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"Electoral register needs a revamp" 25.06.08

Story: Inishowen Independent

A MAJOR revamp of the electoral register is needed in Donegal following a series of drastic changes to the county’s electoral area boundaries, local councillor Francis Conaghan claimed yesterday.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent, Councillor Conaghan who welcomed the changes that will see Inishowen’s council representation increase by one, said he had raised the matter of the electoral register last week following what he described as ‘some turmoil’ during the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
During the referendum several instances arose where voters discovered they were not on the register while two non-Irish citizens confirmed to this paper during the week that they had voted unaware that they were not entitled to do so. According to councillor Conaghan, several councillors have voiced their concern about the state of the electoral register and with local elections due next year they are particulalrly keen to have anomalies cleared up.
“We were told last week once again that the council is working with limited resources in relation to this, but there is no question about it, this is a major concern for councillors and must be a major priority for the council.”
Councillor Conaghan insisted that a major review of the register is needed bearing in mind the amount of movement of people around the county and of course the new electoral area boundaries.
“The new boundaries throw up all sorts of interesting challenges for the council and there will be lots to look about in the weeks and months ahead, but the register needs to remain a priority,” he maintained.
Councillor Conaghan also suggested however that voters need to play their part in ensuring that the register is properly updated.
“The reality is that most people don’t look about this until the last minute and it would appear that the supplementary register is one that causes a lot of problems. People really should make sure much earlier that they are on the register and their details are correct,” he added. To check the electoral register visit www.checktheregister.ie.
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