European Union and Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote. The deadline for voters to register to vote in the elections was midnight on Thursday 14 April 2011. A total of 1,210,009 were eligible to vote, and 55.7% of the electorate turned out.[1]
All voters were required to present one piece of photographic ID in order to cast a vote at the polling station – accepted forms of ID are an electoral identity card, a photographic NI or GB driving licence, a European Union member-state passport, a Translink 60+ SmartPass, a Translink Senior SmartPass, a Translink Blind Person's SmartPass or a Translink War Disabled SmartPass.[2] Voters who didn't have an accepted type of photographic ID had until Friday 22 April 2011 to apply for an electoral identity card from the Electoral Office.
The elections were originally scheduled to take place in 2009. In 2008, Minister of the EnvironmentArlene Foster requested that they be postponed until 2011 to allow the implementation of a proposed reform of local government in Northern Ireland, which would have reduced the number of local councils from 26 to 11.[3] In February 2009, an order was made, postponing the election, and councillors' terms of office were extended until the fourth day after the election day in 2011.[4]
^"The Postponement of Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2009". Opsi.gov.uk. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
^"Referendum on same day as NI Assembly election". BBC News. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
^Vote 2011: Northern Ireland Council Elections Archived 22 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 11 May 2011
^ a b cAntrim District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections
^ a b c dArds District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections
^ a b c dArmagh District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections
^ a b c dBallymena District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections
^ a b cBallymoney District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections
^ a b cBanbridge District Council Elections 1993-2011, Northern Ireland Elections