[article] Poll marred by register problems

scojones

breakingnews.ie wrote:

Yesterday's election was reportedly marred by widespread problems relating to the electoral register.

Reports this morning say thousands of voters encountered serious difficulties in casting their vote at polling stations in several parts of the country.

Many found that their names were no longer on the register, while others were sent to the wrong polling station or given the wrong card number.

The problems are believed to have been caused by the Government's €12m campaign to clean up the register.

The Green Party is already calling for a formal investigation into the way the clean-up was handled, but the Department of the Environment says it has received no reports of any voting difficulties.

My mother and sister were taken off the register this year. A woman called around to the house a few weeks back and my mother just told her my sister, her daughter, no longer lives in that house and for some reason both my mother and sister were unable to vote this year as a result. It turns out over 200 people in Shannon alone were wrongfully taken off the register. Bit of a disaster really.

markpb

I heard on the news this morning that 1,000 people in (I think) Galway were all issued the same poll card number.

Great stuff

Ker

I've heard loads of stories about people getting taken off the register, but it was a bit different for me.

I can't vote as I'm an Australian citizen. But a few weeks before the election I started getting the party vote cards. I thought it was a bit weird. Then I got a polling card. I checked on the website and I was in there as a British citizen (meaning I'd be eligible to vote). They had my name spelled wrong though, so I'm at a complete loss as to where they got my details from. I corrected them on the citizenship thing, so I guess I'm not on the roll any more, but I'd love to know how I got on there in the first place.