The essential work of franchise teams
As Ireland head to the polls this week, we take a look at the role played by local authority franchise teams making sure everyone can avail of their right to vote.
In Ireland, the management of the Electoral Register is the responsibility of local authority franchise teams. All local authorities have a franchise team, and each team manages the Electoral Register for all voters in their area. It’s not just local elections that the teams manage the register for – they do it for all electoral events, including general elections, European elections and referendums.
Through this work franchise teams play a significant role in the Irish democratic system, enfranchising citizens and upholding their right to vote. By managing the register, franchise teams ensure that elections are fair, inclusive, and representative.
It’s not a simple task. Eligible voters in every local authority area are a dynamic group. As people reach voting age, move homes or gain citizenship, their details on the register need to be updated. So franchise teams are processing a constant flow of updates to the register right throughout the year, with each update carefully verified to ensure it’s accurate.
Pulling out all the stops
Once a major electoral event is called – such as a General Election – the number of updates that franchise teams receive can quickly surge. This is reflected in the number of requests received by CheckTheRegister.ie, the online tool that allows voters to look up their electoral details.
In October this year, before the election was called, CheckTheRegister.ie received about 700 requests per day. But then in the first 11 days of November, during which time the election was called, the number of requests received shot up to over 8,000 per day, a more than tenfold increase.
When these sorts of surges happen, franchise teams will pull out all the stops. They will do all they can to process all updates ahead of the deadline and ensure no-one is disenfranchised on election day.
Raising public awareness
Franchise teams are also involved in public awareness campaigns, helping people to check their electoral details. They often visit schools and universities to engage first-time voters, or set up stands in shopping centres to reach out to the general public. They even work with nursing homes to help residents join the Special Voters List so they don’t need to travel to a polling station on election day. It’s all about making it easy for everyone who is eligible to get their say.
The job doesn’t stop on election day itself. After the polls have opened, franchise teams are on duty to support polling staff. And once the polls close franchise teams work alongside the Courts Service to run the count centres.
While the important work they do may go unnoticed as they beaver away behind the scenes, franchise teams perform duties that are vital to the health of Irish democracy.
To learn more about the Electoral Register visit our handy FAQ.