A major voter registration drive among ‘new Irish’ residents in Galway has helped to add almost 2,500 new voters to the city’s electorate.

Galway City Council confirmed that some 2,460 people were added to the electoral register ‘balancing list’ – formerly known as the supplementary register – over three weeks in May.

The closing date to be added to the electoral register for Local Elections to Galway City Council was May 20.

From May 3 to May 20 – just under three weeks, some 2,460 new voters were registered.

A source in City Hall attributed the increase to successful voter registration initiatives by individual politicians, and a media advertising campaign by the Electoral Commission.

It’s understood many of the new voters registered are migrants, including Ukrainian and International Protection applicants seeking asylum here.

You do not have to be an Irish citizen to vote in Local Elections; you must be 18, live in the Local Electoral Area, and be registered to vote.

Several candidates signed-up new voters in the three weeks before registration closed on May 20.

In City East, some 1,023 new voters were registered on the balancing list. This was more than double the 450 who were added to the supplementary register in this LEA in 2019.

Theoretically, if they all exercised their vote, and voted for the same candidate, that candidate would be elected based on the quota last time.

In City West, some 738 new voters were added in the three weeks to May 20, compared with 199 in 2019. And in City Central, there were 699 additional voters registered before the deadline, compared with 415 five years ago.

Increased population and successful voter registration has also resulted in the total electorate in Galway City rising from 48,933 registered voters in 2019, to 54,368 for next Friday’s June 7 vote.