This article is from page 8 of the 2011-01-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
AS MANY as 85,360 Clare residents are already registered to vote in the upcoming General Election, but almost five per cent of those people from the Banner will be voting outside the county.
A total of 4,200 Clare people are registered as voters in the constituency of Limerick East, despite living in Clare and being registered with Clare County Council.
According to the breakdown of the new Clare register to be published in February, 88,474 people are registered to vote in local elections.
However not all will have a right to cast their vote in Clare during the General Election, as this is restricted to Irish and British citizens only.
In the case of a presidential election and a referendum, just people with full Irish citizenship can make their mark.
More than 4,000 people will also be voting for candidates in the neighbouring Limerick City constituency.
Included among those Clare people exercising their voting rights in Limerick are people living in areas that the Boundary Commission controversially believe should belong to Limerick.
Limerick East was always a largely urban constituency that contained small parts of County Clare.
A report by the Constituency Commission was published in October 2007 that also recommended changes to the electoral set up of this area.
As a result of population decline, Limerick East was replaced by a new four seat constituency called Limerick City which will also contain parts of Clare.
It is not too late however for Clare people to have their say in the democratic process as there is still time to register for the supplementary elec- tion register.
According to the Clare Registrar’s Office people have 14 working days in which to register from the date the Dáil is dissolved and the Minister has announced the official polling date.
This supplementary register can also be used if a person has changed address from one electoral area to another or from one county to another.
It is also available to teenagers who turn 18-years-old on or before the day of the election.
For citizens who wish to vote by post, they must register within two days of the dissolution of the 30th Dáil.
Application forms for those wishing to register to vote are available to download on line on the Clare County Council website.
A member of the gardaí must sign all forms before they are submitted.