ABSTRACT
Voters are given a ballot paper containing the names of all candidates, in alphabetical order. Candidates’ party affiliations, if any, have appeared on the ballot paper at elections since 1963, and since 1997 candidates have been entitled to include their photograph on the ballot paper beside their name. The returning officer is not obliged to distribute a surplus if this could not alter the position of the bottom two candidates or make any other salient difference, which is why in Cavan in 1948 Patrick O’Reilly’s surplus was not distributed on the seventh count. If a candidate is elected on the first count, all his or her votes are examined for their second preferences, but if the candidate is elected on a later count, only those in the last package received are examined. If no candidate has a surplus, then the count proceeds by the elimination of the candidate with fewest votes.
