Thomas Gould
Question:348. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the initiatives that will be established to encourage more young persons to register to vote. [25141/20]
View answerTuesday, 22 September 2020
Questions (348)
Written answers
I am committed to maximising the number of young people voting and engagement with our democratic processes. Several initiatives are either in place or in development in order to achieve this aim.
Firstly, my Department promotes greater awareness of the register of electors and encourages people to register to vote through an annual public awareness campaign. This entails the use of promotional posters, social media and the taking out of both newspaper and on-line advertisements. This campaign takes place each year between 1 November and 25 November. The social media campaign is a coordinated, pro-active online campaign that seeks to engage various sectors and audiences encouraging people to check their voter details on the register of electors. One of the main target groups of the social media campaign is younger people over the age of 17 that may need to register for the first time.
In addition, the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future - commits to the establishment of an Electoral Commission. It is intended that the new Commission will have a public awareness and education role in respect of electoral events. The Programme for Government commits to the Electoral Commission being in place by the end of 2021 and my Department is currently preparing legislation in order to progress this initiative.
The Programme for Government also commits to the modernisation of the electoral register. While the current electoral registration system has served the country well, it is clear that modernisation will bring significant benefits, in particular by making the process more streamlined and accessible to all. As part of this wider modernisation initiative, one of the proposals being considered is provision for the pre-registration of 16 and 17 year-olds. This pre-registration would then become automatically active on a person’s 18th birthday. This proposal would also provide opportunities, such as the development of a schools programme, for young people to engage with the electoral register thereby improving the chances of their engagement post-18 when they become eligible to vote.