Efforts to get young people to register to vote ahead of October's presidential election will extend to the Electric Picnic music festival, the National Ploughing Championships and college campuses in the coming months.
An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s electoral commission, in partnership with Electric Picnic announced they will have a presence at this year’s music festival, where they will encourage young people to register to vote.
A study of voting in last year’s General Elections found that those aged 18–34 who were surveyed made up the biggest cohort of eligible voters - at 68% - who weren’t registered to vote.
Electric Picnic, taking place in Co Laois at the end of August, provides an opportunity for the electoral commission to engage with young people, according to Chief Executive Art O’Leary.
"We need to do much more to encourage young people to register and to get out and vote," he said.
"Many of the latest generation of would-be voters will lose their voices singing along over Electric Picnic weekend, but it’s so important that they don’t lose their voice as we go to the polls to choose who will succeed Michael D Higgins as our next President," he added.
The presidential election to decide who will succeed President Higgins will take place in late October, with the next president expected to be inaugurated on 11 November, when his term comes to an end.
Electric Picnic attracts around 80,000 attendees every year and the commission’s team at the event will be running mock elections, voting competitions, and encouraging festival goers to get registered at www.CheckTheRegister.ie.
The event in Stradbally will be the first in a number of efforts to encourage young people to register to vote.
The commission will also have a presence at the National Ploughing Championship in September.
That event normally attracts 300,000 attendees and will be held this year in Screggan, Co Offaly.
Later in September, the commission will be present on college campuses as students begin returning to college.
