Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 December 2013
219. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to ensure that photographic ID will be the only identification allowed by voters in elections in order to prevent electoral fraud; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54963/13]
View answerElectoral law provides for measures in connection with voter identification and the prevention of personation that are designed to strike a proper balance between the requirement to maintain the security and integrity of the electoral process while providing a necessary degree of flexibility to ensure that voters entitled to vote may do so. At the polling station, the returning officer or the presiding officer may, or if required by a personation agent shall, request any person applying for a ballot paper to produce a specified identification document. The range of documents includes commonly accepted forms of photographic ID including a passport, a driving licence and an employee identity card. Other types of specified documents, such as cheque books or cards, birth or marriage certificates, which are not photographic ID, must be accompanied by further documentation which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency.
If a person fails to produce a required document, or if the returning officer or the presiding officer is not satisfied that the person is the person to whom the document relates, they are not to be permitted to vote. My Department has considerably strengthened its recommendations to returning and presiding officers about the frequency of document checking. Prior to 2002, the recommended frequency was 1 in 20; in 2002 this was increased to 1 in 4. I consider that the current arrangements strike a reasonable balance between accessibility to the system and its security and integrity. I have no plans to require photographic ID as the only form of identification at elections.
