A HANDFUL of votes can decide the fate of a politician under our system of proportional representation. And the composition of a coalition government may, in turn, hinge on a handful of party seats. That is why it is imperative to ensure the electoral register is correct. An accurate register can form one of the most important bulwarks in a democracy. But this basic requirement of political life has been shamefully neglected in the past.
Now, an Oireachtas committee is to recommend that a national electoral office be established, under an independent statutory officer, to compile and update registers. This would involve taking responsibility away from local authorities. It is not a new idea. The proposal was contained in a Government Green Paper, published following the administrative chaos that developed during a revision of electoral registers in 2006. It was, however, just one of the proposals made for fundamental change on that occasion.
The gross failure of local authorities to keep accurate registers is not in question. In the 2002 general election, it was estimated that more than 300,000 people had been improperly registered. The situation worsened and, as the last general election approached, registers contained details of more than half a million citizens who had either died, moved house or were ineligible to vote. Last-minute efforts to produce more accurate information led to huge cost increases and disruption, a net reduction of 27,000 voters and a continuing high degree of inaccuracy. Then minister for the environment Dick Roche spoke of the need for primary legislation and the removal of these responsibilities from local authorities.
A subsequent Green Paper proposed the establishment of an electoral commission. This independent body would not only compile and update voting registers but would assume the power to revise constituency boundaries; decide on electronic voting; oversee election counts and take over the duties of the Standards in Public Office Commission. The devolution of such sweeping powers to a body not immediately answerable to the Dáil would pose obvious political problems. And the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was wise to confine its deliberations to the compilation of accurate voting registers on this occasion.
In proposing - in a draft report - that responsibility for compiling the registers be taken away from local authorities, the committee is pushing an open door. Other suggestions, including the creation of an independent office, free from government and political interference, are equally acceptable. But why should the new authority have to depend on the goodwill of a variety of State agencies to supply it with information concerning domicile, address changes and deaths? Surely the Northern Ireland model, where citizens are legally obliged to register, would be far more efficient. Legislation will be needed to facilitate the use of personal public service numbers for identification purposes. There is considerable urgency about this matter, given that local elections are due to be held next year. The electoral register should be a Government priority.