Election Offences
Personation & Validity of Ballot
There is personation, where a person applies for a ballot paper in the name of another or where the person applies for a ballot paper in his own name, having already obtained a ballot paper for that election. The offence is committed once the application for the ballot paper is made.
Voting is not necessary. It is an offence to aid, abet or counsel personation.
It is an offence to vote while not registered in the register or when registered but not entitled to a vote.
It is an offence to unlawfully supply a ballot paper to any person. It is an offence to fraudulently put in a ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper, which is one authorised to be put in it.
It is an offence to take a ballot paper out of a station unlawfully. It is an offence to unlawfully mark a ballot paper while acting or purporting to act as a companion to an illiterate, blind or incapacitated voter. It is an offence to forge or fraudulently deface any official envelope or declaration of identity or form residues in connection with special voting or postal voting.
Bribery & Force
It is an offence to procure voting in return for payment or any other consideration. It is an offence to withdraw from an election for consideration of value. It is an offence to induce a person so to do. Both the person who offers the bribe and the person withdrawing commit the offence.
It is an offence to use force, violence, restraint, or to threaten to or to use duress or fraud to compel an individual to vote or prevent his free vote or refrain from voting or to withdraw or refuse as a candidate or impede another person from being a candidate.
Secret Ballot
They are a range of offences designed to protect the security of the ballot. It is an offence to attend at the opening or issue of the ballots or the counting of ballots to ascertain the number on the back of a ballot.
It is an offence to attend at a station to unlawfully communicate to another person any information obtained at the said issue or the said voting as to the official mark, or attempts to ascertain at the said issue or the said voting or the said opening the number on the back of any ballot paper or the candidate for whom any vote is given in any ballot paper, or communicates to any other person any information with respect thereto obtained.
Interference with Voting Process
It is an offence to interfere or attempt to interfere with a voter while marking his ballot paper. It is an offence attempt to obtain or to obtain information as to how a voter has voted. It is an offence to communicate to any other person any information obtained at a polling station as to who a voter has voted for. It is an offence to directly or indirectly induce any voter to display his ballot paper after he has voted or otherwise make known how he has voted.
It is an offence to obstruct or interfere with the polling. It is an offence to unlawfully take, destroy, conceal, open or interfere with a ballot box or ballot papers or documents intended for use in an election. It is an offence to maliciously destroy, tear or deface a ballot paper. It is an offence to forge or counterfeit a ballot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper.
It is an offence to interfere with the official mark, to unlawfully remove, destroy the official mark or  have in one’s possession any imitation or counterfeit of such instrument. It is an offence for a person attending at the issue of postal ballot papers or attending at a polling station to communicate information about an official mark to any other person before the close of the poll.
Nomination Offences
It is an offence to forge or fraudulently deface any nomination papers or certificate of political affiliation or other authorisation. It is an offence to produce to the returning officer a forged nomination paper. It is an offence to produce a certificate of party affiliation to a returning officer, which one knows to be false.
It is an offence to nominate or withdraw a person’s candidature without consent. It is an offence to knowingly publish a false statement that a candidate has withdrawn or died. It is an offence to violently obstruct the nomination of a candidate. It is an offence to make a false declaration, whether as a candidate or proposer, that one believes a candidate to be eligible without reasonable grounds to so believing and where he is not so eligible.
Polling Station Offences
It is an offence to obstruct or impede an elector going to or from the vicinity of the polling station. It is an offence on polling day during the period, 30 minutes before the polling and 30 minutes afterwards, within the curtilage of 100 metres of a polling station to loiter, congregate with other persons, to canvas in any way, a person to vote or refrain from voting, to display or distribute any notice or sign or poster or card relating to the election except returning officer’s posters or to use or cause to be used any loudspeaker or other public address mechanism within 100 metres.
It is an offence for any person involved in the poll, such as returning officers, returning officers, deputies or persons employed by or acting for any candidate or promoting the interests of any political party.
A presiding officer can call upon a Garda SÃochána to remove a person who in misbehaving at a polling station or failing to comply with the orders of the presiding officer. Where a presiding officer has reasonable cause to believe a person is applying for a ballot and is committing an offence, he may direct the members of an Garda SÃochána to arrest him before leaving the polling station.
Personation Agent Offences
It is an offence for a personation agent to leave a polling station without permission of the presiding officer without first leaving all registers, books, and documents with the latter. It is an offence for a candidate or his agent to handle a ballot paper during the counting of votes.
Where a personation agent for one of the candidates undertakes in writing that the elector has committed personation, the presiding officer can request an arrest in the same manner. A Garda who has reasonable cause that the person is committing or has committed personation, may arrest the person.
Where a personation agent fails to support an accusation in court or the court in question finds the charge was made by the personation agent without reasonable and just cause, the court may order the agent to pay damages up to €625. However, if he opts for this, he may not take a civil claim in respect of the same.
Registration Offences
There are offences in connection with an application for registration. It is an offence to knowingly give false information in a claim for correction of an entry in the register of electors.
It is an offence to make a statement in the name of another person in connection with electoral registration. It is an offence to destroy or damage a register, copy of a register, election list or other documents made available for inspection in connection with the preparation of the register.
Election Literetature
It is an offence to print, publish or cause to be so printed or published any election literature which does not bear upon its face the name and address of the printer. Printing includes any reproduction of a copy.
It is an offence for a newspaper or similar publisher to publish an advertisement purporting to promote a party or candidate without the requisite certificate from the Public Offices Commission or local authority.
Penalties
Electoral offences are generally subject to a fine of up to €1270 or imprisonment of up to six months or both. In the case of more serious offences, they may be subject to a fine on conviction on indictment up to €3,165 or imprisonment up to two years or both. Other minor offences are subject to a fine of up to €625 or three months imprisonment or both.
Expenditure & Returns
There are offences in relation to electoral expenditure control. It is an offence for a national agent, candidate’s agent or candidate for elections
- to incur election expenses above the requisite limit.
- to pay expenses not claimed within 45 days of the poll.
- to fail to make the required return of election expenses.
The breach is an offence subject to a summary conviction of a fine of up to €1270. Where a candidate or party exceeds expenditure in the requisite extent, it may be deducted from except for payments to the party. Equivalent provisions apply in respect of a candidate.
It is an offence subject to conviction or indictment of a fine up to €25,400 or three years’ imprisonment knowingly to make a false or misleading electoral expenses statement.
Under the local authority legislation, a candidate who is a non-successful candidate and fails to make the requisite return is disqualified from being a member of the local authority by way of corruption until after the next election. Where a person succeeds and fails to make the return, he may be suspended. He is suspended from membership for seven days or until the relevant returns are made. If he does not make it, he will be disqualified until the following election.
A candidate, agent, or party who fails to make the required details in connection with donations is guilty of an offence. This is subject to, on summary conviction, a fine of up to €1270. A person who knowingly makes a false declaration is subject to, on conviction and indictment, imprisonment of up to three years and/or €38,100.