Referendum on the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1958 – Voting System

Polling at the referendum took place on Wednesday, 17th June, 1959, between the hours of 9.00 a.m and 9.30 p.m. A presidential election took place on the same day.

The following summary of the principal proposals in the THIRD AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION BILL, 1958, was circulated for the information of voters:

“At present, members of Dáil éireann are elected on a system of proportional representation for constituencies returning at least three members, each voter having a single transferable vote.

It is proposed in the Bill to abolish the system of proportional representation and to adopt, instead, a system of single-member constituencies, each voter having a single non- transferable vote. It is also proposed in the Bill to set up a Commission for the determination and revision of the constituencies, instead of having this done by the Oireachtas, as at present.”

(This statement was prescribed by the Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1959).

The total number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal contained in the Bill was 453,322 and the total number of votes recorded against the proposal was 486,989. The proposal was not, therefore, approved by the people.

Result Summary