The Care referendum has returned the highest ever percentage no vote of people who voted in Irish referendum history.
The referendum on the 40th amendment to the constitution was rejected with 73.93% of people who voted choosing to vote against it.
The separate Family referendum was also rejected, with 67.69% of people voting against it.
These two percentage no votes represent the highest and third highest percentage no votes in referendum history.
Since the 1937 Constitution, the public has been asked to vote on 40 Constitutional amendments, 11 of which were rejected before today.
Of the 11 rejected before today, the highest percentage no vote was in the 2015 referendum to allow people as young as 21 years of age to run for president, which was rejected by 73.1% of voters.
The full list of rejected referendums, and there percentage no votes, is as follows:
- 2024 care referendum – 73.93% voted no
- 2015 presidential candidate age referendum – 73.1% voted no
- 2024 family referendum – 67.69% voted no
- 1992 abortion referendum – 65.4% voted no
- 1986 divorce referendum – 63.5% voted no
- 1968 electoral system – 60.8% voted no
- 1968 constituency boundaries referendum – 60.8% voted no
- 2001 Nice Treaty referendum – 53.9% voted no
- 2008 Lisbon Treaty referendum – 53.4% voted no
- 2011 Oireachtas inquiries referendum – 53.3% voted no
- 1959 electoral system referendum – 51.8% voted no
- 2013 Seanad abolition referendum – 51.7% voted no
- 2002 abortion referendum – 50.4% voted no
