INFORMATION PROVIDED to voters in advance of the two referendums was described as “tardy and inadequate” yesterday by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
Its criticism followed confusion at many polling stations yesterday, with some voters expressing concern about how the ballot papers for the two constitutional amendments were presented.
The council said the Referendum Commission booklet was dropped through letterboxes “less than a week before polling day” and that it omitted “some crucial information about the impact of the 30th amendment”.
It said “vital information” only made available on the commission’s website included the effect of the proposals on a person’s good name and their impact on the balance between rights and the public interest.
In comments online and on radio, voters also expressed concern that the print on the ballot papers was too small and that it was unclear which paper related to which amendment.
The wording of each amendment was not printed in full on the papers, which were instead numbered to denote they related to either the 29th amendment on the judges’ pay issue, or the 30th amendment, which related to the Oireachtas inquiries.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said staff were on hand at all polling stations to assist people who had difficulty understanding the ballot papers.
Separately, a group of Bosnian immigrants who are Irish citizens were for the second time denied a vote in national elections, after they were told the electoral register only permitted them to vote in local elections.
The group of about 30 citizens live in the Mulhuddart area of west Dublin. They had also been denied a vote in the general election last February. Valerie Hughes, who works with members of the Bosnian community in Ireland, said the citizens were “very upset” as they took voting very seriously.
They had been disenfranchised in their former home and had now been disenfranchised in Ireland. They had visited the office of Fingal County Council, which manages the electoral register for the area, and someone from the council had also called to their homes two months ago in relation to the register, she said.
One of the Bosnian-Irish citizens, Elvedina Dizdarevic, was allowed to vote but she said the others she had spoken to were very disappointed.
A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said it was the duty of every individual to check the draft register of electors in advance of an election, and that changes could be made before the final register was published.
She said the council put considerable time and effort into providing information about the register, but she said she accepted it “must be really frustrating” for those who were not allowed to vote.
Voters from various parts of the State expressed surprise at being asked in their polling station if they wanted all three ballot papers.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin City local returning officer said there was no directive with regard to such a question. It could be seen as remiss of the officer at the polling station to assume the voter wanted all three ballot papers at once, or at all.
The number of stamped ballot papers handed out had to match the number recorded as taken from the ballot box when it was opened.
The spokeswoman said the question posed at some polling stations was “just a human response to a practical problem”.