Electoral Act 1923
The Electoral Act 1923 was a law in Ireland which established the electoral law of the Irish Free State and provided for parliamentary constituencies in Dáil Éireann.[1]
| Electoral Act 1923 | |
|---|---|
| Oireachtas | |
| |
| Citation | No. 12 of 123 |
| Territorial extent | Irish Free State (later Ireland) |
| Assented to | 17 April 1923 |
| Commenced | 17 April 1923 & 9 August 1923 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill citation | Bill No. 1 of 1923 |
| Introduced by | Minister for Local Government (Ernest Blythe) |
| Introduced | 18 December 1922 |
| Amended by | |
| Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935 | |
| Repealed by | |
| Electoral Act 1992 | |
| Status: Repealed | |
Franchise
Article 14 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted on 6 December 1922 provided equal suffrage to men and women over the age of twenty-one.[2] This was provided in the Electoral Act 1923. Equal suffrage on the basis of sex would not become law in the United Kingdom until 1928. It also abolished plural voting: electors could be registered in only one constituency: the constituency in which he or she was ordinarily resident; the constituency in which he or she occupied business premises; or one of two university constituencies.[3]
Repeal
It was substantially replaced as the principal electoral legislation by the Electoral Act 1963.[4] Its remaining provisions were repealed by a further revision and consolidation of electoral law in the Electoral Act 1992.[5]
Constituencies
This Act replaced the constituencies defined in the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which had been in use at the 1921 election and the 1922 election. It also increased the number of seats in the Dáil by 25 from 128 to 153. These constituencies were first used at the 1923 election held on 27 August for the 4th Dáil.
The constituencies in the 1923 Act were in turn replaced by the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, which came into effect on the dissolution of the 8th Dáil, and were first in use at the 1937 general election held on 14 June for the 9th Dáil.[6] The two university constituencies were abolished at the same election by separate legislation.[7][8]
| Name[9] | Seats | Contents or boundaries |
|---|---|---|
| Borough constituencies | ||
| Cork Borough | 5 | County borough of Cork and the county electoral area of Ballincollig |
| Dublin North | 8 | Borough electoral areas of Dublin No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8 in the county borough of Dublin |
| Dublin South | 7 | Borough electoral areas of Dublin No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, No. 9 and No. 10 in the county borough of Dublin |
| County constituencies | ||
| Carlow–Kilkenny | 5 | Administrative counties of Carlow and Kilkenny |
| Cavan | 4 | Administrative county of Cavan |
| Clare | 5 | Administrative county of Clare |
| East Cork | 5 | County electoral areas of Mallow and Cobh in the administrative county of Cork |
| North Cork | 3 | County electoral areas of Kanturk and Macroom in the administrative county of Cork |
| West Cork | 5 | County electoral areas of Bandon, Bantry and Dunmanway in the administrative county of Cork |
| Donegal | 8 | Administrative county of Donegal |
| Dublin County | 8 | Administrative county of Dublin |
| Galway | 9 | Administrative county of Galway |
| Kerry | 7 | Administrative county of Kerry |
| Kildare | 3 | Administrative county of Kildare |
| Leitrim–Sligo | 7 | Administrative counties of Leitrim and Sligo |
| Leix–Offaly | 5 | Administrative counties of Leix and Offaly |
| Limerick | 7 | Administrative county of Limerick and the county borough of Limerick |
| Longford–Westmeath | 5 | Administrative counties of Longford and Westmeath |
| Louth | 3 | Administrative county of Louth |
| North Mayo | 4 | County electoral areas of Ballina, Killala and Swinford in the administrative county of Mayo |
| South Mayo | 5 | County electoral areas of Castlebar, Claremorris and Westport in the administrative county of Mayo |
| Meath | 3 | Administrative county of Meath |
| Monaghan | 3 | Administrative county of Monaghan |
| Roscommon | 4 | Administrative county of Roscommon |
| Tipperary | 7 | Administrative counties of Tipperary North Riding and Tipperary South Riding |
| Waterford | 4 | Administrative county of Waterford and the county borough of Waterford |
| Wexford | 5 | Administrative county of Wexford |
| Wicklow | 3 | Administrative county of Wicklow |
| University constituencies[3] | ||
| Dublin University | 3 | Degree holders and scholars |
| National University | 3 | Degree holders |
References
- Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12 of 1923). Enacted on 17 April 1923. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 May 2021.
- Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) Act 1922, 1st Sch.: Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) (No. 1 of 1922, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 6 December 1922. Act of the Dáil sitting as a Constituent Assembly in the Provisional Parliament. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 May 2021.
- Electoral Act 1923, s. 1: Dáil franchise (No. 12 of 1923, s. 1). Enacted on 17 April 1923. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 May 2021.
- Electoral Act 1963 (No. 19 of 1963). Enacted on 12 July 1963. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
- Electoral Act 1992, 1st Sch.: Enactments Repealed and Regulations Revoked (No. 23 of 1992, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 5 November 1992. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
- Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, 1st Sch.: Revised Constituencies (No. 5 of 1935, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 27 February 1935. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 October 2021.
- Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act 1936 (No. 17 of 1936). Enacted on 24 April 1936. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 24 April 2020.
- Electoral (University Constituencies) Act 1936 (No. 22 of 1936). Enacted on 29 June 1936. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 24 April 2020.
- Electoral Act 1992, 8th Sch.: Constituencies (No. 12 of 1923, 8th Sch.). Enacted on 17 April 1923. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 10 October 2021.