Election Offences
ELECTORAL ACT 1992 (as enacted)
PART XXII
Electoral Offences
Offences in relation to registration of electors.
133.—(1) Any person who knowingly furnishes false information in a claim for correction in a draft register or, having been duly required pursuant to the provisions of the Second Schedule to give any information in his possession which a registration authority or county registrar may require for the purpose of their duties, fails or refuses to give the information or knowingly gives false information, shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Any person who—
(a) in relation to a statement pursuant to section 12 or to an application pursuant to section 17 knowingly gives any information which is false or misleading, or
(b) makes a statement pursuant to section 12 in the name of another person, or
(c) applies in the name of another person to be entered in the special voters list,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) (a) Any person who, without lawful authority, wilfully destroys or mutilates any notice, draft register, copy of the register of electors, electors lists or other document made available for public inspection in connection with the preparation of the register of electors shall be guilty of an offence.
(b) An offence under this subsection may be prosecuted by the authority which caused the notice, draft register, copy of the register of electors or other document to be made available for public inspection.
Personation.
134.—(1) A person who—
(a) at a Dáil election applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether that name be the name of a living person or of a dead person or of a fictitious person, or
(b) having obtained a ballot paper once at a Dáil election applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name (otherwise than under section 102 ), shall be guilty of the offence of personation.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a person to whom a ballot paper has been issued pursuant to section 68 shall be deemed to have obtained a ballot paper.
(3) A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of the offence of personation shall be guilty of an offence.
Bribery.
135.—(1) A person shall not, in relation to a Dáil election—
(a) give valuable consideration to induce a voter to vote, or to procure the election of any person or the vote of any voter, or on account of a voter having voted; or
(b) procure, by means of, or in consequence of, valuable consideration, the election of any person or the vote of any voter; or
(c) withdraw or refrain from withdrawing, in consequence of any valuable consideration, from being a candidate; or
(d) induce, by means of, or in consequence of, valuable consideration, any person to withdraw or to refrain from withdrawing from being a candidate; or
(e) receive, agree or contract to receive, valuable consideration for voting or agreeing to vote.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) In this section—
“give”, “induce” and “procure” include agreeing or promising or attempting to give, induce or procure, as the case may be, and whether directly or indirectly;
“valuable consideration” includes the giving, lending or agreeing to give or lend, or the offer or promise to procure or to attempt to procure, any money, money’s worth or valuable security or any valuable consideration or any office, place or employment to or for any person;
“vote” includes voting in a particular way or refraining from voting.
Undue influence.
136.—A person who, in relation to a Dáil election, directly or indirectly makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence or restraint against or inflicts or causes or threatens to inflict or cause any temporal or spiritual injury or loss on or to any person, or attempts by abduction, duress, or fraud—
(a) to induce or compel any person to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote or refrain from voting for a particular person or in a particular way, or
(b) to induce or compel any person to withdraw, or to refrain from withdrawing, from being a candidate, or
(c) to induce or compel any person to be a candidate or to impede or prevent any person from being a candidate, or
(d) to impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise by any Dáil elector,
shall be guilty of an offence.
Breach of secrecy.
137.—(1) A person who is present at the issue of ballot papers to postal voters or at voting by special voters or at the opening of postal ballot boxes shall be guilty of an offence if, except for some purpose authorised by law, he—
(a) communicates, before the poll is closed, to any person any information obtained at the said issue or the said voting as to the official mark, or
(b) 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 at the said issue or the said voting or the said opening.
(2) A person admitted to a polling station in any capacity at a Dáil election shall be guilty of an offence if, before the poll is closed, he communicates, except for some purpose authorised by law, to any other person any information as to the name or the number on the register of Dáil electors of any voter who has or has not applied for a ballot paper or voted at a polling station, or as to the official mark.
(3) A person who is present in any capacity at the counting of the votes at a Dáil election shall be guilty of an offence if, except for some purpose authorised by law, he ascertains or attempts to ascertain at such counting the number on the back of any ballot paper or if at any time he communicates any information obtained at such count as to the candidate for whom any vote is given on any ballot paper.
(4) A person shall be guilty of an offence if, at a Dáil election, except for some purpose authorised by law, he—
(a) interferes with or attempts to interfere with a voter when marking his ballot paper, or obtains or attempts to obtain in a polling station information as to the candidate for whom any voter in the station is about to vote or has voted, or
(b) communicates at any time to any other person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom a voter in that station is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the back of the ballot paper issued to a voter at that station, or
(c) directly or indirectly induces any voter to display his ballot paper after the said voter has marked it so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom the said voter has or has not voted, or
(d) interferes with or attempts to interfere with the receipt, marking or return of a ballot paper by any postal voter or attempts to obtain information as to the candidate for whom any such voter has or has not voted.
Offences relating to ballot boxes, ballot papers, nomination papers, certificates of political affiliation, official marks etc.
138.—A person shall be guilty of an offence if—
(a) wilfully and without lawful authority, he takes, destroys, conceals, opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or packet of ballot papers, or any packet of papers or documents of any kind then in use or intended to be used for the purposes of a Dáil election, or any ballot paper account or marked copy of a register of Dáil electors prepared or used for the purposes of the election, or any unused ballot paper, or
(b) he maliciously destroys, tears or defaces a ballot paper, or
(c) he forges or counterfeits a ballot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper, or
(d) without lawful authority, he supplies a ballot paper to any person, or
(e) he fraudulently puts into a ballot box any paper other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in it, or
(f) without lawful authority, he takes a ballot paper out of a polling station, or
(g) he forges or fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper or any certificate of political affiliation or any authorisations under section 99 or section 100 or any official envelope or form of declaration of identity or form of receipt used in connection with special voting or voting by post, or any other form or document used at an election, or
(h) he produces to the returning officer a nomination paper, knowing the same to be forged, or
(i) he counterfeits the official mark, or
(j) without lawful authority, he removes, destroys or damages any instrument for placing the official mark on ballot papers or makes or has in his possession any imitation or counterfeit of any such instrument.
Disorderly conduct at election meeting.
139.—(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if, between the date of the issue of a writ for the election of a member or members of the Dáil for a constituency and the date on which the return is made to the Clerk of the Dáil under section 39 , he acts in a disorderly manner at a lawful public meeting held in connection with the election.
(2) A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
Omission of name and address of printer and publisher from Dáil election documents.
140.—(1) Every notice, bill, poster or similar document having reference to a Dáil election or distributed for the purpose of furthering the candidature of any candidate at a Dáil election shall bear upon its face the name and address of the printer and of the publisher thereof.
(2) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he prints, publishes or posts, or causes to be printed, published or posted, any such notice, bill, poster or similar document as aforesaid which does not bear upon its face the name and address of the printer and of the publisher thereof.
(3) The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply as respects any such notice, bill, poster or similar document printed, published or posted by a returning officer.
(4) For the purposes of this section “print” includes any process for producing copies of a notice, bill, poster or similar document, other than copying it by hand.
Nominating or withdrawing a candidate without consent.
141.—(1) A person shall not—
(a) nominate another person for election under this Act to the Dáil, or
(b) withdraw the candidature of another person for such election to the Dáil,
save with the consent of that person.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
Forged certificate of political affiliation.
142.—A person who produces to a returning officer a certificate such as is referred to in section 46 which that person knows to be forged, shall be guilty of an offence.
False declaration on nomination paper.
143.—(1) In case a person who, being a candidate or the proposer of a candidate at a Dáil election, makes a declaration on a nomination paper that he has read the notes on the nomination paper and believes the candidate to be eligible for election under this Act then if the candidate is not eligible for election under this Act the person shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1), it shall be a good defence for the defendant to show that he had reasonable grounds for believing that the candidate was eligible for election.
Officer acting as agent of candidate or furthering a candidature.
144.—A returning officer, an assistant, deputy or acting returning officer or any person employed by any such officer for any purpose relating to a Dáil election who acts as agent for any candidate at that election or who is actively associated in furthering the candidature of any candidate or promoting the interests of any political party at the election shall be guilty of an offence.
Obstruction of nomination or poll.
145.—A person who at a Dáil election obstructs by violence the nomination of candidates or the poll shall be guilty of an offence.
Interference with or destruction of postal ballot papers.
146.—(1) Any person who, at a Dáil election—
(a) wilfully and without lawful authority takes, destroys, conceals, opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot paper or other document sent to a postal voter under this Act, or
(b) without lawful authority knowingly supplies any such ballot paper or other document to a person other than the person lawfully entitled to receive it,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under this section or who solicits or incites any other person to commit such an offence shall be guilty of an offence.
Obstruction of or interference with electors.
147.—(1) A person shall not interfere with or obstruct or impede an elector going to or coming from or in the vicinity of or in a polling station.
(2) During the period commencing 30 minutes before the time appointed for the taking of a poll at an election, including a poll which has been adjourned under section 107 , and ending 30 minutes after the close of the said poll, a person shall not, in or in the curtilage of a polling station or in any place within 100 metres of such station, for the purpose of promoting the interest of a political party or furthering the candidature of a candidate or candidates or soliciting votes for a candidate or candidates or for any contrary purpose, do any or all of the following things:
(a) loiter or congregate with other persons;
(b) attempt to induce, by any means whatsoever, an elector to vote for a candidate or candidates or vote in a particular way or refrain from voting;
(c) display or distribute any notice, sign or poster (other than a notice, sign or poster displayed by the returning officer) or card, circular or other document relating to the election; or
(d) use or cause to be used any loud-speaker or other public address mechanism to broadcast matter relating to the election.
(3) For the purpose of this section, a polling station shall be deemed to include all parts of the building and any land within the curtilage of the building in which the polling station is situate and the distance referred to in subsection (2) shall be measured from any entrance to the polling station or to the curtilage thereof.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence.
Personation agent leaving polling station without permission.
148.—(1) A personation agent shall not, during the hours fixed under section 96 for the holding of the poll, leave the polling station to which he is appointed without previously obtaining the permission of the presiding officer and depositing with the said presiding officer all registers, books and documents in which he has made any note, writing or mark during the poll.
(2) A personation agent who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and in addition shall not, save with the permission of the presiding officer, return to the polling station in question.
Prohibition on voting by person registered as elector when not entitled to be so registered.
149.—(1) A person—
(a) who is registered in the register of Dáil electors for the time being in force for a constituency but is not entitled to be so registered, or
(b) who is not registered in that register,
shall not vote in that constituency.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
Unlawful marking of ballot papers by persons acting as companions.
150.—A person who contravenes subsection (8) or (9) of section 103 shall be guilty of an offence.
False statement of withdrawal or death of a candidate.
151.—A person who, between the date of the issue of a writ for the election of a member or members of the Dáil for a constituency and the date on which the return is made to the Clerk of the Dáil under section 39 , knowingly publishes a false statement of the withdrawal or death of a candidate at the Dáil election shall be guilty of an offence.
Misleading statement as to process of voting.
152.—Any person who, before or during a Dáil election, makes or publishes any statement which is likely to mislead voters as to the actual process of voting shall be guilty of an offence.
Handling of ballot papers by candidates or agents.
153.—A candidate or the agent of a candidate who handles a ballot paper during the counting of the votes at a Dáil election shall be guilty of an offence.
Unauthorised inspection of documents.
154.—Unauthorised inspection of any document which is a document mentioned in section 130 shall be an offence.
Corrupt withdrawal of petition.
155.—A person who makes any agreement or enters into any undertaking in relation to the withdrawal of a petition in consideration of any payment or the cesser of membership of the Dáil or for any substantial reason not stated in the affidavit referred to in Rule 8 of the Third Schedule shall be guilty of an offence.
Limitation of time for prosecution of offence.
156.—Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within twelve months from the date of the offence or, if the offence was committed in relation to a Dáil election as respects which proceedings questioning the election are held before the High Court, may be commenced within twelve months from the date of the offence or within three months from the decision of the court, whichever period last expires, but proceedings for an offence under this Act shall not be commenced after the expiration of the period of two years beginning on the date of the offence.
Penalties.
157.—(1) Where a person is guilty of an offence under this Act, other than an offence mentioned in subsection (2), such person shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £2,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) Where a person is guilty of an offence under sections 133 , 140 , 148 or 153 , such person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
Compensation where certain charge is unjustly made or not prosecuted.
158.—Where any person is arrested under section 105 on a charge made by a personation agent that such person has committed the offence of personation and either such personation agent (or someone on his behalf) fails to appear before the court and support the charge, or the court acquits the person of having committed the offence and finds that the charge was made by the personation agent without reasonable or just cause, the court may, at the request of the person so charged but not otherwise, order the personation agent to pay to the person such sum not exceeding £500 as the court shall think proper by way of damages, and such sum when duly paid shall be accepted by the person so charged in full satisfaction of all claims by him in respect of damages arising from the said charge and his arrest and detention thereon.
Damages for breach of duty by officers etc.
159.—Where any person upon whom any functions or duties are conferred by or under this Act in relation to a Dáil election fails without reasonable cause to perform his functions or duties in that behalf, any person injured by such failure shall be entitled to recover from him by action at law such sum by way of damages as the court by which such action shall be tried shall consider just.
Certificate of returning officer to be prima facie evidence.
160.—In any civil or criminal proceedings in relation to an alleged offence at a Dáil election, the certificate of the returning officer for the constituency concerned of the due holding of the election or that a particular person was a candidate thereat shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of the returning officer or that he was in fact such returning officer.