The Opposition parties were as opposed to the change as last time, once again fearing an interminable future of being overwhelmed by Fianna Fáil at the polls. Such was the concern at the time that Fine Gael and Labour briefly considered officially merging with each other to form a stronger party of Opposition. Nonetheless, without a strong campaign by Fianna Fáil for the change, the Opposition parties did not mount a strong campaign against it either - the entire lead-up to the poll was dubbed "the great illusion".
Two questions were put to the people on the same day. The first - the proposed Third Amendment to the Constitution Bill, 1968 - regarded the issue of constituency boundaries. It proposed:
- that in forming Dáil constituencies, the population per deputy in any case may not be greater or less than the national average by more than one-sixth and that regard must be had to the extent and accessibility of constituencies, the need for having convenient areas of representation and the desirability of avoiding the over-lapping of county boundaries.
An interesting pattern can be seen on this map, as well as the next one, taking previous referenda results into account. All referenda thus far had been introduced by Fianna Fáil governments, with each "Yes" victory a victory for the government. In each map, the "Yes" is strongest where Fianna Fáil support is strongest: Donegal, Galway, Kerry and Eamon de Valera's home county of Clare. This pattern continued in 1968, with the "Yes" vote emerging victorious in Clare, Galway West and Donegal - though by a very slim margin in each case, while western counties which voted "No" likewise did so by a small margin.
The result of the referendum on the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill (1968):
Yes - 39.2 %
No - 60.8 %
Turnout: 65.8 %
Click on the image to see it full-sized. A greyscale version is available here.
The second question (the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968) put to the people was the change to FPTP. It proposed:
- (1) To substitute for the present system of voting at Dáil elections the "straight vote" system in single-member constituencies;
- (2) To establish a Commission to determine constituencies, subject to the right of the Dáil to amend the constituencies as so determined; and
- (3) To provide that whenever the Dáil is dissolved the outgoing Ceann Comhairle may be returned, without a contest, as a second deputy for a constituency chosen by him which consists of, or includes a part of, the constituency he represented before the dissolution.
The results of the referendum on the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill (1968):
Yes - 39.2 %
No - 60.8 %
Turnout: 65.8 %
Click on the image to see it full-sized. A greyscale version is available here.