Voters are being reminded that they must register by today to be on the register in time to vote in the upcoming Referendums on March 8th. Voting will take place between 7am and 10pm.
Voters can visit the website checktheregister.ie to verify and update their details. There are two ballot papers to be issued on voting day – a white ballot paper for the proposal relating to the concept of family in the Constitution and a green ballot paper in respect of the proposal relating to care.
People will therefore be able to cast two separate votes and indeed some politicians and campaigners are advocating for a yes vote on one question and a no on the other.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality recommended that Article 40.1 of the Constitution should be amended to refer explicitly to gender equality and non-discrimination. The group also recommended the Constitution should be changed to protect all family life and should not be limited to the marital family. It further recommended that Article 41.2, which refers to women in the home, should be deleted and replaced with language that is not gender-specific and obliges the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community. The Government has not directly followed these recommendations after receiving legal advice which stated that explicitly referring to gender equality and non-discrimination could actually have a negative consequence.
The Electoral Commission, set up to provide independent information, is distributing information booklets about the proposals to every home and also provides detailed explanations on it’s website at electoralcommission.ie available at this link here.
