394 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Residency requirements, if applied, must be imposed to as not to exclude the homeless from the right to vote."
- "State reports should indicate whether any groups, such as permanent residents, enjoy [the right to register] on a limited basis, for example, by having the right to vote in local elections or to hold office."
- "In practice…there is a growing tendency to broaden the franchise, for example, by including overseas residents."
- "A residency requirement has been upheld by the European Commission on Human Rights, for a number of reasons: the assumption that a non-resident citizen is less directly involved or knowledgeable; the impracticability for candidates to present electoral issues to citizens abroad; the need to prevent electoral fraud, the risk of which is increased by postal voting; and finally, the link between representation and the obligation to pay taxes."
- "Residency requirements may discriminate against national minorities. Residence may operate in a discriminatory way against refugees or internally displaced persons. Internally displaced persons should be able to exercise their right to vote; where possible, refugees should enjoy some facility to vote."
- "Reasonable restrictions may include factors such as residence, citizenship, current incarceration or having been convicted of a crime"
- "The UN Human Rights Committee found a “seven-year residency requirement deemed to be excessive."
- "[T]he following measure prescribed by law or regulations would not be considered discriminatory: measures establishing a reasonable period which must elapse before naturalized persons may exercise their political rights, provided that they are combined with a liberal naturalization policy."
- "A nationality requirement may apply; ii. however, it would be advisable for foreigners to be allowed to vote in local elections after a certain period of residence."
- "Persons who are otherwise eligible to stand for election should not be excluded by unreasonable or discriminatory requirements such as …residence or descent."
- "A country...may...permit noncitizen residents to vote."
- "Discrimination need not be deliberate. It may arise unintentionally. A neutral criterion may operate in certain circumstances in a discriminatory way. For example, residence is a common requirement for eligibility to vote in a constituency based electoral system. That requirement may however operate in a discriminatory way in respect of refugees (meaning citizens or permanent residents of the State who have fled abroad), nomadic peoples or internally displaced persons. Residency requirements may discriminate against national minorities."
- "Reasonable requirements are usually limited to minimum age, nationality ... The work of the Human Rights Committee provides a good deal of guidance on the limits of reasonable restrictions. In the course of their deliberations, as mandated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, members of the Committee have noted that the following limitations on voting rights are not permissible: (b) excessive residency requirements."
- "Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors."
- "Distinctions between those who are entitled to citizenship by birth and those who acquire it by naturalization may raise questions of compatibility with article 25."
- "In regards to citizenship and the principle of universality, those people who have lived in the country as de facto citizens for a reasonable number of years should be given a fair chance to register to vote."
- "The right to participate in public affairs is the only human right which applies to citizens of a state only as opposed to being universal and applicable to any person subject to the authority of a state in which they happen to be…. It is, however, required that citizenship be defined in law respecting the right to non-discrimination….Within the legitimate limitation of citizenship, the principle of inclusiveness or ‘universality’ should be a primary objective."
- "Reasonable requirements are usually limited to minimum age, nationality..."
- "The UN Human Rights Committee has noted as impermissible 'excessive limitations on the voting rights of convicted criminals.'"
- "Undergoing long-term imprisonment following conviction in an ordinary court of law or…with a stated period, convicted of election malpractice."
- "Voting rights should be based on considerations that include: citizenship; legal age of majority (this may differ from country to country); residency requirements; any other additional grounds for disqualification (eg, prisoners in detention, persons with a criminal record... and so on)."
- "Invariably voters are required to prove their identity by showing a passport or ID or some form of identification."
- "Some countries...disqualify military personnel from voting, a practice particularly common in Latin America. Such limitations, provided they have a rational basis, remain proportional and are not used as a device to disenfranchise significant sections of the population, arguably fall within the margin of appreciation left to States. Discriminatory disenfranchisement, however, would violate general principles of international law."
- "It is common and acceptable for the electoral framework to provide for members of the military and the police to be able to exercise the right to vote while on active duty. Although protecting the right of a member of the military or the police is appropriate, the provisions must be written carefully to avoid abuse."
- "If conviction for an offence is a basis for suspending the right to vote, the period of such suspension should be proportionate to the offence and the sentence. Persons who are deprived of liberty but who have not been convicted should not be excluded from exercising the right to vote."
- "While limitations are allowed for persons convicted of electoral offences, such restrictions must be limited in time."
- "In a number of countries, convicts are disqualified from voting, but detained individuals who have not been convicted retain the right to vote."
- "States must take effective measures to ensure that all persons entitled to vote are able to exercise that right. Where registration of voters is required it should be facilitated and obstacles to such registration should not be imposed. If residence requirements apply to registration, they must be reasonable, and should not be imposed in such a way as to exclude the homeless from the right to vote. Any abusive interference with registration or voting as well as intimidation or coercion of voters should be prohibited by penal laws and those laws should be strictly enforced. Voter education and registration campaigns are necessary to ensure the effective exercise of article 25 rights by an informed community."
- "Voter information and education activities are necessary to ensure that all eligible citizens are aware of their political rights, including their right to vote and to be registered to vote."
- "In particular, States should: ...Initiate of facilitate national programmes of civic education, to ensure that the population are familiar with election procedures and issues."
- "The cumulative effect of all voter education in an election should be evaluated by the degree to which pertinent information is reasonably available to all eligible voters in a form that they can comprehend, and in a timely fashion (i.e.. allowing a reasonable time for the audience to make use of the information."
- "Funding and administration should be provided for objective, non-partisan voter education and information campaigns."
- "Governments should prioritise the funding of civic and voter education by providing for it in the state budget prior to the elections."
- "Elections cannot be genuinely democratic unless voters understand the differences among the electoral contestants so that they can cast an informed vote. Voters must also know when, where and how to register to vote, as well as when where and how to vote."
- "States must take effective measures to ensure that all persons entitled to vote are able to exercise that right. Voter information is one necessary measure to ensure the effective exercise of the right to vote by an informed community."
- "Voters should also be informed about specific election procedures, including how to fill in their ballots, find the correct place of voting, or obtain information on alternative methods of voting."
- "[Voter education] should be provided to all eligible voters, and special efforts should be made to target traditionally disaffected segments of the population."
- "...[I]nformation should be made available to all eligible voters including traditionally disenfranchised segments of the population (e.g. minorities)."
- "Monitoring voter-education and public information campaigns will also provide useful knowledge about the level of information that is made available to national minorities, whether this information is provided in minority languages and whether it includes any element of bias."
- "Voter education…should inform voters of when, how and where to register to vote and when, how and where to cast their votes."
- "Non-partisan civic education should aim to inform voters as to the ‘who, what, when, where and how’ of registration and voting."
- "An education program should “explain the registration procedure” and be “focused mainly on the voting procedure."
- "The cumulative effect of all voter education in an election should be evaluated by the degree to which pertinent information is reasonably available to all eligible voters in a form that they can comprehend, and in a timely fashion (i.e.. allowing a reasonable time for the audience to make use of the information...You should...attempt to assess whether this information adequately discusses essential facts, procedures, rights and issues."
- "Civic and voter education should be provided in a manner that is non-partisan, independent, co-ordinated and consistent."
- "Any conditions which apply to the exercise of the rights protected by article 25 should be based on objective and reasonable criteria."
- "A residence requirement may be imposed; ii. Residence in this case means habitual residence. iii. a length of residence requirement may be imposed on nationals solely for local or regional elections; iv. the requisite period of residence should not exceed six months; a longer period may be required only to protect national minorities. "
- "Reasonable restrictions [on voter registration] include: residence, citizenship, legal detention... criminal conviction."
- "Eligible voters should be provided with a continuous and accessible voter registration facility."
- "The actual registration of the electorate can take many forms, or possibly a combination of the following: Emerging democracies often establish a larger number of registration centers and inform eligible voters where to go and register during a specific period. An alternative method is to have registration teams visit homes door to door. The Voters' Register may be derived from the Civil Register if well maintained, and updated through the establishment of Registration Centres."
- "Practice varies between the State responsibility model of registration, through household surveys and visits, and the self-registration model, where the initiative lies with the voter."