Yes Equality campaign hails 'phenomenal' surge in voter registration

19 May 2015

Yes Equality Press Release, for immediate release
Monday 18 May 2015

The Yes Equality campaign has today, Monday 18 May 2015, hailed as ‘phenomenal’ the fact that over 65,000 people have joined the supplementary electoral register in advance of the 22 May referendum. Over the course of the register being open, this figure equates to approximately 2000 new voters joining the register every day.

The total figures, as supplied today by the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, demonstrate that in Dublin City and County alone, almost 27,000 new voters joined the supplementary register in advance of the deadline earlier this month. In Galway City, just over 3100 voters were added, while in Kildare County alone, 4500 new electors were added to the rolls.

This surge of new voters comes on foot of a concerted ‘register to vote’ effort by Yes Equality and other campaigners to ensure that the voices of as many citizens as possible are heard in the referendum next Friday. These latest figures follow the addition of 40,000 new voters to the electoral register following a youth and student-focussed voter registration drive in November last year.

Speaking today, Yes Equality spokesperson Brian Sheehan said:

“We are delighted to see this phenomenal groundswell of democratic engagement in this referendum. The past few months has seen over 100,000 people – primarily young people, students, and first time voters – making the effort to ensure that their voices are heard on 22 May.”

“In the final days of the campaign, Yes Equality would like to ask all those newly-registered voters, along with all other voters, to do one more thing – to cast their ballot for Yes next Friday.”

“We would also like them to plan how they will vote at www.getmetothevoteontime.com.”

ENDS

Contact:

Walter Jayawardene, Communications Coordinator
walter@yesequality.ie
0879981574

NOTES:

Supplement – May 2015 – As supplied to Yes Equality by the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government

Total additions: 65,911

Breakdown by Registration Authority:

Carlow 810

Cavan 482

Clare 1,646

Cork City

Cork County 4,784

Donegal 1,264

Dublin 14,362

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 5,308

Fingal 4,207

Galway City 1,393

Galway County 1,706

Kerry 1,049

Kildare 4,366

Kilkenny 1,518

Laois 955

Leitrim 214

Limerick 1,787

Longford 304

Louth 933

Mayo 1,105

Meath 2,228

Monaghan 453

Offaly 906

Roscommon 404

Sligo 670

South Dublin 2,698

Tipperary 1,784

Waterford 1,914

Westmeath 1,121

Wexford 1,428

Wicklow 1,567