Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1985

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Amendment of sections 7, 20 and 34 of and First Schedule to Referendum Act, 1942.

8.—The Referendum Act, 1942 , is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of “presidential electors registered in the register of presidential” for “Dáil electors registered in the register of” in subsection (2) of section 7;

(b) the substitution of “presidential” for “Dáil” in subsection (3) of section 7;

(c) the substitution of “presidential elector” for “person” in each place where it occurs in subsection (1), subsection (2) (inserted by section 69 of the Act of 1963), and subsection (3) (so inserted) of section 20;

(d) the substitution of “presidential electors on the register of presidential” for “Dail electors on the register of” in paragraph (b) of section 34 (2); and

(e) the substitution of “presidential” for “Dail” in both places where it occurs in subparagraph (b) of Rule 32 (1) of the First Schedule,

and the said subsections (2) and (3) of the said section 7, the said section 20, paragraph (b) and subparagraph (b), as so amended, are set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, of the Table to this section.

TABLE

1. (2) Whenever after the passing of this Act a register of electors comes into force, every registration officer shall forthwith send to the referendum returning officer a statement in the prescribed form of the number of presidential electors registered in the register of presidential electors in each constituency or part of a constituency in the registration area of such registration officer.

(3) Whenever the number of presidential electors which is the subject of a statement sent by a registration officer to the referendum returning officer in pursuance of this section becomes altered by the decision of appeals, correction of errors, or any other cause, such registration officer shall forthwith communicate to the referendum returning officer the fact of such alteration and the particulars thereof.

2. 20.—(1) Every presidential elector whose name is, at the time of the poll at a referendum, on the postal voters' list for a constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency at the poll at such referendum by sending his ballot paper by post to the local returning officer for the said constituency and shall not be entitled to vote at such referendum in any other manner.

(2) Every local returning officer shall, as soon as practicable after the date of the order of the Minister appointing the polling day at a referendum, send to every presidential elector who is on the postal voters list for his constituency a ballot paper and a form of receipt (which shall be in the prescribed form) for such ballot paper.

(3) If such ballot paper duly marked by the said presidential elector and accompanied by the said receipt duly signed by him is received by the returning officer before the close of the poll, it shall be counted by him and treated for all purposes in the same manner as a ballot paper placed in the ballot box in the ordinary way.

(b) in respect of the particulars stated in such certificate of the aggregate voting at the referendum as a whole or of the result of the referendum as so stated, on the ground of error on the part of the referendum returning officer or, in the case of an ordinary referendum, on the ground of error in relation to the number of presidential electors on the register of presidential electors for the time being in force.

(b) in the case of an ordinary referendum, the number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal which is the subject of the referendum, the number of votes recorded against such proposal, and, if the number of votes recorded against such proposal exceeds the number of votes recorded in favour of such proposal, the total number of presidential electors on the register of electors for the time being in force, and whether the number of votes recorded against such proposal is or is not less than thirty-three and one-third per cent. of the said total number of presidential electors, and in any case whether such proposal was or was not vetoed at such referendum;