot paper allows you to vote on the question of age for Presidential
candidates.
Language:
In Ireland, ballot papers are written in both Irish and English. This can be very
confusing. For every sentence written in Irish, you will see beneath it the English
version of the sentence.
It is helpful to have a look at sample ballot papers before you vote. You can see
sample ballot papers here: http://refcom2015.ie/polling-day/
What if I need help?
If you need help, you can speak to the Presiding Officer at the polling station or any
of the people sitting at the desks. They are there to help you.
Find out more:
You can find out more about the Referendum if you go to www.refcom.ie
You will also receive an Independent Guide on the Referendums in the post.
NALA have also published a ‘Plain English Guide to Political Terms’ that you might
find useful. You can find the guide at www.nala.ie/resources/plain-english-guidepolitical-terms
.