An Coimisiún Toghcháin (The Irish Electoral Commission) published a referendum report on Monday recommending that the current broadcast moratorium that covers issues concerning a referendum should be removed from the guidelines for radio and television broadcasters before the next electoral event.
The report explained An Coimisiún Toghcháin’s role and functions in the family and care referendums held on March 8 this year and made recommendations for further improvements. The removal of the broadcast moratorium is among the five recommendations An Coimisiún made to the government concerning the referendum information campaign.
The current broadcast moratorium provides that television and radio broadcasters cannot report on elections or referendums during the period from 2 pm on the day before the polls open to the time when they are closed.
On May 7, Irish Minister for Local Government Darragh O’Brien expressed concerns over the current broadcasting moratorium before polling being manipulated by bad faith actors, especially those using artificial intelligence, because the same restriction does not apply to online content providers. This double standard, according to Minister O’Brien, could potentially undermine the democratic process. “A targeted social media campaign from potential bad actors in the hours before and during polling can only be met with silence from the broadcast media. I believe this is ripe for manipulation,” he said.
Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán (Media Commission), in response to Minister O’Brien’s concerns, said it will also conduct research before and after the June elections to consider whether the moratorium arrangement should be amended or removed.
In addition to removing the broadcast moratorium, An Coimisiún also recommended in the report that the publication of a proposed amendment should be no later than 16 weeks before the proposed polling day, that the polling day order should give a minimum of 60 days notice of a referendum polling day, that the overall design of the ballot papers should be reviewed in advance of the next referendum, and that An Coimisiún should be funded from the central fund.
In Ireland, citizens can decide whether or not to change the wording of the Constitution through a constitutional referendum. An Coimisiún Toghcháin was established in February 2023 under the Electoral Reform Act 2022 with the functions of providing a neutral explanation of the proposals to the public, promoting awareness of the referendums, and encouraging engagement and turnout.
On March 8, 2024, Irish citizens were asked to vote for proposed changes to Article 41 of the Irish Constitution, also known as the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment. This was the first electoral outing of An Coimisiún since its establishment. In the referendum report, An Coimisiún claimed to have provided 2.3m referendum information booklets, created a 3-phase national public awareness advertising campaign, held in-person campaign information events across ten counties, answered hundreds of questions through 58 local and national media interviews, and responded to 1,184 public queries.
“While fulfilling our referendum functions as set out in this report, we have also seen improvements that can be made including around issues of referendum campaign timings, the broadcast moratorium and the design of the ballot papers which can improve the voter experience in these kinds of constitutional votes,” Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin Art O’Leary said.
