Irish people are being urged to check the electoral register to ensure they are able to vote in next year’s high-profile referendums.
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has warned that over 150,000 young people are currently not on the register.
With a referendum on the Eighth Amendment expected to take place, alongside a number of other polls, anyone who wants to have their say will need to be registered by Saturday November 25th.
Since the 25th is a Saturday, applications forms will need to be in the post by next Thursday the 23rd November.
NYCI spokesperson James Doorley said over a fifth of young people in Ireland are currently not registered.
He called on anyone who is unsure if they are registered – especially teenagers and anyone who will turn 18 before February 15th 2018 – to go online and find out:
“Go to a website called checktheregister.ie,” he said. “Check if they are already on the register and if not, on that website as well, there is a link to form which is called an RFA1 From.
“They just need to put in their name, address, date-of-birth and other details.
“They need to send that then to their relevant local authority by that deadline of November 25th – but because that is a Saturday, they need to put that in the post by Thursday.”
With just over a week til deadline day we're urging all young people to register to vote!
Press Release: Up to 151,000 young people may not be on electoral register: https://t.co/FpszlYJxM6 #GetRegD #youthworkchangeslives pic.twitter.com/uYBapQfSEw— NYCI (@nycinews) November 16, 2017
Meanwhile the Labour Party is holding a day of action for their Register to Repeal campaign to raise awareness of the impending deadline.
This afternoon, the chair of Labour Youth, Chloe Manahan warned that nobody under the age of 52 in Ireland has had the opportunity to have their say on our abortion laws.
“It is critical that as many from the younger generations as possible get registered to vote so they can officially have their say next year,” she said.
“We are urging everyone who will be aged 18 or over next February to go to checktheregister.ie to make sure they’re registered to vote and spread the word to friends and family.
“For anyone not registered you can download the form from checktheregister.ie and post to your local authority by 25th November.”
Should you miss next Thursday’s deadline for any reason, there is also a Supplementary Register generated as soon as a new referendum or election is announced.
This allows anyone who is not registered to apply for inclusion up to 14 days before polling day.
The Supplementary register is intended for people whose circumstances have changed since the last live register was produced – and anyone who is serious about voting is encouraged to ensure they have applied before next Thursday’s deadline.
You can check if you are currently on the register here.