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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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Mayo County’s Housing Special Policy Committee has backed a strategy which aims to end homelessness by 2030 (Pic: Mayo County Council)
In response to a query from The Mayo News, Mayo County Council has responded to the criticisms contained in the Electoral Commission’s review into the accuracy of the Electoral Register by stating that ‘there is no evidence of voter fraud linked to accuracy on Registers’.
The Electoral Commission identified Mayo as having one of the least accurate Electoral Registers in the country.
The Electoral Register is fundamental to democracy in this country as you need to be registered on it in order to vote in General Elections, local elections and European Elections.
The low voter turnout of 59.7 percent in the 2024 General Election was the lowest figure in decade and was a talking point in the aftermath of the vote. The inaccuracy of the Electoral Register identified by the Electoral Commission can now offer one explanation for this low turnout.
The Council explains that the current system is ‘manual paper based’, which makes it difficult to prevent duplicate registration. It is currently working on ‘modernising’ how the Electoral Register is compiled as the current system was created ‘over a century ago.’
READ MORE: Mayo has more people registered to vote than the eligible population
The introduction of a ‘central shared database’ between the 31 separate local authorities in 2026 is put forward as a big step to improve the accuracy of the Electoral Register, both locally and nationally.
Mayo County Council say this new database will enable it “and all local authorities to reduce issues of duplicate/erroneous records. It will also standardise data protection, security provision and data-sharing across the sector. The introduction of PPSN numbers with the establishment of a national database will ensure that voters can only be registered once in the State.”
It also welcomes a recent announcement of new centralised funding to hire more staff, which will “allow us to double down on our efforts on cleansing and preparation for the move to the new national electoral registration system in 2026.”
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