‘No’ campaign clerk removed from work at polling station

A poll clerk was removed from a city polling station after it emerged she had campaigned for one side in the marriage equality referendum.

The woman was removed from working in the city centre polling station last Friday morning after a voter brought it to the attention of the Galway West constituency returning officer that she had campaigned and canvassed in the referendum.

There were over 700 poll clerks and presiding officers at polling stations throughout the city and county working for returning officer Marian Chambers-Higgins last Friday when voters went to the polls.

It is against the law to work as a poll clerk or presiding officer if you are actively campaigning for candidates in an election or for one side in a referendum. All employees of returning officers must sign declarations stating, under oath, that they do not canvass or campaign for one side or other.

Early last Friday, the female poll clerk was removed from the city polling station after a complaint was made to Ms Chambers-Higgins. It is understood the woman had campaigned for the ‘No’ side in the marriage equality referendum.

Photographs of the woman canvassing were produced as evidence that she should not have been allowed to work in a polling station. She was replaced by another poll clerk who was on ‘stand-by’.

Responding to queries from Galway City Tribune, returning officer in the Galway West constituency and County Registrar Marian Chambers-Higgins, said: “One woman on my staff was removed from a polling station in the city because she had campaigned for one side in the referendum. The person who brought it to my attention was a gentleman, and was very respectful about it.

“You cannot work for a returning officer, as a poll clerk or a presiding officer, if you have actively campaigned in an election or referendum. It is not allowed. They have to sign a declaration to confirm that they are not involved in canvassing or campaigning.”

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune