Check the register

By Liudmyla Bortok

Cork City Council is urging residents to check and update their details on the Electoral Register ahead of this year’s presidential election.

The Council’s Franchise Team is currently working to improve the accuracy of the register, with a focus on promoting voter participation and ensuring that everyone who is eligible can have their say.

This summer, voters across the South East and North East of the city have received letters asking them to update missing information — particularly dates of birth and Eircodes.

Around 18,000 electors were contacted as part of this drive. The work is part of a national effort to improve the Electoral Register and will continue over the coming years.

Cork residents can visit CheckTheRegister.ie at any time to check their details, make updates, or register to vote.

There are currently 159,000 people registered to vote in Cork city — around 89% of the adult population.

Between February 2023 and December 2024, registrations increased by 9.5%.

According to a recent report by the Electoral Commission, Cork’s register is among the more accurate nationally. However, more work is needed to increase the number of dates of birth (DOB) and PPS numbers on record. Cork ranked 14th nationally for DOBs, 6th for Eircodes, and 8th for PPSNs.

The council is also encouraging people of all nationalities living in Cork to register. Based on Central Statistics Office’s data, non-Irish citizens are currently underrepresented on the register. While only Irish citizens can vote in Presidential elections, non-Irish nationals may be eligible to vote in other elections.

If you’ve become an Irish citizen through naturalisation, you can update your nationality by submitting the ERF1 form with your supporting documents.

Postal votes are available for voters who cannot attend in person, including those with certain health conditions, those living abroad, or those working on polling day.

Application forms can also be found on CheckTheRegister.ie.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.