POLLING STATIONS in Co Clare have closed for voting on the Referendums on the 39th and 40th Constitutional Amendments.
90,101 persons were registered to vote in Co Clare for the two referendums but very few if any polling stations in the county surpassed fifty percent.
Ennistymon is likely to have among the highest turnouts in Clare standing at 47%. Reports have suggested that turnout was low in rural areas of Co Clare.
Urban areas meanwhile were busy particularly from the tea-time rush, Killaloe (46.6%), St Conaire’s in Shannon (44%) and CBS Ennis (42.5%) all had turnouts in excess of forty percent as did Lisdoonvarna (41.8%) and Newmarket-on-Fergus (40.6%).
A lower turnout was recorded in Kilrush (32%).
Voting turnout in Clare for Referendums on the 39th and 40th Constitutional Amendments, known as the Family & Carer Referendums.
Ennistymon: 47%
Killaloe: 46.6%
St Conaires Shannon: 44%
CBS Ennis: 42.5%
Lisdoonvarna: 41.8%
Newmarket-on-Fergus: 40.6%
Kilrush: 32%— Páraic McMahon (@thepmanofficial) March 8, 2024
Counting will begin at 09:00 on Saturday morning in Hotel Woodstock.
Voters were given two ballot papers, there was a white one for the Family amendment and a green one for the Care amendment. The referendum on care in the home asked voters whether or not to delete Article 41.2 of the Constitution.
This says the State recognises that “by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved” and that “the State shall endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in economic activity to the neglect of duties in the home”.
This would be replaced with gender-neutral language on the provision of care with a new Article 42B which reads: “The State recognises that the provision of care by members of a family to one another, by reason of the bonds that exist between them, gives to Society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved and shall strive to support such provision.”
The referendum on the definition of family asked voters whether or not to change Article 41.1, which recognises the family “as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of society” to insert “family – whether founded on marriage or other durable relationships”. This would also alter Article 41.3 which says “the State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage” to remove the following part: “on which the family is founded”.
Some 86,000 people were added to the electoral register since the start of the year, bringing the total number of eligible voters to almost 3.5 million.
Citizens living on the islands for the first time got to vote on the same day as the rest of the country – following changes made in 2022.
