We Condemn Voter Suppression

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The date for the General Election has been decided by the Government to be on this Saturday, the 8th of February. The Taoiseach claims holding it on a Saturday is to encourage families and young people to vote. However, the General Election is being held 1 week before the new Register of Electors comes into being. This means that any new registrations after the 15th February 2019 would not be eligible to vote in the upcoming election. The decision to add those new registrations to the live register is down to the individual County Councils.

Forcing people who have already registered in the last year to re-register is unacceptable

There is no doubt that the young would count for the highest number of new registrations, and these are the people that will be most disrupted by this decision. Students Unions across Ireland have been driving voter registration among students who have just turned 18. These students now not being registered is outrageous, and speaks to the contempt this Government has for younger people. 

Speaking on this issue, Pierre Yimbog, says “It cannot be that leaving thousands of younger voters off the register is just a coincidence. With no electoral commission overseeing the conduct of elections, the Government has gotten away with an egregious act to limit the influence the young will have in this election”.

With a few days to go before the General Election, TU Dublin Students’ Union is working with USI and others across the country to encourage students who are registered to vote to use it in this election. Visit checktheregister.ie to ensure that you are eligible to vote in the coming days. 

We encourage students to use their voice and vote this Saturday for the matters that affect them the most, and must of all, show this current Government that your voice won’t be suppressed in the General Election.

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