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