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29th May 2018

Almost twice as many young women voted in 8th referendum than last general election

Jade Hayden

women vote

Almost twice as many young women voted in last week’s referendum on the eighth amendment than did in the last general election.

Voter turnout for women between the ages of 18 and 24 rose by 94 percent on Friday, according to a new poll.

The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll shows that 94 percent more young women voted in the eighth amendment referendum.

One percent less men of the same age voted on Friday compared to those who voted in the last general election in 2016.

Similarly, there was also a 22 percent increase in female voters between the ages of 25 and 34, and a 15 percent increase in women aged between 35 and 49.

The numbers continued to rise among older women too, with four percent more female voters turning out who were between the ages of 50 and 64.

Women over the age of 65 also had an increase of 15 percent.

The poll shows that the only increase in male voters compared to the last general election was men aged over 65, with one percent more turning out for the referendum on the eighth amendment.

National voter turnout for last Friday stood at 64.13 percent, with 2,159,655 showing up the polls to cast their vote.

Turnout refers to the percentage of people eligible to vote in a referendum who actually cast a ballot on the day.

The referendum on the eighth amendment passed by 66 percent.