A Historic Referendum—but who are the People? A Response to ‘The Franchise in an Irish Unification Referendum’ by Christopher McCrudden, Oran Doyle and David Kenny

Cheryl Saunders

doi:10.1353/isia.2021.0016

Abstract

A Historic Referendum—but who are the People? A Response to ‘The Franchise in an Irish Unification Referendum’ by Christopher McCrudden, Oran Doyle and David Kenny

Highlights

A RESPONSE TO ‘THE FRANCHISE IN AN IRISH UNIFICATION REFERENDUM’ BY CHRISTOPHER MCCRU DDEN, ORAN DOY LE AN D DAV I D K EN N Y
‘The Franchise in an Irish Unification Referendum’ by Christopher McCrudden, Oran Doyle and David Kenny offers a measured discussion of who should be entitled to vote in Northern Ireland in a future unification referendum
As I understand it, the franchise for a unification vote in Northern Ireland would be largely based on residency and would include citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland and countries of the Commonwealth while excluding residents who are citizens of other countries

Summary

Introduction

A RESPONSE TO ‘THE FRANCHISE IN AN IRISH UNIFICATION REFERENDUM’ BY CHRISTOPHER MCCRU DDEN, ORAN DOY LE AN D DAV I D K EN N Y. ‘The Franchise in an Irish Unification Referendum’ by Christopher McCrudden, Oran Doyle and David Kenny offers a measured discussion of who should be entitled to vote in Northern Ireland in a future unification referendum. The authors properly consider the high significance and potential sensitivity of any such referendum, drawing insights from a combination of domestic and international sources, consistently with the hybrid character of the arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement, of which this requirement is part.

Results

Conclusion