182 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "All citizens should be entitled to file complaints and appeals on the accuracy of the register of voters."
- "People meeting the requirements on age and who have lived in the country as de facto citizens for a substantial number of years, should be given the opportunity to obtain citizenship [and, thus, be given voting rights]."
- "Universal suffrage requires that the broadest reasonable pool of voters be guaranteed participatory rights."
- "To ensure easier access, minimize waiting time and enhance efficiency there should be as many polling stations as population density and settlement patterns demand."
- "The number of polling stations should be in proportion to the size of the electorate. The number of voters designated to a polling station is considered reasonable when the total number of votes cast can be processed effectively during the time available, if all voters participated."
- "Ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, inter alia. by: i) Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use."
- "...[F]ranchise should be extended as broadly as possible and voting should be practicable for those eligible to vote. This may require broad distribution of polling sites and special arrangements for the handicapped."
- "STOs should observe the general conditions outside and around the polling station. A number of issues are relevant: Is access to the polling station difficult? Could a disabled person enter the station unassisted?"
- "Polling stations should be distributed so as to guarantee equal access within each constituency."
- "There should be an adequate number of polling staff to ensure that all tasks can be undertaken at all times. Polling staff should be trained to ensure they fully understand their functions, and should be required to act in a fair and impartial manner."
- "Polling stations should be public places , such as schools, tents, mobile vehicles that are neutral."
- "The legal framework for elections may provide for other methods of voting, such as voting by mail or mobile voting. These types of voting may be available to a single individual, such as a person who is abroad on business; to a class of voters, such as diplomats, police, the military or other security forces; or to an entire community, such as persons displaced due to the outbreak of war."
- "Special voting materials and procedures must be designed and operated in a way that provides the necessary security, as well as for sufficient transparency of the voting process, return of ballots, and counting."
- "Opportunities for access to polling stations may be undermined where there is overcrowding or a failure to inform voters of their designated polling station."
- "If a voter is unable to sign [the Voters' Register] because of a physical disability or the inability to write, then there will likely be a provision for them to be assisted in voting, either by a voter of their choice or a member of the Commission."
- "Electors who are unable to vote unaided under standard procedures, e.g., blind or illiterate voters, have the right to be provided with assistance. Wherever possible, however, steps should be taken to enable them to vote without assistance. Procedures for assistance should be regulated and publicised before election day. Assistance in marking a ballot paper should only be provided to those who would not otherwise be able to cast a ballot. The assistance provided should be independent, honest and protect the secrecy of the voter’s choice. It is best practice that the person can choose who can assist them to vote, although there may be restrictions on the number of times an individual can provide assistance. Those providing assistance should be impartial and therefore should not be candidate or party representatives."
- "In many countries, military personnel are entitled to vote at civilian polling stations… However, voting may also be organised in the barracks, which may be difficult to observe."
- "In such cases where voting is permitted in military barracks, prisons and hospitals, the process can be open to abuse potentially undermining the principles of secrecy and freedom of choice."
- "It is common and acceptable for the electoral framework to have special provisions ensuring that a member of the military is able to exercise the right to vote while on active duty. ... Concerning military voters, it is not unusual for the legal framework to permit special polling stations to be set up within military units located in remote areas far from any centre of population...wherever possible, military voters should vote in ordinary civilian polling stations."
- "Special voting procedures may include the use of mobile ballot boxes intended for the sick and elderly, voting in hospitals and prisons, early voting, voting by post, voting in embassies, and special provisions for military voting."
- "Military personnel should vote at their place of residence whenever possible. Otherwise, it is advisable that they be registered to vote at the polling station nearest to their duty station."
- "A number of countries permit their citizens to cast ballots in embassies or specially designated voting centres outside of the country."
- "Where applicable, special arrangements should be made to allow special categories of voters, such as voters living abroad and prisoners, to vote."
- "Special voting provisions should only be applied in well-defined situations."
- "The legal framework for elections may provide for other methods of voting, such as voting by mail or mobile voting."
- "Providing mobile ballot boxes and absentee voting broadens the participation of the electorate. However, these are provisions that can be open to abuse."
- "Postal voting…may be available to a single individual, such as a person who is abroad on business, or for an entire community, such as persons who are displaced due to the outbreak of war."
- "The legal framework should be flexible enough to allow for technological innovations to be applied to various aspects of balloting and counting, for example, utilizing electronic voting machines for recording and counting of ballots. Such wide flexibility might be regulated by requiring that certain types of approval be obtained before adopting them."
- "The election law often regulates mobile voting in order to allow the disabled, ill or elderly citizens to exercise their suffrage."
- "Public buildings such as schools should be given priority as polling stations. If necessary, mobile units should be used."
- "Many countries provide mobile boxes at the request of voters who may be elderly, ill, or otherwise unable to visit a polling station. Usually, the mobile boxes are taken on their rounds by at least two polling officials, ideally representing different political interests where applicable. Applying all polling-station controls to mobile ballot boxes is not possible. Voters using mobile ballot boxes may also not have all the privacy afforded by a polling booth."
- "Mobile voting... may be available to a single individual, such as a person who is abroad on business, or for an entire community, such as persons who are displaced due to the outbreak of war... It may be available to a single voter homebound due to physical incapacity, or to an entire community, such as a hospital or institution."
- "Where suffrage is permitted to citizens who reside outside of the country, opportunities should be provided to them to enable them to vote, especially in the case of refugees from that country."
- "In some cases voting by prisoners is not foreseen in the law. However, when prisoners are allowed to vote, the observation of the voting process in prisons is often sensitive and problematic."
- "Nobody should be able to vote on behalf of another person (so-called proxy voting) unless it is defined by law for specific circumstances."
- "...[P]roxy voting is another practice to be discouraged. Legislation should make it clear that every voter’s ballot must be marked and cast individually and secretly."
- "Proxy and absentee voting provisions should be designed to encourage the broadest possible participation, without compromising electoral security."
- "Where systems of proxy or postal voting are used, and where sick people are allowed to vote at home or in hospital, ensuring that these arrangements can withstand attempts at fraud or coercion and do not offend the secrecy of the ballot."
- "[The Assembly] invites member states to make this environment genuinely accessible to people with disabilities and to remove any obstacles that prevent them from playing a full part in everyday life and from enjoying their fundamental rights by: 12.2 removing any obstacles in public buildings and indoor and outdoor public areas and by ensuring that no new obstacles are created. Every newly built structure must conform to universal design principles: pavements, for instance, must not be laid without dropped kerbs."
- "[States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by] guaranteeing that all possible means are used to make all polling stations accessible. "
- "[States should] ensure transparency of the electoral process, particularly in: 8.2.3. the conduct of the ballot: it is advisable to ensure that polling stations are appropriately designed, that transparent ballot boxes are used, that voting booths are available, that counting takes place in public and that distance voting is well regulated. "
- "[States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by]enabling all citizens to exercise their right to vote through proxy voting, postal voting or e-voting, on the condition that the secrecy and the security of the vote are guaranteed. "
- "[States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by] facilitating the participation in the electoral process of citizens living abroad, subject to restrictions in accordance with the law, such as duration of residence abroad, whilst ensuring that, if polling stations are set up abroad, their establishment is based on transparent criteria. "
- "States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by] safeguarding the right to vote of vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, people who are illiterate, etc.) by adapting polling stations and voting material to their needs. "
- "It invites member states to make this environment genuinely accessible to people with disabilities and to remove any obstacles that prevent them from playing a full part in everyday life and from enjoying their fundamental rights by: 12.2 removing any obstacles in public buildings and indoor and outdoor public areas and by ensuring that no new obstacles are created. Every newly built structure must conform to universal design principles: pavements for example must not be laid without dropped kerbs. "
- "The Committee recommends that States parties: (e) Ensure the registration and voting of women voters, such as by allowing postal balloting, where appropriate, and removing all barriers, including by ensuring an adequate and accessible number of polling stations. "
- "Regarding whether the measure was adapted to achieving the legitimate objective sought, based on the above the Court finds that, in the instant case, the exclusivity of nomination by political parties to elected office at the federal level is an appropriate measure to produce the legitimate result sought of organizing the electoral processes efficiently in order to hold genuine periodic elections, by universal and equal suffrage and by secret vote that guarantee the free expression of the will of the voters, as established by the American Convention. "
- "Universal franchise is a key element of modern democracies. It is important that the right to vote and the process of voter registration are not unreasonably restricted on the basis of race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, past or present political affiliation, language, literacy, property or registration fees. However, the right to vote, may be subject to a number of reasonable conditions, the most usual being age, citizenship and residency. Furthermore, there might be provisions for clauses suspending political rights due to lawful detention, criminal convictions or mental incapacity. "
- "The proper establishment and maintenance of electoral registers is vital in implementing and guaranteeing universal suffrage. In practice, it is a pre-condition for enabling voters to use their right to vote. Voter registration, however, is one of the most complex, controversial and often least successful parts of electoral administration in emerging and new democracies, especially in post-conflict situations with a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons. "
- "Three types of suffrage are available in democratic systems: direct universal suffrage, indirect universal suffrage and multi-tiered elections. - direct universal suffrage: namely “where every citizen, except those who are excluded by law, can directly participate in the vote” and elect his or her representatives without the involvement of intermediaires. This type of vote is employed in practically all democracies for the purposes of electing representatives to lower chambers. - indirect universal suffrage: elected representatives are chosen by leading citizens, who may themselves be elected representatives. However, unlike electoral colleges, the leading citizens in question are not chosen for that purpose. - Multi-tiered elections: representatives are chosen by electoral colleges chosen for that purpose. Nowadays this type of suffrage is no longer used to elect representatives to lower chambers, but the President of the United States is elected by a system of electoral colleges. "