I plan to register to vote for the first time to allow me to vote in the upcoming General Election. However, I believe that marketing companies use the Register of Electors for direct marketing purposes. Is this true and is there anything I can do to protect my personal information from marketing companies? I want to avoid getting junk mail as much as possible.
Being registered to vote allows you to participate in deciding who represents you at local national and European government level. In order to vote you must apply to be included on the Register of Electors. You may do so provided you are at least 18 years old on the day the Register comes into force (15 February) and have been ordinarily resident in the State on 1 September in the year preceding the coming into force of the Register. To vote in the upcoming General Election on 29th November, you must have been registered to vote by Tuesday 12th November 2024.
As regards your query on your information being used by marketing companies, kindly note that before October 2022, an edited version of the Register of Electors was available. This edited version could be used for direct marketing purposes. Since October 2022 however, there is no longer an edited version of the Register of Electors. It is now an offence for an organisation to use the full electoral register for direct marketing purposes.