Encouraging young voters to have their say in upcoming Presidential election

CheckTheRegister at MindField this August!

11 July 2025 – An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission and Electric Picnic have today announced their partnership for this year’s festival to remind young voters to use their voice at the ballot box and to raise awareness of the upcoming Presidential election to be held this autumn.

An Coimisiún’s National Election & Democracy Study (NEDS) of the 2024 General Election found that the 18–34-year-olds surveyed made up the biggest cohort of eligible voters (68%) who weren’t registered to vote and therefore did not have their say in the most recent election. Electric Picnic is the most popular event with this age group and so presents an opportunity for An Coimisiún to engage and encourage them to register.

MindField is the home of tough questions, inspiring answers, heated debate, provocative ideas, compelling podcasts and magnificent speeches at Electric Picnic, so this is where Picnickers can find An Coimisiún’s team, who will be running mock elections, voting competitions, and encouraging festival goers to get registered at www.CheckTheRegister.ie.

With 80,000 people attending the three-day sold-out festival just ahead of the commencement of the Presidential campaign, this is an invaluable opportunity to engage directly with younger, potential voters who may not yet be registered and may have questions around the importance of voting.

Electric Picnic will be the beginning of An Coimisiún’s extensive outreach programme around the country, which will also include the National Ploughing Championships and Colleges’ Freshers Weeks.

Melvin Benn, Electric Picnic Festival Director and CEO of Festival Republic said:

“Democracy is about involvement, it’s about being heard and it’s about community, all things which resonate deeply with Electric Picnic and so we are proud to kick off this partnership with An Coimisiún Toghcháin.”

Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin stated:

“Our evidence suggests that people under 35 remain such an elusive audience for us. We need to do much more to encourage young people to register and to get out and vote. Many of the latest generation of would-be voters will lose their voices singing along over Electric Picnic weekend, but it’s so important that they don’t lose their voice as we go to the polls to choose who will succeed Michael D. Higgins as our next President.

“We want people to play a full part on the Main Stage in October, not just to sit through the encore. Our objective is to engage, educate, and raise awareness about democracy – to do that we have to meet people where they hang out.”

ENDS 

For further information, please contact:

Brian Dawson, Communications and Public Engagement Manager, 

An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission,

086 0749344 Brian.dawson@electoralcommission.ie 

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Editor’s Note:

Electric Picnic Partnership

An Coimisiún Toghcháin’s one-year partnership with Electric Picnic will see us on site for the weekend meeting festival goers and encouraging voter registrations in person and through promotions. 

An Coimisiún’s partnership with Electric Picnic is a pilot project in how we can best reach and speak with young, disengaged or non-registered voters. Learnings from this work and experience will inform our future work.