Ineligible voters given ballot papers by mistake

TOWN COUNCIL: ABOUT 36 Co Meath voters, who were not entitled to vote in a town council election, did so yesterday after being…

TOWN COUNCIL:ABOUT 36 Co Meath voters, who were not entitled to vote in a town council election, did so yesterday after being given ballot papers by mistake, according to a Sinn Féin spokesman.

John Lynch, Sinn Féin’s director of elections for Co Meath, said the voters in Trim should only have voted in the county council and European elections. Staff at a polling station mistakenly provided them with three ballot papers, he said. “They gave town council voting slips to people who shouldn’t have got them. It was down to human error.”

Mr Lynch said a returning officer had called a meeting of candidates and directors of elections at midday to explain the situation.

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Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan is Features Editor of The Irish Times