Analysis: Ballot boxes have opened across the country. What happens to your vote now?
By Ciara Mc Kevitt and Cornelia Connolly, University of Galway
With counting underway in the local elections and a potential general election before the year ends, it is crucial that citizens cast their votes to ensure their voice is heard. But it is equally important that we know about the operation of an election - and especially understand the count!
On Friday June 7, hundreds of thousands of people over the age of 18 went to their local polling station to cast their vote for the local elections. The potential electorate for local election contests is larger than for any other electoral contest in the Republic of Ireland, as voting is open to any registered adult (aged 18, and over), normally resident in the State, irrespective of their citizenship. Voters rank the candidates giving one to their preference, two to their second and so on. Each voter can chose as many or as few candidates to vote for as they wish.
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From RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, How to Be An Active Citizen helps listeners understand the proportional representation voting system, how every vote counts and how a political campaign is run.
Today, Saturday June 8, all of the votes are being sorted and counted. A count is organised and lead by the local returning officer in each constituency. This official will have arranged that the count is held in a community hall or hotel, which will then be referred to as 'the count centre’.
Each local electoral area is given a particular number of seats based on population in that area. The number of seats assigned is based on an area having sufficient representation. This allocation is drawn from the number of voters/people in the area in the census and the Register of Electors, which is maintained by the relevant county council.
In order to win an election and become a county councillor, candidates are required to meet a quota of votes. This is calculated by dividing the number of votes casted on voting day in that electoral area by one more than the number of seats available and then adding one.
From RTÉ Brainstorm, a look at changing voting trends in Ireland
On the morning of the count, the count staff start by sorting the votes before counting begins. They separate the ballot papers based on first preference votes and any spoilt votes are separated at this time. Spoilt votes refer to voting cards that are deemed illegible, defaced or have multiple preferences of the same ranking.
After sorting, the staff begin to count the number one votes awarded to each candidate. Each batch is counted multiple times to ensure accuracy. If a candidate reaches the quota on their preference votes alone, they are deemed elected and are said to have ‘topped the poll’, succeeding in the most number one votes in the electoral area.
When a candidate receives more votes than required to reach the quota, all ballot papers are distributed to the other candidates accordingly. The difference between the quota and the amount of votes the winning candidate receives is called a surplus vote. The surplus votes of the winning candidate are distributed proportionally to the next preferred candidate on the ballot paper.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, what do county councillors actually do?
In order to carry out this process fairly and proportionally, the surplus votes are divided by the number of first preference ballot papers from the winning candidate. This number is then multiplied by the number of surplus votes and awarded to the respective candidates. It is very important in this system to remember that each vote carries the weight of one.
On the other hand, if no candidates are deemed elected on the first count, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated and their second preference votes are redistributed. This process of distribution is continued until all of the seats are filled. When all of the seats are filled by either elimination of the lowest voted candidates or if the quota is reached by the number of seats available, the counting concludes and the successful candidates are deemed county councillors.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Sean O'Rourke in 2019, report on a row at the Dublin count centre during 2019 local elections with People Before Profit accused of acting like the Taliban
Whilst the count is taking place, candidates and their families, registered observers and media representatives are permitted to attend the count, with the permission of the local returning officer, ensuring transparency of the process. Hundreds of people gather at the count centre to watch the count staff sorting and counting votes ensuring transparency and accuracy – as well as getting a first-hand view of the process. It also allows tally people to get a glimpse of early votes and predict which candidate looks likely to win. The returning officer has the authority to allow a recount at any stage during the count, when all ballot papers are checked for accuracy.
The counting system in Ireland is proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. and allows for transparency as observers can watch how the count is run. With local and European contests happening around the country between candidates and parties (and a mayoral race in Limerick), the fact is that each citizen's vote is crucial in shaping the future political aspect of our country.
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Ciara Mc Kevitt is a PhD student in Maths resilience and gamification at University of Galway. She is also a Maths and Applied Maths teacher at Our Lady's Secondary School, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. Dr Cornelia Connolly is Associate Professor in the School of Education at University of Galway. She is also a Funded Investigator at Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software, and a Visiting Fellow at Yale University.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
