On Friday, voters will be asked to make up their mind about two proposed changes to the Constitution around family and care. Here is everything you need to know about voting in the referendums.
Before you go to vote
By now, you should have received a polling information card posted to your address. It should include your elector number and the name of the polling station where you will go to vote – this should be the polling station which is closest to where you live. There will also be an accompanying statement which tells you what these referendums are about. Ideally, you will bring the polling card. Do also bring a form of identification with you to the polling station. If you are on the register and your polling card has not arrived, you can still vote but again, make sure to bring your ID. A valid ID would include documents such as a passport, driving licence, student card or public services card.
At the polling station
Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. When you get there you will be asked to give your name and address. You will be given a stamped ballot paper to take into the booth with you. Pencils will be provided although you can use your own pen if you wish.
The ballot paper will contain short instructions on how to vote and details of the referendum proposal. It asks whether you approve of the proposal. You should mark “X” in either the “yes” or the “no” box on the paper, then fold it and place it in a sealed ballot box.
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The first ballot paper – the 39th amendment
The first question deals with Article 41.1.1 and Article 41.3.1 of the Constitution – the family proposals. This will be on a white coloured piece of paper. Voters will be asked one question – yes or no – to what are effectively two changes.
Article 41.1.1, as it stands, reads as follows: “The State recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.”
The Government wants to insert the nine words in italics: “The State recognises the Family, whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships, as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.”
The second part of this question relates to Article 41.3.1, which currently states: “The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack.”
It is proposed this line would be simply changed to state: “The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, and to protect it against attack.”
The arguments for Yes and No in the referendums, explained
The second ballot paper – the 40th amendment
This paper relates to the care referendum. This will be on a green coloured piece of paper.
The Government is proposing the deletion in its entirety of Article 41.2, which reads: “In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
The Government wants to then insert an entirely new article, Article 42B, stating: “The State recognises that the provision of care by members of a family to one another by reason of the bonds that exist among them, gives to Society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved, and shall strive to support such provision.”
Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t take any photos or “selfies” in the polling station as it may compromise the secrecy of the ballot but do feel free to post online after you have left the polling station.
Don’t write anything else on the ballot paper as it could ultimately be deemed as a spoilt vote.
Don’t canvass within 50m of a polling station.
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