Pringle calls on Donegal County Council to automatically include those registered in last 8 months
- Updated: 15th January 2020
Thomas Pringle TD – 15 Jan 2019
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Independent TD and General Election candidate Thomas Pringle has today called on Donegal County Council to automatically include those in Donegal who registered to vote in the last 8 months on the supplementary register for the upcoming General Election.
Pringle made the statement after Dublin City Council agreed to automatically include these voters saying “it is imperative that those who made the effort in the past to vote are honoured in the upcoming elections.
“It is a disgrace that the Government is still unclear on whether those who registered to vote in the last 8 months will be automatically enrolled on the Supplementary Register for the General Election. I think it displays the lack of respect the Taoiseach has for the democratic process calling for an election before important reforms to the electoral registration process were put in place. Adequate time was available to legislate and accommodate voters before the Taoiseach dissolved the Dáil.
“Voters deserve better than this.
“Furthermore, true to character the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, is refusing to take responsibility for this serious lapse, placing the onus on individuals to check if they are included on the register and requiring local authorities to decide whether they will automatically add those who registered since the European and Local elections to the Supplementary Register.
“So far, Fingal and Dublin County Councils are the only ones who have agreed to do so. Requiring these people to re-register could amount to voter suppression and will result in a waste of Garda time. I call on Donegal County Council to agree to automatically add these voters to the register” concludes Pringle.
ENDS
