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38 1923

THE PREVENTION OF ELECTORAL ABUSES ACT, 1923

PART III.

Prevention of Personation.

Dáil candidate may appoint personation agents.

22. —(1) Each candidate at a Dáil election in any constituency or the agent of such candidate may appoint one person (in this Act called a personation agent) to attend on behalf of such candidate at each polling station in each polling place in the constituency for the purpose of assisting in the detection of persons committing or attempting to commit the offence of personation.

(2) Each candidate or his agent shall, not less than twelve hours before the commencement of the poll, furnish to the returning officer in writing the names of all personation agents appointed under this section by him or on his behalf together with the name of the polling station to which each personation agent is allotted.

(3) Every personation agent duly appointed under this section and of whose appointment notice is duly given as aforesaid shall be entitled to attend in the polling station to which he is allotted during the whole time of the poll and during half an hour before and half an hour after that time.

(4) No personation agent shall while the poll remains open leave the polling station to which he is allotted without previously obtaining the permission of the presiding officer and depositing with the presiding officer all registers, books and documents in which he has made any note, writing or mark during the poll, which registers, books and documents shall be returned to him on his return to the polling station.

(5) Any personation agent who leaves a polling station in contravention of the foregoing sub-section shall not be permitted to return to such polling station until after the close of the poll, and shall in addition to any other penalty be guilty of an offence under this Act and be liable on summary conviction to a punishment not exceeding three months' imprisonment with or without hard labour.

Appointment of Sponsor and Challenger at a referendum.

23. —(1) Whenever a referendum is demanded under Article 47 of the Constitution—

(a) Dáil Eireann may appoint a person to be Sponsor of the Bill; and

(b) If the referendum is demanded by a Resolution of Seanad Eireann, Seanad Eireann may appoint a person to be Challenger of the Bill; and

(c) if the referendum is demanded by a Petition the members of Dáil Eireann or the members of Seanad Eireann upon whose demand the Bill was suspended in accordance with Article 47 of the Constitution may appoint a person to be Challenger of the Bill.

(2) The Sponsor and the Challenger shall each have the like power of appointing an agent in each constituency in Saorstát Eireann as is conferred by this Act or the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923) on a candidate at a Dáil election in such constituency, and every provision of this Act or the Electoral Act, 1923 , relating to the appointment of an agent by a candidate at a Dáil election shall apply to the appointment of agents by a Sponsor or a Challenger.

(3) Every agent appointed by a Sponsor or a Challenger shall have within the constituency for which he is appointed agent, the like powers of appointing sub-agents, personation agents and persons to be present at the counting of the votes as are conferred in that behalf by this Act or the Electoral Act, 1923 , on a candidate or the agent of a candidate at a Dáil election in that constituency, and every provision of this Act or the Electoral Act, 1923 , in relation to the appointment of such sub-agents, personation agents and other persons by any such candidate or his agent and the rights, powers and duties of such persons when so appointed shall apply to such persons when appointed by the agent of a Sponsor or Challenger.

(4) In this section the word “Bill” means the Bill which is the subject of the referendum.

Personation agents at Seanad elections.

24. —(1) At a Seanad election, the returning officer in each constituency shall fix the number of persons (not being less than six) who may be present on behalf of the candidates at the counting of the votes in the constituency so far as such counting is done by such returning officer.

(2) Each candidate at a Seanad election or any group of such candidates may appoint a person to be present on his or their behalf at the counting of the votes in each constituency.

(3) When the number of persons appointed under this section to be present at the counting of the votes exceeds the number fixed for that counting by the returning officer, the returning officer shall admit to such counting—

(a) every (if any) person who is appointed by a group of candidates not less in number than the number of candidates desiring to appoint persons for such counting, divided by the number of persons fixed by the returning officer for such counting; and

(b) such number of persons selected by lot from the other persons appointed under this section as shall be sufficient to make up the number fixed by the returning officer for that counting.

(4) Every enactment for the time being in force in relation to the appointment by a candidate or the agent of a candidate at a Dáil election of persons to be present at the counting of the votes on behalf of such candidate shall, so far as such enactments are not inconsistent with this section, apply to the appointment under this section of such persons by candidates at a Seanad election.

Arrest of persons committing personation.

25. —(1) If at the time any person tenders his vote at an election or at any time after he has voted and before he leaves the polling place any personation agent lawfully present in such polling place declares to the returning officer or a presiding officer that he verily believes and undertakes to prove that such person is committing or has committed the offence of personation, the returning officer or such presiding officer shall direct a police constable to arrest such person on the charge of having committed the offence of personation.

(2) If the returning officer or any presiding officer has reasonable ground for believing that any person who applies or has applied for a ballot paper is committing or has committed the offence of personation, such returning officer or presiding officer may, before such person leaves the polling place, direct a police constable to arrest such person on the charge of having committed the offence of personation.

(3) Any police constable shall, without any warrant, arrest on the charge of having committed the offence of personation, every person whom such police constable is directed by the returning officer or a presiding officer to arrest on such charge.

(4) Any police constable may, without any warrant, arrest any person who is found by such police constable committing the offence of personation or who is believed by such police constable to have committed such offence.

(5) Every person arrested under this section shall, as soon as may be after his arrest, be brought before a District Justice and dealt with according to law, and may be detained in custody until he can be so brought before a District Justice.

(6) Any arrest authorised by this section may be made at any place, whether in or out of a polling place.

Penalty for making false charge of personation.

26. —(1) Whenever any person is arrested under this Act in consequence of a charge made by a personation agent that such person had committed the offence of personation, and either such personation agent fails to appear before the District Justice and support such charge, or the District Justice acquits such person of having committed the offence and finds that the charge was made by the personation agent without reasonable or sufficient cause, the District Justice may, at the request of the person so charged but not otherwise, order the personation agent to pay to such person such sum not exceeding £20 as the District Justice 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 the said charge and his arrest and detention thereon.

(2) No action or other proceeding, civil or criminal, shall lie against any returning officer or presiding officer in respect of the arrest by his direction without malice of any person on a charge of having committed the offence of personation.