Poll: Irish general election edition

[Duncan Gardner]

Ps I'm unsure what point Berba is making- whether it's that the current structure of Dail Eireann is inherently so sensible that even outsiders can understand it after brief explanation, or even self-evidently. Or, conversely, that it doesn't really matter that constituencies are differently sized as long as everyone gets a vote. Or some other reason.

[Duncan Gardner]

That would make it "fairer" for them all to be bigger, though, rather than for them all to be the same size.

Yes, that's why I suggest they should all be 5 seaters. I'd like the same structure in Britain.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

TT- it's fairer for the reason I mentioned. Smaller parties are more likely to be elected and thus the overall range of parties represented to be more proportionate to their vote share.

Currently, one constituency has more than 150,00 electors, another fewer than 60,000.This is clearly suggestive of gerrymandering and potentially other abuses.

It suggests that you should use more than two data points. Kildare south does only have 60k voters for three seats, but every other constituency in the country has between 27,500 and 30,000 voters per seat. Irish people don't like moving from constituency, very much, and they particularly don't like being say the small part of one county grafted onto a whole other county.

[Duncan Gardner]

Er, I started with at least 3 data points: an area can have either 3, 4 or 5 TDs.

Irish people don't mind boundary changes that much.. Partly as they recognise population changes, but mainly as it's abstract for most. We can agree that politics in NI are both more volatile and sterile than down South, but in practice nobody is that bothered that all the Stormont constituencies are 5 seaters and each Council outside Belfast has 40 members.

Other readers may remember a previous thread in which Berba criticised Britain's typically geriatric MPs- before being gently reminded that 4 of the 5 TDs for his home constituency were over 60

[Diable Rouge]

Peter Casey is running in Donegal, but given 2 candidates are each running for FF, FG and SF, along with an Independent TD, he could well fall short for the third time.

[Lang Spoon]

The only thing worse than pat the cunting cute hoor cope Gallagher or Joe McHugh would be an actual fascist. I'm not optimistic. Too many "they're all as bad as each other, sure we need to shake things up" cunts out there.

[Diable Rouge]

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1217038110518927360

[Diable Rouge]

Fine Gael continue their long tradition of awful campaign slogans:

https://twitter.com/oconnellhugh/status/1217041268217389062

[anton pulisov]

It's very Thick of It

[Diable Rouge]

Taoiseach has just arrived at the Áras to conduct the formal last rites.

[DCI Harry Batt]

How quick do you result? Will we have an answer on my birthday, the day after?

[Lang Spoon]

No overnight counting, god knows if they will count on a Sunday. The gist should be known within a day, some final seats could take forever.

[Diable Rouge]

How quick do you result? Will we have an answer on my birthday, the day after?

Given the election is Saturday, will be a two-day counting marathon over Sunday and Monday, with some possibly dragging into mid-week.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Thanks.

I wish people would sort this out though. It's ridiculous.

[Diable Rouge]

People simply place more trust in paper ballots, given the potential for hacking in e-voting.

[Duncan Gardner]

TT and DR are both right. It's clearly absurd not to use basic, long-established technology to count votes. And also true that lots of people don't trust it, having forgotten (or failed to grasp) that random boxes of paper can also be tampered or stolen.

Meanwhile, results for the next Fermanagh With Tyrone Stormont election are already in. 103% turnout

[anton pulisov]

Februrary 8th huh. And the new Electoral Register comes into effect every year on February 15th.

Arseholes.

[DCI Harry Batt]

The GLA / London Mayor elections use machine counting of paper ballots. It's not quick, though.

(Doesn't take two bloody days mind)

[seand]

Februrary 8th huh. And the new Electoral Register comes into effect every year on February 15th.

Arseholes.

Do you think they (FG) are trying to avoid newly registering voters AP? What cohort would that be though, if you trying to get it through before a min-glut of student types get registered you'd hardly hold it on a Saturday to accommodate students?

[anton pulisov]

The other parties knew there was an election coming up this year, so were generally making an extra effort in 2019 to get people on the 2020 register. All in vain now.

I imagine many of those newly registered people will show up nonetheless - and won't be able to vote.

[seand]

Love the poll by the way.... it really sums up OTF (90% voting left, 10% independent) and the fractured Irish left (9 left leaning votes split across 5 lefty parties!)

[DCI Harry Batt]

And indeed not everyone would even agree that there are five lefty parties.

[elguapo4]

The Shinners are usually first up with the election posters, though Labour and Fine Gael are ahead of them round my neck of the woods.

[Lang Spoon]

Leo had his up this morning in advance of the announcement, contravening littering laws.

[Diable Rouge]

Turns out I'm a Keynesian, multicultural globalist with collectivist leanings, but try the quiz for yourself:

https://ireland.isidewith.com