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This afternoon.

Outside Scoil Thomas, Laurel Lodge Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15.

Con Kennedy tweetz:

I thought you couldn’t canvas or have election/referendum material within 100m of polling station? Here’s my poling station this morning with 4 (one hidden) poles with NO posters on it.

UPDATE:

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36 thoughts on “Ask A Broadsheet Reader

  1. Ina.

    Postering is not canvassing. Only canvassing is de-barred. Don’t worry, Yes have one. Keep calm!

    1. Starina

      all the posters in sight of the ranelagh polling station have been cut down. it’s considered influencing.

  2. dav

    In fairness, I heard an interview with the Chief Returning officer and he stated that rule applied on ELECTION DAY. I think he was giving both side the opportunity to remove their posters this evening

  3. Spud

    I always just thought it was related to canvassing folk and not posters.
    There’s a shed load of posters around the country that need to come down tonight if it’s applicable to posters.

  4. SB

    What are the penalties if they’re not taken down? And has anyone ever been prosecuted?

  5. newsjustin

    Can we get the “bibles at my polling station and holy statues in the school” post out of the way now BS? I think we all know it’s coming tomorrow.

    Also, on a more serious note, what is a Personation Agent/Officer. I’ve never heard of them before.

    1. The Old Boy

      S. 17 of the Referendum Act, 1942:

      (1) Any member of Dáil Eireann or of Seanad Eireann may appoint a person (in this Act referred to as a personation agent) to attend at a particular polling station at a referendum for the purpose of assisting in the detection of persons committing or attempting to commit the offence of personation.

      (2) A member of Dáil Eireann or of Seanad Eireann may appoint under this section, in respect of any referendum, personation agents at as many polling stations as he thinks fit, but no one member of Dáil Eireann or of Seanad Eireann shall appoint more than one personation agent in respect of any one polling station.

      1. newsjustin

        In the context of a referendum, are these the people we are being warned may also be at the polling stations asking for ID? Campaign people?

        1. The Old Boy

          EDIT: My apologies, I failed to spot the repeal of the 1942 Act, but I understand the principle is the same.

          The personation officer may require the presiding officer to have any person requesting a ballot identify themself, to have the presiding officer ask whether they have voted in that poll before or to have the voter swear as to their identity.

          1. Brother Barnabas

            would the intending voter be required to satisfy the presiding officer or the personation officer as to their identity?

          2. The Old Boy

            I have found the modern Act – the relevant provision is identical in operation.

            The Presiding Officer, not the personation agent, is the person who has to be satisfied. The personation agent’s only power is to raise a query which the presiding officer must act upon. The agent can’t object to the presiding officer’s decision, nor may they put any statement or question to the intending voter themselves.

            A wise personation agent will put a challenge to the presiding officer discretely, as they are not immune from suit if they were to wrongly suggest that a person was attempting to commit personation in a hall with his neighbours coming and going.

          3. Daisy Chainsaw

            There’s nothing wise about the batcrap crazy antis indulging in American alt right, racist, voter supression tactics

          4. The Old Boy

            The office of personation agent has been around as long as referenda in Ireland, and this is not the first contentious poll the country has experienced. They are appointed by a member of the Oireachtas, there may not be more than one for each side at a polling station. Their powers and actions are highly circumscribed by civil law and criminal penalty.

            I think “alt-right, racist, voter suppression tactics” are unlikely, frankly.

        2. Martco

          ah…and theres the rigging whataboutery bang on time like a Swiss train

          c’mere @newsjustin what way do you think the numbers will stack up at end of day tomorrow? broad %ages like?

          1. newsjustin

            “ah…and theres the rigging whataboutery bang on time like a Swiss train”

            Was that meant for me??

            Yes 52% No 48%

          2. Martco

            of course it was meant for you. with your serious straight question there scallywag :)

            well all I can say to ya is that I hope you’re wrong & there’s a much larger spread. oh & the only fact of the matter is that my vote will cancel yours out tomorrow.

            democracy, eh? ;)

          3. Sheik Yahbouti

            I’m hopeful that the ‘yes’ margin will be larger than that, Justin. I voted against this amendment in 1983. I was dimly aware that no good could come of it. Never in my wildest dreams did I envisage the harm that cursed amendment would do. Away with it.

          4. newsjustin

            Of course it will Martco. There’s only 2 options in the vote. So quite a few votes will “cancel out” quite a few other votes.

            The reason I raised the Personation Agents was I’ve been hearing about them and some online chatter about not showing your id to anyone who’s not a legit presiding officer (if that’s the right phrase). Repealers were getting pretty worked up about it (just look at Daisy above for example).

          5. Sheik Yahbouti

            Fine, Justin. You refuse to acknowledge the grievous harm this malicious and ill thought out amendment has wrought. The deaths and the misery have nothing to do with Binchy, with you or any of your fellow travellers. Disgusting and cowardly.

    1. Daisy Chainsaw

      The snowflakes will be on whinging when their illegal posters are removed.

      1. realPolithicks

        They’ll be complaining about how the referendum was rigged and the liberal media was against them and the electoral rolls were fraudulent blah blah blah….

        1. Repro-choice Bertie

          I was handing out Yes flyers, stickers and badges at the spire today and the No-flakes were going on about breaking the broadcast moratorium. They said nothing to the Love Boats of course.

    1. martco

      ’tis a lovely thing Sheik, a lovely thing

      I know it sounds a bit obv but don’t forget to bring your ID everyone!
      (It’s clearly explained on the card)

      & as ever….VOTE YES!

  6. Stan

    Plenty of posters well within 50m of the polling station in Manor St. And a few voters wearing yes badges within the station. So no one paying attention to the directives, least of all the polling clerks.

    1. Nigel

      I hope people don’t start kicking up a fuss about stuff that isn’t egregious. We could do with keeping it dialled down a bit.

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