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Eligibility of Irish and British to vote in elections?

  • 14-05-2013 11:47pm
    #1
    carlmango11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,019 ✭✭✭


    Anyone know why the Irish and the British are allowed to vote in each other's elections? Is it a bit of law left over from when were the same country?


Comments

  • #2
    Victor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,579 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    As best I know, Irish people have been able to vote in UK elections all along, provided they were resident in the UK. This was reciprocated at some point in the last 20-30 years. It's not uncommon in other EU countries to have such reciprocal arrangements.

    EU citizens are able to vote here in EU elections and all residents are able to vote in local elections.


  • #3
    yenom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 659 ✭✭✭yenom


    carlmango11 wrote: »
    Anyone know why the Irish and the British are allowed to vote in each other's elections? Is it a bit of law left over from when were the same country?
    Yes, we can vote in their elections and they can vote in our parliamentary elections, something that is not given to Europeans.


  • #4
    efb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 35,514 ✭✭✭✭efb


    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/elections_and_referenda/voting/registering_to_vote.html#l862a3
    The type of election you can vote in depends on your citizenship.The following people are eligible to vote:

    Irish citizens can vote in every election and referendum
    British citizens may vote at Dáil, European and local elections
    Other EU citizens may vote at European and local elections*
    Non-EU citizens can vote at local elections only.


  • #5
    efb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 35,514 ✭✭✭✭efb


    https://www.gov.uk/what-elections-you-can-vote-in
    Citizen of the Irish Republic general elections, local government elections, European elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections


  • #6
    carlmango11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,019 ✭✭✭carlmango11


    Yeah like I know which ones we/they can vote in I was more curious as to why..


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  • #7
    Jack B. Badd
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,294 ✭✭✭Jack B. Badd


    Google is your friend. Funnily enough, the first result when googling "why can irish people vote in the uk", is an After Hours thread from 2010 - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055990216


  • #8
    yenom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 659 ✭✭✭yenom


    carlmango11 wrote: »
    Yeah like I know which ones we/they can vote in I was more curious as to why..

    I would think it's because of the Free State, we were still a British Dominion, all the Commonwealth could vote in UK elections. If they done it for us, we done it for them. Throw in the border issue too, for nationalists who moved south. This was eventually kept with the Republic Act in 1948. They are our biggest eithnic minority and I assume for a time, we were theres?

    That's my take on it anyway.


  • #9
    Victor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,579 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    yenom wrote: »
    I would think it's because of the Free State, we were still a British Dominion, all the Commonwealth could vote in UK elections.
    No. Only certain Commonwealth citizens could vote in UK elections and they could only do so when in the UK.


  • #10
    yenom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 659 ✭✭✭yenom


    Victor wrote: »
    No. Only certain Commonwealth citizens could vote in UK elections and they could only do so when in the UK.

    Maybe it's due to the fact that we are the only country that ever left the United Kingdom?


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