Independent senator Rónán Mullen emailed a voter last month with a list of their relatives and asked to be told “that you have registered them” on the new Seanad electoral register.
He added he “would be in trouble” if an unexpected election were called.
New laws introduced after a Supreme Court ruling will see thousands of newly eligible voters added to the Seanad electoral register.
Mullen emailed the voter in January this year outlining his difficulties.
“I face an uphill challenge in getting graduates back on to the Seanad voting register. If there was an election in the morning, I would be in trouble,” said Mullen in an email marked as urgent.
“A new 6-seat Higher Education constituency replaces the old NUI and TCD panels. Everybody had to actively re-register on www.seanadvoter.ie and most people did not,” he said.
Mullen attached a list of the person’s relatives and said he “would be grateful” if they could “contact any name on the list where the person has a degree” and isn’t registered to vote.
“It is a great help to me to know once a person has confirmed to you that they are registered, or that you have registered them,” said Mullen, who has served as senator for almost 20 years.
Mullen was contacted for comment.
