Sir, – The Government will now allow voters who are required to quarantine to vote by post in the Dublin Bay South byelection. There is a catch, though: applications for postal votes must be received by July 2nd. So anyone who tests positive or is identified as a close contact on or after July 2nd will be disenfranchised.
Is there any reason why pre-poll voting should not be available to all voters without restrictions, especially now during a pandemic? Many other countries allow early voting for all, by postal vote or at post offices or town halls, to allow everyone the opportunity to vote.
There has been much rightful criticism of Trump and Republicans in the US for their opposition to pre-poll voting. When the same attitudes prevail in our own system, the silence is deafening. – Yours, etc,
JONIVAR SKULLERUD,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.