IRELAND’S VOTING SYSTEM is a bit more complicated than those in some other countries, which can lead to voters making mistakes and missing out on having their say in elections. 

One unusual aspect of this year’s presidential campaign has been a concerted “Spoil the Vote” campaign, which has been organised by people who are unhappy with the candidates on the ballot.

The people behind that campaign are encouraging voters to spoil their ballot papers deliberately, but what if you want to avoid accidentally spoiling yours? 

The Journal spoke to the head of the Electoral Commission, Art O’Leary, about what to do – and not do – on polling day in order to make sure your vote counts for one of the candidates on the ballot.  

PRSTV

Ireland uses a voting system called proportional representation with a single transferrable vote (PRSTV).

The PRSTV system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, with 1 representing their most preferred option. 

“Write 1 against the candidate that you prefer the most, 2 against your second preference, etc, etc,” O’Leary said. 

“We are still seeing multiple 1s and multiple X’s on ballot papers.” 

Can you write X on the ballot? Yes, you can put an X in the box next to your preferred candidate, but only if you want to give a vote to one candidate and none of the others, O’Leary explained. 

“If you’re voting for more than one, you have to start with number one, and then number two and so on.”

Spoiling

The easiest way to spoil your vote is to leave the ballot paper blank. 

Another surefire way to spoil your vote is to write on the ballot paper (except for the letter X if you’re only voting for one candidate).

“Don’t write anything else on your ballot paper if you want your vote to count,” O’Leary said. 

Another way your vote can be spoiled is if your ballot paper is not stamped by a polling clerk on the day. O’Leary said this happens in a small number of cases in every election. 

When you go to the polling station and collect your ballot paper, it should be stamped by a clerk.

Do you need to bring a polling card with you when you vote? No, you don’t.  

If you’ve lost yours, or it was never delivered to you by post, don’t worry because it’s not required. Just bring your ID, O’Leary said.

An Post has been delivering 3.6 million polling cards in the lead up to Friday’s vote, O’Leary explained. 

“Some of them go missing for whatever reason, same reason that socks go missing from your washing machine. You know, it’s unexplained,” he said. 

“People don’t need their polling cards in order to vote.”