Mayo County Council cites century-old system for duplicate voter records

Mayo County Council has noted an antiquated and fragmented voter registration system dating back more than a hundred years as the root cause of duplicate entries on its electoral roll, after the county was named among 11 local authorities with significant issues in a new report by An Coimisiún Toghcháin.

The independent electoral commission this week highlighted serious concerns over the integrity of Ireland’s electoral registers, revealing that many local authorities are grappling with legacy data and outdated methods.

In Mayo, officials acknowledge that multiple entries for individual voters are a recurring problem, blaming a paper-based system that has no built-in mechanism to prevent duplicate registrations.

“There is no centralised database, and most of the 31 electoral registers operated by local authorities don’t communicate with each other,” the council said in a statement.

“Where duplicates are known, they are corrected, but it is not always clear without a unique identifier.”

Political scientists estimate that as many as half a million names may be erroneously listed on the electoral register nationwide either due to duplication, deceased persons remaining on the roll, or individuals no longer resident in the jurisdiction.

However, the commission said it could not accurately quantify the true extent of the inaccuracy.

Crucially, both the electoral commission and Mayo County Council stress that there is “no evidence of voter fraud arising from these inaccuracies.”

The council expressed support for the reforms outlined in the “Electoral Reform Act 2022”, which promises to introduce a “centralised, secure, and digital voter database by 2026."

The shift will include the use of Personal Public Service numbers, a key measure to ensure each voter is registered just once across the country.

“The new shared repository will help eliminate duplicate and erroneous records and will also bring standardised security and data protection measures to the process,” the council said.

The Department of Housing and Local Government is compiling a single national register, which is due to be completed in autumn 2026.

Mayo County Council welcomed the move, calling it “an essential step” toward the successful roll-out of the national system.