Conducted by post, with ballots sent to the 134 holders of Irish peerages eligible to vote, the election was necessitated by the death of Francis Browne, 4th Baron Kilmaine.

Curzon was an Englishman who had been granted an Irish peerage to give him a title before beginning his position as viceroy; he had never been to Ireland and owned no property there.

He contested the election as a means of returning to parliament after being denied a United Kingdom peerage by the prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.

Ashtown won the election when his name was drawn from a glass before the House of Lords, the procedure mandated by the Acts of Union 1800, but Farnham was chosen to fill the next vacancy, also in 1908.

As the representative peers died, they were replaced by a vote of the entire Irish peerage, including those lords who also held a United Kingdom title.

The ballot was to be signed with the voter's seal affixed and returned to the Crown Office in Dublin[7] within 30 days[b] from the date of the issuance of the writ.

Before filling out the ballot, the voter had to appear before a judge of England or Ireland, a justice of the peace for any Irish borough or county, or, if abroad, an ambassador or secretary of an embassy, and take the oath of allegiance.

Although the existing Irish representative peers retained their seats for life, there was no longer a lord chancellor of Ireland or a hanaper to conduct elections.

[16] The press mentioned Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (who had already been elected an Irish representative peer in 1905 and thus had no need to stand) and John Bingham, 5th Baron Clanmorris as possible successors.

[19] In the newspapers of 30 December 1907, it was announced that Lord Curzon, the former viceroy of India, would seek the office, and had sent letters to the Irish peers asking for their votes.

The eldest son and heir of Baron Scarsdale,[24] Curzon contemplated a return to the House of Commons after his time as viceroy.

[26] Curzon resigned as viceroy in 1905, an action sparked by his conflict with the Commander-in-Chief, India, General Lord Kitchener.

[30] The new prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, also refused Curzon an earldom or another United Kingdom peerage that would permit him, like other former viceroys, to sit in the House of Lords.

He had a contentious relationship with his Irish tenantry, including replacing local labourers with Scots, leading to a boycott against him and the explosion of a bomb near his home in Waterford in 1904.

Viscount Hawarden also had voted, but considered Curzon's candidacy unfair to peers who had been waiting years for the honour.

Viscount Dillon wrote to three candidates, including Curzon, that since his "happy release from that country", he had ceased to vote for Irish representative peer.

[43] Viscount Harberton, also hoped to see Curzon elected, but "for myself, I have long since ceased to vote for the Irish Representative Peerage, as I am unable to take the thing seriously".

[43] Once it was plain that Curzon would be opposed, Lansdowne suggested he withdraw, stating "it would be ridiculous to run you against an obscure Irishman".

[57] On 2 November 1908, Joseph Nugent Lentaigne, the clerk of the crown and hanaper, certified that Ashtown and Farnham had received an equal number of votes.

Under a procedure set forth in the Act of Union, papers containing the name of each peer were placed in an ordinary wine glass before the House of Lords on 4 November 1908.