Young people urged to ensure they are registered to vote

Four national youth organisations have advised young people to ensure they are on the voting register before the May 8th deadline so they can vote in the upcoming abortion referendum.

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), youth website SpunOut.ie and LGBTI youth organisation BeLonGTo released a joint statement urging people aged between 18 and 25 to "ensure their voices are heard".

Anyone not registered by the May 8th deadline will not be able to vote in the referendum.

We know from our work and the work of our 50 member organisations that young people care about the issues and want to have their say in democratic decisions

The groups also reminded people who have turned 18 since the last general election in 2016 to register before the deadline.

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Any person who turns 18 years of age on or before May 25th can register, and has the right to vote in the upcoming referendum.

Young people were being advised to visitchecktheregister.ie to make sure they are registered, and if not to complete the RFA2 form to register or the RFA3 form to change their address.

SpunOut.ie executive director Ian Power said a number of young people checking the register in the last few weeks "have reported to us they have been removed since the last time they voted".

NYCI deputy director James Doorley said: “We know from our work and the work of our 50 member organisations that young people care about the issues and want to have their say in democratic decisions.”

USI president Michael Kerrigan said registering to vote was now part of coming to college. “First years now get a student card and a voter registration form.”

BeLonGTo executive director Moninne Griffith said young people had a “significant impact” on the marriage equality referendum in 2015. “We hope to see a similar turnout in the upcoming referendum.”