Sir, – Your recent editorial on Seanad reform stated that postal voting in Ireland “remains highly limited for no good reason other than institutional inertia” (“The Irish Times view on Seanad reform: too little, too late”, October 30th). Contrary to this glib generalisation, there are many good reasons why postal voting is limited in Ireland and why it should remain so.
The conduct of voting at polling stations under the supervision of neutral officials ensures that the eligibility and identity of a voter can be verified, that ballot papers are completed by that voter and by nobody else, and that ballots can be retained securely in a sealed ballot box until they are counted. None of these safeguards would apply in the case of more widespread postal voting.
Very few people would send cash or other valuable items through the regular post for the simple reason that we don’t trust that it would safely reach its destination. So why should we trust the regular post to return ballot papers in a national election?
There is also no evidence that extending postal voting would increase turnout, since the unfortunate reality is that a person who cannot motivate themselves to go to their local polling station is unlikely to summon enough enthusiasm to complete a ballot paper and bring it to their nearest post box.
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Turnout for the university panels for the 2020 Seanad elections, which were conducted entirely by postal ballot, was a miserable 30 per cent.
Postal votes are currently extended only to those who may be physically unable to attend a polling station, such as those with a serious illness or disability, members of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, and diplomats serving abroad. There is no justification whatsoever to extend it beyond these groups.
Over the last decade elections internationally have been beset by allegations of fraud which only gained credence thanks to the existence of lax electoral practices such as increased postal voting and a relaxation of voter ID requirements. The last thing we need is to import these controversies to Ireland. We should be seeking to tighten up our ballot integrity, not loosen it, and in that regard the wider use of postal voting in Seanad elections is a highly retrograde step. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.