Ireland’s independent electoral commission, An Coimisiún Toghcháin, is advising voters in Galway West and Dublin Central to act now to ensure they have their opportunity to vote in the upcoming bye-elections confirmed by Government today for voting on Friday 22 May.

There are now two important deadlines that potential voters in the two constituencies need to be aware of:

Postal Vote/ Special Vote Deadline: The deadline for postal/special voting is two days after the signing of the Poling Day Order by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

• So, If the polling day order is issued on Wednesday 22 April – then the postal/special voter deadline will be Friday 24 April.
• And if the polling day order is issued on Thursday 23 April – then the postal/special voter deadline will be Saturday 25 April.

Voter Registration or Update Deadline: Tuesday 5 May 2026

The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday 5 May. The quickest and easiest way to register to vote or to update your details is to go to www.checktheregister.ie  

For postal voting, if you are eligible, you really need to act fast to get the necessary forms completed, details about how to do this is available on our website www.electoralcommission.ie/register-to-vote/

Unsure about your Constituency? An Coimisiún also has an easy way to check which constituency you live in, so you know if you’re eligible to vote in these bye-elections. Go to www.electoralcommission.ie/what-constituency-am-i-in/  and enter your Eircode or address to check out your constituency.

Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, is urging people to act straight away to register or to update your details so that come Friday 22 May they can use their vote.  

“Now that we have an official date for the bye-elections, the people of Dublin Central and Galway West can start thinking in earnest about who they want as their new TDs in the Dáil.

“The clock is ticking to get yourself registered to vote if you’re a first-time voter, or to update your voting details if you’ve moved house, returned to Ireland from abroad or recently became an Irish citizen. The easiest way to do this is to go to www.checktheregister.ie .

“Through these two bye-elections as Ireland’s independent electoral commission we will be working to give  people  access to clear and impartial information about what bye-elections are, voter registration and how to cast theirr vote.

“Your vote is your voice, so my appeal to people across Dublin Central and Galway West is to make sure that your voice is heard on Friday 22 May.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Brian Dawson, Communications and Public Affairs Manager,

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission, 086 0749344 Brian.dawson@electoralcommission.ie

Editor’s Note:

For further information on registering to vote, including registration for postal and special voting, visit www.electoralcommission.ie/register-to-vote/

Who can vote in a bye-election?

You can vote in a bye-election if you are:

* Registered to vote

* An Irish or British citizen

* Aged 18 or over on polling day

* Ordinarily resident in one of the two constituencies in which a bye-election is taking place

For further information, please contact:

Brian Dawson, Communications and Public Affairs Manager

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission,

086 0749344 / Brian.Dawson @electoralcommission.ie

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission

An Coimisiún Toghcháin is a statutory, independent body, established on 9 February 2023 with responsibility for a broad range of electoral functions set out in the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

An Coimisiún is central to Ireland’s electoral system, carrying out a range of existing and new electoral functions, including:

• promoting public awareness of, and working to increase public participation in the State’s electoral and democratic processes through education and information programmes;
• overseeing the modernised Electoral Register, making recommendations and setting standards in relation to its maintenance and updating;
• responsibility for the registration of political parties;
• responsibility for the investigation and monitoring of online disinformation, online misinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour online during election campaign periods, as well as functions to prevent manipulative or inauthentic behaviours online. (Legislation not yet commenced).
• making reports for the Minister in relation to local electoral boundaries;
• preparing research programmes and conducting research on electoral policy and procedure, and providing advice, as required, to the Minister and Government;
• the preparation of ex-post reports on the administration of electoral events;
• the decision-making, oversight, secretariat and supporting services associated with explaining the subject matter of referendum proposals, the promotion of public awareness of referendums and encouragement of the electorate to vote at referendum polls; and
• the conducting of reviews and making reports in relation to the constituencies for the election of members to the Dáil and the election of members to the European Parliament.

It is anticipated that the initial set of functions assigned to An Coimisiún will be expanded upon as it builds capacity and expertise.