Electoral Act, 1992

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Amendment of Presidential Elections Act, 1937.

167.—The Presidential Elections Act, 1937 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion of the following section after section 23:

“Voting by persons in the employment of local returning officers at presidential election.

23A.—Where a presidential elector for a constituency is employed by a local returning officer for any purpose in connection with a presidential election and the circumstances of that elector's employment are, in the opinion of the local returning officer, such as to prevent him from voting at the polling station at which that presidential elector would otherwise be entitled to vote, the local returning officer may authorise such presidential elector, by an authorisation given in such form as may be directed by the Minister, to vote at any other polling station in the constituency.”;

(b) the substitution of the following section for section 32:

“Application of Electoral Act, 1992.

32.—(1) Sections 105 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 and 163 of the Electoral Act, 1992 shall apply and have effect in relation to presidential elections.

(2) For the purpose of the application of the said sections of the said Act to presidential elections in pursuance of the foregoing subsection—

(a) the expressions ‘election’ and ‘Dáil election’ wherever they occur in the said sections of the said Act shall be construed and have effect as including a presidential election;

(b) the word ‘candidate’, wherever it similarly occurs, shall be construed and have effect as including a candidate at a presidential election;

(c) the expression ‘register of Dáil electors’, wherever it similarly occurs, shall be construed and have effect as meaning the register of presidential electors and any reference to ‘Dáil elector’ or ‘elector’ shall be construed and have effect as a reference to a presidential elector;

(d) in section 134 of the said Act the reference to ‘ section 102 ’ shall be construed as a reference to Rule 19 of the First Schedule to this Act and the reference to ‘ section 68 ’ shall be construed as a reference to section 29 of this Act;

(e) in section 138 of the said Act the reference to ‘certificate of political affiliation’ shall be disregarded and the reference to ‘authorisation under section 99 ’ shall be construed and have effect as a reference to an authorisation under section 23A of the Presidential Elections Act, 1937 (inserted by section 167 of the Electoral Act, 1992), and the reference to ‘authorisation under section 100 ’ shall be construed and have effect as a reference to an authorisation under section 14 of the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1986 ;

(f) in sections 138 and 140 of the said Act the expression ‘returning officer’ shall be construed and have effect as including the presidential returning officer;

(g) the reference in sections 139 and 151 of the said Act to a period of time shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the period commencing on the date of the order appointing dates and ending at the close of the poll;

(h) the reference in sections 159 and 163 of the said Act to ‘this Act’ shall be construed and have effect as a reference to the Presidential Elections Acts, 1937 to 1992.”; and

(c) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) of section 34:

“(1) Each candidate at a presidential election shall, subject to such conditions as may be specified under section 74 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983 , be entitled to send, free of any charge for postage, to each person on the register of presidential electors or to any combination of such persons, one postal communication containing matter relating to the election only and not exceeding 50 grammes in weight.”.