5 March 2026 – An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission and the National Election and Democracy Study (NEDS) Management Board have today published results of the Presidential Election 2025 National Election and Democracy Study, providing insights on voter and non-voter motivations and experiences around the October 2025 ballot.

The Presidential Election NEDS followed a nationally representative sample of 1,312 respondents throughout the election campaign through three surveys: one towards the beginning of the campaign; a second during the week of the election; and a final survey immediately after the election. Crucially, this enables an analysis of changes in voters’ knowledge and how voters and non-voters formed opinions and made decisions as the campaign progressed.

The NEDS study is at the core of An Coimisiún’s Research Programme with studies conducted for each electoral event since the establishment of An Coimisiún in 2023.

There are two distinct elements of NEDS. The first focuses on broad issues around the quality and functioning of Ireland’s democracy and includes questions around voters’ experience of voting and registration, levels of political interest and knowledge and voters information sources. This data will be used to benchmark An Coimisiún’s performance and guide its future initiatives. A key priority for An Coimisiún is to understand the reasons why people do not vote, so the sample also includes 387 non-voters.

Key findings include on:

Participation and voting experience:

• 97% said they had a positive experience when voting.
• 96% said they found it easy to access their polling station.
• Those who did not vote were offered a list of reasons and could select all that applied. The top 5 reasons given were: being away from home on the day selected by 24%; didn’t know who to vote for selected by 20%; could not decide how to vote selected by 13%; not registered selected by 12% and work commitments selected by 9%.  
• 83% agreed that ‘who people vote for can make a difference to what happens’.

Voter knowledge and awareness:

Importantly for An Coimisiún’s education and public awareness function, the Presidential Election NEDS found that Irish voters are generally well‑informed about many aspects of the presidency, voting and democracy. However, it also identifies opportunities for further public education:

• 96% of respondents were confident they understood how to cast their vote.
• 87% of respondents correctly identified that each of their preferences can contribute to a candidate being elected.
• 35% mistakenly thought that they needed to bring their polling card to vote whilst 21% believed that their vote would only count if they used the pencil provided at the polling station.
• At the end of the campaign close to a quarter of voters 23% agreed that information about voting procedures is not widely available with 60% disagreeing.

Electoral integrity and trust:

After the election:

• 84% of respondents agreed elections are conducted in accordance with the law
• 72% believed elections are well managed
• 71% believed election officials are fair
• 89% believed their vote was secret once they put it in the ballot box.

While generally positive these figures show a drop across some of these indicators since the General Election NEDS in November 2024. This suggests there is no cause for complacency amongst those with a role in protecting and promoting trust in elections and democracy in Ireland. An Coimisiún will monitor these trends carefully.

Presidential election issues:

Data was also collected regarding specific issues of relevance to the Presidential Election:

• In relation to invalid votes – a significant feature of this presidential election was the number of invalid votes at 12%. In the final NEDS survey the number of respondents who said they ‘spoilt’ their vote reflected this national figure of 12%. Reasons given were categorised and respondents who ‘spoilt’ their vote could have given more than one reason: 45% gave the reason that they didn’t like any of the candidates; 27% indicated the process for selecting candidates was unfair; 17% related to not enough choice; 14% were considered protest against government policy;  7% preferred a candidate not on ballot paper with 6% pointing to an “other” reason and 3% providing no reason.
• On votes for Irish citizens abroad – 50% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Irish citizens living outside of the State should have the right to vote in presidential elections while 35% disagree.
• On the ease of getting onto the ballot paper – 52% agreed the process in relation to presidential candidate nomination is about right; 30% said it is too hard to get on the ballot paper while 6% said it is too easy to get on the ballot paper. 69% said they were not satisfied with the choice of candidate.

Voter registration:

• 74% say that people should be automatically registered to vote once they turn 18 years old. However, 89% of respondents agreed that it is their personal responsibility for ensuring their details are up to date on the electoral register.
• For those who registered to vote for the first time this year, the influence of their friends, family, school or work was key to encouraging them to get on the electoral register with 28% citing this as important. 14% were prompted to register by social media and newspaper advertising which was a focus for An Coimisiún Toghcháin during the campaign
• 94% of those who registered for the first time found the experience easy or very easy.

The second part of the NEDS includes questions which are a key focus for academics in international Election Studies around the world regarding whether and how people use their vote, motivations around voting choices, government satisfaction, political attitudes and the factors that influence these. Questions in this part of the study were selected by the academic members of the NEDS Management Board. Collecting data in these areas also allows Ireland to be part of comparative research on political and electoral systems and democracy.

Welcoming the publication of the NEDS data, Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin said:

“By studying voters and non-voters experiences and motivations at each election we’re building up a picture of our democracy to support An Coimisiún Toghcháin’s work and benchmark trust in democracy and our progress over time.

“The number of invalid votes in this presidential election was significantly higher than any previous electoral event, and the insights provided directly from a representative sample of those voters about their personal motivations contributes to the ongoing process of enhancing democracy and elections in this country.”

– ENDS- 

Editor’s Note:

The detailed Presidential Election 2025 NEDS study is available at the new purpose-built website. The site also holds data from previous elections studies since the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin.

The raw data and detailed codebooks can be obtained by emailing research@electoralcommission.ie

The data collection and analysis published today was conducted by Ipsos B&A

• The NEDS is a key project under Strand A of An Coimisiún Toghcháin’s Research Programme 2024-2026.
• Advised by the NEDS Management Board, the Presidential Election NEDS included a specific focus on campaign effects which are a common feature in electoral studies internationally.
• The study follows 1,312 respondents across three distinct stages of the electoral cycling capturing attitudes and evaluations before and after polling day including:
  • Wave 1: Beginning of the campaign, 29th September – 6th October 2025,
  • Wave 2: The week of the election, 17th – 23rd October, and
  • Wave 3: Immediately after the election 25th October – 3rd November.
• The survey design enables the analysis of campaign dynamics, vote choice, and short-term attitudinal change associated with the presidential contest.