The Electoral Commission is seeking the views of the public on election posters. Respond by 9th May at 5pm at This survey can be completed in as little as 5 minutes. Your involvement could make a huge difference to our environment and our democracy.

The Electoral Commission @ElecCommIRL will need to work out the details and propose a Bill to provide the legal basis for a system of designated poster boards which will be available to display posters from all candidates.

We are not looking for a total ban because we can see the value of public postering in raising awareness of the candidates and the election. Adopting the system used in many continental countries is the best approach.

Our proposal.We think that restricting and reducing posters is the fairest, most democratic, most sustainable and most environmentally sensitive approach.

Competition for postering locations is anti-democratic.Spending large sums of money on posters creates an unfair advantage. Some candidates adopt a strategy of saturating lamp posts and other poster locations, in order to prevent competing candidates getting their message across.

Posters are a danger to the public.Public safety threats also arise when posters interfere with the safe use of footpaths and roads.

One of the major concerns of community organisations across the country, including Tidy Towns groups, is the impact of these posters on the landscape and the streetscape of villages and towns.

What’s the litter and microplastics impact of posters?.Our climate impact calculation doesn’t include the litter impact including microplastics from posters blown down and scattered on land and sea, for which we haven’t been able to find any estimates.

What’s the climate impact of posters?.The climate impact per poster (32”x48”) is estimated at 8 to 12 kg CO2e. Using the low estimate of 600,000 posters gives emissions of 6,000t CO2e. This is the equivalent of switching 6,000 cars from petrol to electric.

How many posters are used for an election?.A figure of 600,000 posters was reported for the 2014 local elections. Our visual estimate is that the general election in November 2024 saw a higher number of posters being erected.

Make postering fair!. Sufficient boards/locations need to be identified throughout the country, in a manner which is fair to all candidates and communities, and ensures that the public is made aware of the holding of the election and the range of candidates running.

Our overall goal:.Election posters should be restricted. The best way to do this is to set up designated sites / poster boards. These should be provided to candidates by local authorities as is common practice in many continental democracies.