The Referendum Commission is using Facebook to urge people to check they are registered to vote in upcoming referendums .

Voting on the same-sex marriage referendum and the poll on reducing the age of presidential candidates will take place on Friday, May 22nd. The registration deadline is May 5th.

Commission chairman Mr Justice Kevin Cross said the Referendum Commission’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/#!/referendumcommission) provided an easy way to allow people to check the register. Various forms for people who discover they are are not on the list of those eligible to vote can be downloaded.

“Alternatively, people can go straight to checktheregister.ie. One of the primary functions of the Referendum Commission is to encourage people to vote, and encouraging voter registration in this way is an important part of this,” Judge Cross said.

The commission will also be active on Twitter during the campaign at @RefCom_ie.

Judge Cross stressed that every Irish citizen aged 18 or over on polling day was entitled to vote. “Yet many people will find that they can’t use this vote for the simple reason that they are not registered, or are registered at an old address.

“A referendum is an occasion when a decision is made not by the government, the Houses of the Oireachtas or by the courts, but by the people who vote. It is very important to check the register now to ensure your voice will be heard.”

The commission is running an online, radio and outdoor advertising campaign over the next two weeks.