Do you have 5 friends for Europe?

Some of you who have been following this blog for some time, will know that I have a particular bone to pick with people who complain and don’t vote. It may sound very elitist but I personally believe that the right to vote is one duty which all citizens should ensure they are always ready to engage with, when they time arises.  I do appreciate before I get castigated for views, that it is not an easy thing to get on the Register here on Ireland – Between RFA1 (to initially register your vote), RFA2 (to amend details of your vote) and RFA3 (to change your address/Dáil Constituency) which all need to be filled out in front of a guard. It can be quite tedious especially if you have moved constituencies as often as I have between living at Tipperary North or Limerick-West or Dublin South or to my current constituency Dublin Central to keep yourself up to date on the register. However surely if the State requires the authorization of its policing arm to confirm your identity, the least one can do is to get oneself registered and keep it up to date.

Anyway I digress. What prompted this post is the 5 Friends for Europe Campaign – See below for the video. It is essentially another “Rock the Vote” style campaign which encourages younger voters to get more involved in election campaigns and in this instance, the European Union , MEP (Member of the European Parliament).

Given that these are the only mandated directly elected positions given to all 27 member states, that is all 500 million people covering the area of 4,324,782 km², it is imperitative that those of us of voting age, get on the register and get voting.

Get Engaged with the issues – Discuss with your friends – There is no right or wrong answer in debates only opinions-in most cases anyway! I don’t care who you vote for personally – that is your call and your responsibility to inform yourself. However if you are not on the register, You Cannot Vote!

If you are not on the register already, it is now too late to be on the Official Register of Electors for this upcoming Elections on June 5th. HOWEVER, you can still be added to the Supplementary register until Monday 18th May.

In order to do that, YOU will need to go to your POST OFFICE, GARDAÍ Station, LOCAL AUTHORITY Websites and get your relevant forms. As above.

• Voter Registration Form - This puts your name on the Register for the FIRST TIME.
• RFA1 – Ammends details on the DRAFT REGISTER - It is too late at this point to apply to this, as the register is published some months back.
  
• RFA2 -  For inclusion of your details on the SUPPLEMENTARY register. IF YOU HAVE NOT REGISTERED BEFORE YOU NEED THIS FORM!
• RFA3 – Is to be used if you Have moved Dáil Constituency or LOCAL authority area and need to get on your new Local Authority’s register.  eg. if you have moved from Belfield, Dublin 4 (Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council/Dublin South) to Ashtown/Cabra, Dublin 15 (Dublin City Council/Dublin Central).
  

Remember to read the notes attached to each of the PDFs. NOTE: Some of the links are only relevant to Dublin City Council’ area of influence – Please consult your own relevant local authority/Garda Station for other forms.