How Many Votes have you got?

GG66

I was a bit apprehensive up until yesterday as my polling card had not arrived.....then just like waiting for a bus two come at once.

I got two cards with a slightly different address and 2 different polling stations to the same house.

My wife got two polling cards also, one to our home and another to her parents house (where she hasn't lived for 20 years)

Naturally my instinct is to vote once but how can we seriously have a democratic election when others out there are SURELY voting more than once.

If a seat is a close run thing, how likely is a legal challenge from a failed candidate?

What a mess..

whiskeyman

you could get 1,000,000 polling cards, put you could still only vote once.
Didn't you realise they cross off your name once you go up and vote?


Besides, you don't even need a polling card to vote. As long as you're registered and have ID (and know your polling station.

tetch

hi, i was wondering the same thing. both myself and my girlfriend got two voting cards. one each at our house in kk and one each at our parents houses in different areas. the parents houses are about 30 and 15 miles from kk respectivly. my dad also appears to have been taken off the register for some reason.

mik_da_man

And I have two votes too

One in my dublin address and one in my meath address.
Only found out today - not going back to Meath to vote though

Mik

Akrasia

whiskeyman wrote:

you could get 1,000,000 polling cards, put you could still only vote once.
Didn't you realise they cross off your name once you go up and vote?


Besides, you don't even need a polling card to vote. As long as you're registered and have ID (and know your polling station.

not if you are registered at 2 different polling stations with slightly different names

tetch

surely they could have compared the registries with pps numbers. one card has my proper name on it, the other has my name with jnr after it (same name as my dad)

GG66

Didn't you realise they cross off your name once you go up and vote?

Yes, with a pen and paper, hardly fool proof. Do they really cross check these paper lists after voting???

I've a polling card for 2 different poll booths. One of them has JNR at end of my name other doesn't.

So I can't see what would stop me voting twice (other than my conscience)

Crash

Well i'm just back from the polling station and ripped up my other polling card, but it was very nice of the current government to consider me twice as important as an ordinary voter. I really appreciate it.

Most likely could've gotten away with it too - the woman who was checking me off the list didnt seem the most alert.

catch--22

Both my parents have two votes in to different polling stations due to a slight change in our address on one of them! They have never used the second one.

Lennoxschips

funny that this should happen in an election that's about the state of the public services.

in holland you don't even have to register to vote. if you are eligible, you will be sent one voting card to the address you are registered to with by the county council, whether you like it or not. makes for higher turnout.

tetch

just how widespread is this double vote confusion

Money Shot

tetch wrote:

just how widespread is this double vote confusion

Seems to be pretty widespread. I know lots of people who got two polling cards, some of which are in different constituencies, and then a lot of other people who feel aggrieved because they didn't get any (I assured them they could still vote, but I got the impression they didn't believe me.)

It seems a mad situation. It would be fitting for the government to out on the back of another public service debacle.

duffarama

Well, never mind 2 voting cards I was in the position of having 2 ballots this morning. I only realised when I was folding it over that I had the chance to vote again, but I did the decent thing and handed it to the supervisor.

mel123

who can i ring to find out what my voting station is? i never got a polling card so i dont know where it is...i have moved in the last year and a half. Its not such a big deal, the boyf got his so i will go with him, and if i am not down there i will go to my old one on the way back, but would rather find out first if i can?

delta_bravo

mel123 wrote:

who can i ring to find out what my voting station is? i never got a polling card so i dont know where it is...i have moved in the last year and a half. Its not such a big deal, the boyf got his so i will go with him, and if i am not down there i will go to my old one on the way back, but would rather find out first if i can?

Where are you based? chances are its your nearest national school, community hall or gaa club

machiavellianme

try www.checktheregister.ie and click on your highlighted name. it should tell you the station there

Mike...

My mam got 2 votes in 2 different area's

A Random Walk

I have 3, 2 in Dublin and 1 in Cork. Have 2 polling cards in my hand, haven't been able to check the third (as I don't live there) - but I have checked the register and I'm on it.

I'm only going to vote once, but because of the sheer incompetence I'm almost tempted to use my 3 votes.

upmeath

My housemate has 2, one in Mayo under his real name, and one in Dublin SE under a name similar to his although it's been taken up wrong, misspelled and hence a double entry in the register.
I'm not going to give his real surname for obvious reasons but it's like Billy Cowell in Mayo being known as Billy Curran in Dublin SE. Silly mistake by the reg. He'll be prevented from using either vote because he has to stay in Dublin SE today for exams and his name is wrong on the register there so he's unlikely to get away with voting in DSE if he turns up at the station.
Looks like we need another (more cost-effective and accurate) overhaul of the register straight away

jb91

How do we know the censuses etc have been accurate if so many people are getting more than one voting card? :rolleyes:

upmeath

jb91 wrote:

How do we know the censuses etc have been accurate if so many people are getting more than one voting card? :rolleyes:

I don't think the CSO played any roll in the compilation of the Register of Electors, it was conducted by individual local authorities.