Laois Council reveals final number of registered General Election voters
Number of Laois people registered new three-seat constituency at this General Election rises
Just over 70% of the population of Laois have registered to vote in the General Election according to figures released by Laois County Council.
The local authority, which maintains the county's Electoral Register, has confirmed to the Leinster Express Laois Live that 65,873 people have the right to vote in the national poll on Friday, November 29.
It's understood that the number registered to vote has swelled in the run-up to the poll due to a flurry of registrations. Staff have also been busy with voters changing their electoral details.
The is only the second time that Laois has been part of a three-seat constituency having been party of the Laois Offaly electoral area at all other General Elections since the foundation of the State.
Just six candidates candidates contested in 2016 when the turnout was nearly 62%. Seán Fleming of Fianna Fáil topped the poll with over 13,600 votes. Brian Stanley was returned for Sinn Féin while Charlie Flanagan was elected for Fine Gael.
The new constituency was created after the Electoral Commission deemed Laois and Offaly to have sufficiently large populations to merit representation by six TDs. Electoral law specifies that a constituency can have no more than five TDs so two constituencies were created. No parts of other counties are included in the new Laois constituency.
The number of registered voters in the 2024 Local Elections in Laois was 68,471. The smaller General Election electorate is due to the fact non-Irish citizens can vote in Local Elections.
A total of 12 candidates are contesting the General Election in Laois. Voting takes place from 7am to 10pm on Friday. The votes will be counted from Saturday morning in the Nagle Rice Hall at the Borris Road secondary School complex in Portlaoise.