General Information and Notices

Every citizen of Ireland ordinarily resident in the State, who is aged 18 years or over on polling day, and whose name is entered on the register of electors is entitled to vote.

Register to vote on the Check the Register website.

In general, electors vote in person at their local polling station. Each elector will receive a Polling Information Card. This card will inform the elector of their number on the register of electors, the date of the poll and the location of their polling station.

An elector attending a polling station to vote may be required to produce evidence of identity. A person who fails to produce evidence of identity when requested, or who fails to satisfy the Presiding Officer that they are the person to whom the evidence of identity relates, will not be allowed to vote. The documents that will be accepted as evidence of identity will be listed on the Polling Information Card sent to electors before polling day and on posters displayed at polling stations. These documents are:

• a passport 
• a driving licence  
• an employee identity card containing a photograph  
• a student identity card issued by an educational institution and containing a photograph 
• a travel document containing name and photograph 
• a bank or saving or credit union book containing an address in the constituency or local electoral area (where appropriate) 
• a Public Services Card

or

Any of the following, accompanied by a further document which establishes the address of the holder in the constituency or local electoral area (where appropriate):

• a marriage certificate
• a cheque book 
• a birth certificate 
• a debit card or credit card

Certain people are entitled to request a postal vote:

• members of the Garda Síochána (police force);
• whole-time members of the Defence Forces;
• Irish diplomats serving abroad and their spouses or /civil partners;
• persons living at home who are unable to go to a polling station to vote because of an illness or disability;
• persons whose occupations are likely to prevent them from voting at their local polling station on election day, including full-time students registered at home who are living elsewhere while attending an educational institution in the State. Under this arrangement, a ballot paper is posted to the home of the elector. The elector must arrange to have his or her declaration of identity witnessed by a Garda before marking the ballot paper and returning it by post to the Local Returning Officer;
• electors unable to vote at their polling station due to circumstances of their detention in prison, pursuant to an order of the court;
• certain election staff employed at a polling station outside the constituency where they live; and
• persons who consider their safety, or the safety of a member of their household, would be at risk if their name and address were to be published, may apply to be an anonymous elector. Such electors may only vote by post.

Due to new arrangements introduced through the Electoral Reform Act 2022, the certifying medical practitioner of a postal voter with a longer-term or ongoing illness or disability no longer needs to provide details of the nature of the elector’s illness or disability. They can indicate an expected length of the illness or disability. The registration authority (that is, the local authority) will have regard to this when providing a postal voting arrangement. This means that for those postal voters with a longer-term or ongoing illness or disability, annual renewal of medical certification will not be required. 

A voter who lives in a hospital, nursing home, mental health facility or similar care facility and is unable to go to their polling station due to illness or disability, can apply to join the special voters list. This enables voters to vote where they live. A ballot paper is delivered to them by a Special Presiding Officer.

Each Local Returning Officer is required to publish a list of all polling stations that are not accessible to wheelchair users. If you have a physical disability and have difficulty in gaining access to your local polling station you can ask to transfer your vote to a more accessible polling station in your constituency. Please contact your Local Returning Officer with such a request no later than seven days before polling day.

At the polling station on polling day, an elector with a physical disability, visual impairment, or reading or writing difficulty, may be assisted in voting by the Presiding Officer or by a companion who is at least 16 years of age.

In addition to the traditional options of seeking the help of the Presiding Officer or a companion to mark the ballot paper, visually-impaired voters can use a Ballot Paper Template (BPT) to mark their ballot paper without assistance if they wish. BPTs will be available at each polling station.

If a voter with visual impairment wishes to use a BPT, they must tell the Presiding Officer they wish to use the BPT. They will then be given a ballot paper with the BPT attached to it. They will be given whatever practical help they need in order to vote in secret.

The BPT can be used in conjunction with a freephone number, which will list the candidates standing for election in the order that they appear on the ballot paper. Once the ballot paper has been marked, the voter can detach it from the template, fold it and place it in the ballot box in the usual way.

View a PDF on how the BPT works.

Under section 50 of the Electoral Act, 1997, each candidate is required, on or before the last day for receiving nominations, to appoint an election agent and to notify the Presidential Returning Officer of the name and address of the agent.

The general provisions as to the appointment and functions of agents, apart from functions relating to donations and election expenses, are set out in sections 33 and 34 of the Presidential Elections Act, 1993.

In accordance with Section 12 (1) of the Presidential Elections Act 1993 and, for the purpose of taking the poll at the Presidential election, the poll shall be conducted on the basis of Dáil Constituencies.

• Carlow-Kilkenny
• Cavan-Monaghan
• Clare
• Cork East
• Cork North-Central
• Cork North-West
• Cork South-Central
• Cork South-West
• Donegal
• Dublin Bay North
• Dublin Bay South
• Dublin Central
• Dublin Fingal East
• Dublin Fingal West
• Dublin Mid-West
• Dublin North-West
• Dublin Rathdown
• Dublin South-Central
• Dublin South-West
• Dublin West
• Dún Laoghaire
• Galway East
• Galway West
• Kerry
• Kildare North
• Kildare South
• Laois
• Limerick City
• Limerick County
• Longford-Westmeath
• Louth
• Mayo
• Meath East
• Meath West
• Offaly
• Roscommon-Galway
• Sligo-Leitrim
• Tipperary North
• Tipperary South
• Waterford
• Wexford
• Wicklow
• Wicklow-Wexford

In accordance with Section 19 of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, as amended, candidate posters can be displayed from 30 days before the election, or from the date the Presidential Election Order is signed, whichever is the shorter period. They must be removed within 7 days following the election.

The spending limit at a Presidential Election is €750,000 per candidate. The maximum amount that can be reimbursed to a candidate at a presidential election is €250,000. To qualify for recoupment of expenses, a candidate must receive in excess of one quarter of the quota at the poll.

Guidelines on responsibilities in relation to donations and election expenses are available from the Standards in Public Office Commission (www.sipo.ie).

A candidate is entitled to send, free of postage, one communication to each household in each constituency. An Post should be consulted regarding the detailed arrangements.

The timeframe for island voting has changed following the enactment of the Electoral Reform Act 2022. Section 201 of the Electoral Reform Act amended Section 7 of the Presidential Elections Act 1993. This allows for same-day voting for the islands. This means that the islands of Ireland vote on the same day as the rest of Ireland.

Section 7 of the Presidential Elections Act 1993, as amended by Section 201(b) of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, also provides for the shortening of the polling period on an island if advised by the island’s Local Returning Officer. Polling times for the islands will be available on this website in advance of a presidential election.

For further information, read the Presidential Elections Act 1993 and the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

All political activity in the vicinity of polling stations for the duration of the poll and for half an hour before and after, is prohibited. This will apply to loitering, congregating, canvassing in any form, display or distribution of posters, notices, cards or any other documents relating to the election. It also applies to the use of loudspeakers or any public address system. The prohibition will apply in relation to the grounds in which the polling station is situated and within 50 metres of the grounds.

The Presidential Elections Act, 1993, as amended, is the primary legislation relating to presidential elections.

Read the Presidential Elections Act 1993.

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 provided for a number of fundamental changes to our electoral processes. Among these was the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin (a statutory and independent electoral commission), the modernisation of the electoral registration process and the regulation of online political advertising. 

Read the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) is Ireland’s Head of State. The Office of President was established by the Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann). Read more about the Constitutional role of the President.

An information booklet “How the President is Elected” is available. This booklet provides information on what a presidential election entails and the processes involved in deciding the final result. Read the information booklet.