Chances of Jury Service in Dublin v Rural Areas?

[zoe]

I take it there is no legal obligation to be registered.

Is there no legal obligation to be registered? Is this true?

In Northern Ireland every person who is eligible to register to vote is required by law to do so.

 

[ClubMan]

There is no legal compulsion on citizens of Ireland to register to vote.

 

[bond-007]

I wonder how easy it is to de-register?

 

[Swallows]

Easy enough I would have thought. Just dont fill in the form next time it arrives. Not like England where you must give a forwarding address for council tax purposes. But I dont see how you would gain from not being on the register. If you want credit, this is one way of confirming your address?

 

[ClubMan]

If you wanted to de-register then you could presumably fill in a register update form omitting your details from the address specified and when the update is applied to the register you will be omitted. Can't see why anybody would want to do this just to avoid jury duty, possible future "poll taxes" etc. though.

 

[NiallA]

You may get re-registered though without your knowledge. AFAIK the people who compile the register get a small bounty (very small) for the people the register.

 

[bond-007]

You may get re-registered though without your knowledge. AFAIK the people who compile the register get a small bounty (very small) for the people the register.

Really? Would that not be unconsitutional? I have a right not to register surely?

 

[ClubMan]

You may get re-registered though without your knowledge. AFAIK the people who compile the register get a small bounty (very small) for the people the register.

Can you point to some information about that please? I've never heard anything like that before. I thought that electoral register updates had to be signed by the householder or something like that?

 

[NiallA]

1053. Mr. Allen http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDeputy.aspx?pid=BernardAllen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDeputy.aspx?pid=DickRochehis views on whether having to visit more than one post office to get a voter registration application form and subsequently having to make a visit to the Garda station with identification to be included on the supplementary voting register is a disincentive to people registering to vote; and if he has proposals to change this system in view of the fact that the old system of visiting each house to check the applicants no longer applies. [10033/05]

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20050412.xml&Page=6&Cp=5919#N5919 Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DZoom.aspx?F=DAL20050412.xml&pid=DickRoche The compilation and publication of the register of electors is a matter for the appropriate local authority in accordance with electoral law and involves the carrying out of house-to-house or other local inquiries, including in many cases delivering registration forms to households for completion. In addition, application forms for inclusion on the register of electors, or the supplement to the register, are widely available from local authorities, post offices, Garda stations and public libraries, and increasingly may be accessed via local authority websites.​

In making voter registration as accessible as possible, it is important to have appropriate measures in place to guard against potential personation or abuse of the electoral system. It is, therefore, a legal requirement that completed application forms for inclusion on the supplement to the register of electors are witnessed by a member of the Garda Síochána before being returned to the appropriate local authority. If a person cannot attend the local Garda station, his or her application may be witnessed by an official of the local authority. If, because of a physical illness or disability, a person cannot attend either the local Garda station or the local authority, his or her application form can be accompanied by a medical certificate.

I am concerned to ensure that the legislative and administrative arrangements in place regarding registration are as flexible and user-friendly as possible consistent with maintaining the security and integrity of the electoral process. While I will continue to keep current practice under review, I am satisfied that the present arrangements strike a reasonable balance.

From the oireachtas debates website, it seems that the system i described has been replaced, so you should be safe enough Bond-007.

 

[bond-007]

I wonder it it is as cumbersome to remove oneself though?

 

[zoe]

Did I read that correctly...

Do you have to visit a Garda station in order to register to vote?

 

[SarahMc]

Yes, AFAIK you need your form for the supplementary list witnessed at garda station. I could never understand why they don't link the register to PPS numbers. I know a few people with 2 or more votes (people who have moved house and never bothered de-registering from old address).

 

[zoe]

In Northern Ireland staff from the electoral office simply drop a form through the letterbox which you have to fill in with your name, date of birth etc...

Then 3-4 weeks later they call to the door and collect the completed form. You don't have to get anyone to witness it.

 

[bond-007]

I wonder how many they get back with false information?

 

[zoe]

Don't know...but I know you are required by law to fill them in (and fill them in accurately) and then hand them back to the electoral official who calls to collect them

 

[loodles]

I'm 24 and have been called twice in the past 3 yrs - due for service again in April. Any ideas how I can get out of it? Had a terrible experience the last time - was picked for a Jury where I knew the defendant. Obviously I couldn't sit but it led onto a lot of intimidation by his family the weeks after - nobody in the area knew about his charge.
Would be very nervous to have to go again!

 

[bond-007]

You must be very unlucky, where in the country are you? They may be unfairly targeting your area. After doing 2 stints you must surely be excempt for several years. I would check into it. I has a 10 year period in which I don't have to serve.

Illness, employer unwilling to let you go. Restricted occupation etc. Be creative. In future remove yourself from the electroal register.

 

[loodles]

I'm in Dublin! I think I will have to take myself off. Its just not worth the hassle! Do they let you off with a letter from employer? I have heard numerous contradictions to this theory!?

 

[Cahir]

I was let off the second time with a letter from my employer. I wrote it and my manager signed it. It was genuine though as I was doing a course the week I was called. Haven't heard anything since.

 

[bond-007]

The employers letter must state that you are indespensible and he can't operate his business without you and that it would cause great hardship. Nothing else will work.