Young people urged to vote

A TOTAL of 1,646 people in Clare have been added to the supplementary register in advance of this Friday’s referendums, according to the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).
The group is also calling on young people to ensure they cast their vote. The NYCI is the representative body for youth organisations with 1,400 staff and 40,000 volunteers, who work with more than 380,000 young people nationwide.
James Doorley, NYCI deputy director, said, “We have compiled the figures from local authorities, which indicate that 1,646 people in Clare added their names to the supplementary register before the May 5 deadline, which is to be welcomed.
“Now, however, the focus must turn to getting out the vote. There are almost 400,000 18 to 25-year-olds in Ireland. NYCI is encouraging this age group, in particular, to make sure they make their voices heard on Friday. Over 3.1 million citizens have the right to vote in these referendums and with some results, as we saw in the divorce referendum in 1995, which was decided by only 9,000 votes, each vote will count,” added Mr Doorley.
“We’ve been working to increase the number of young people on the register for the past number of referendums and elections and we’re delighted that the local media have been supportive of our campaign this time round. We welcome this increase and remind young people to go out and vote in the upcoming referendums,” concluded Mr Doorley.
NYCI has information for first-time voters on its website