European elections - alternative voting arrangements

Information

The following people may vote by post in a European Parliament election:

• Members of An Garda Siochana
• Members of the Defence Forces
• Civil servants and their spouses attached to Irish missions abroad
• Electors living at home who are unable to vote at a polling station due to a physical illness or disability
• Full-time students registered at home who are living elsewhere while attending an educational institution in the State
• Prisoners detained as a result of an order of a court

To vote by post, a ballot paper will be posted to you at your home. You must arrange to have a declaration of identity witnessed by a Garda before marking the ballot paper in the Garda station and returning it by post to the returning officer.

Special voting arrangements apply to electors living in hospitals, nursing homes or similar institutions who are unable to vote due to a physical illness or disability. The ballot paper is brought to them in the institution and they vote in the presence of a special presiding officer accompanied by a Garda.

Electors with physical disabilities who have difficulty in gaining access to their local polling station may be allowed to vote at a more accessible station in the constituency.