3619 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Appropriate methods should be put in place to prevent multiple voting."
- "Multiple voting – where a voter casts more ballots than permitted – should be prohibited by law. Safeguards to prevent a person from voting again in the same or another polling station should be put in place. Examples of such safeguards include: marking the voter register to indicate an elector has voted, requiring the voter to sign the register, and marking a voter’s finger with ink."
- "The legal framework must address a myriad of issues to ensure a genuine opportunity to exercise the right to vote on the basis of equal and universal suffrage. These issues concern conditions outside the polling sites, as well as inside it, before, during and after voting takes place. The provisions must ensure, among other things, that: ...Security protocols are provided that guarantee voting integrity, including preventing ballot box stuffing and irregularities and fraud in electronic voting."
- "In order to safeguard the ballot, each ballot should bear an official stamp specific to the polling station and/or the signature of an authorized person/s in the polling station."
- "There must be a process to clearly identify voters eligible to use alternative voting provisions and to prevent double voting."
- "The names and number of requesting voters who have used or are using the special provisions should be recorded in polling-station and other protocols in order to avoid double voting…"
- "In addition, States should take the necessary policy and institutional steps to ensure the progressive achievement and consolidation of democratic goals, including through the establishment of a neutral, impartial or balanced mechanism for the management of elections. In so doing, they should, among other matters: ...Ensure the integrity of the ballot through appropriate measures to prevent multiple voting or voting by those not entitled thereto."
- "The ballot should be easy to fill out for the voter, and safeguarded, by e.g. watermarks, to avoid duplication."
- "There must be an adequate system for controlling that nobody can give multiple votes. This is normally done by crossing out in the electoral rolls, by stamping identity cards or by giving a stamp on a hand, if rolls are not available."
- "A number of other safeguards may also be built into voting systems to help protect the security and secrecy of ballots, for example: Stamping ballots with an official stamp specific to the polling station when they are given to voters or before they are placed in the ballots box; Having one or more polling-station officials sign the back of the blank ballot when it is given to the voter; Use of numbered ballot stubs to monitor the number of votes in a ballot box; Use of a stamp rather than a pen to mark ballots; Use of heavy paper for ballots so that marks cannot be seen through the back of the ballot paper; Printing ballots with watermarks or other devices to make them harder to counterfeit.”"
- "...The fingers of new voters are being checked for ink at the polling station to prevent multiple voting."
- "Ensuring that security arrangements exist to ensure that the ballot papers issued to the electors are those actually placed in the ballot box, and that no opportunity for substitution arises."
- "In the event of serious irregularities, such as ballot box stuffing or tampering with results protocols at any level of election administration, observers should bring them promptly to the attention of the LTOs responsible for the respective area of deployment."
- "Of particular importance is the proof that the ballot box is empty prior to being sealed."
- "The observers should arrive at a polling station prior to the official opening to observe the pre-opening procedures. These may include demonstrating to the observers that the boxes are empty before sealing."
- "It is important to note whether the ballot boxes are empty at the start of the process."
- "It is important to note… whether the polling station has received, and can account for, blank ballots and all other necessary materials."
- "At the opening and closing of the poll, the procedures for handling and sealing ballot boxes should be open to the scrutiny of those party agents and other observers who may be present."
- "It is important to note…whether [ballot boxes] are... properly sealed."
- "Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: to vote and to stand for election - on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service."
- "Votes and voter information shall remain sealed as long as the data is held in a manner where they can be associated. Authentication information shall be separated from the voter's decision at a pre-defined state in the e-election or e-referendum."
- "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 voting station should be laid out in such a way that no one is able to see how voters are marking their ballot papers."
- "Where ballot papers are designed with a counterfoil and serial number all precautions should be taken to ensure that it is impossible to reconcile cast ballots with the names of individual voters (e.g., by marking their identity number on the counterfoil)."
- "All voters have the right to vote in secret. It is the responsibility of the authorities to guarantee this right through provision of polling booths that allow ballot papers to be marked in private."
- "The tear-off part of the ballot should not bear any serial number, while the counterfoil might have these numbers for control purposes."
- "The vote should be cast personally in full secrecy…without the possibility of tracing individual votes."
- "As an additional security measure and safeguard against fraud, a number of countries use voting procedures that require that ballots be placed in envelopes before being placed in the ballot box."
- "Clear rules must be established for voting in polling stations, as well as other methods of voting, that include safeguards for secret balloting and that provide for monitoring by political contestants and election observers."
- "…free and fair elections should be guided by detailed provisions regarding the form of ballots, the design of ballot boxes and voting compartments, and the manner of polling. These provisions should protect the process from fraudulent practices and respect the secrecy of the vote."
- "Except in cases where a voter is being lawfully assisted, a voter cannot waive their right to vote in secret."
- "Ensuring that electors are alone when voting and not accompanied by friends or family."
- "Observers must also look out for family (group) voting, whereby the "head of household" leads other family members through the process, often by taking control of identifying documents and even marking, or at least giving instructions to other family members about marking the ballots."
- "The practice of family voting -- where the head of a family casts ballots on behalf of the other members of the family -- should not be condoned."
- "The principle of secrecy of the vote requires that election regulations underline that secret voting is not only a right on the part of the voter, but an absolute obligation. In this regard, the most frequent abuse is "family voting"."
- "Voting must be individual. Family voting and any other form of control by one voter over the vote of another must be prohibited."
- "Observers should determine who printed the ballots, and what safety features are employed to preserve the integrity of the ballot prior to Election Day, in order to avoid duplication or illegal production of ballots."
- "Voting procedures should ensure that all ballots and voting materials are adequately safeguarded before, during, and after voting."
- "Voting provisions should require that all ballots and voting materials be adequately safeguarded before, during and after voting."
- "Ballots and other sensitive election material should be properly supervised and secured at all times."
- "51. A remote e-voting system shall not enable the voter to be in possession of a proof of the content of the vote cast. 52. In a supervised environment, the information on the vote shall disappear from the visual, audio or tactile display used by the voter to cast the vote as soon as it has been cast. There a paper proof of the electronic vote is provided to the voter at a polling station, the voter shall not be able to show it to any other person, or take this proof outside of the polling station."
- "In some SADC countries, polling stations are in private houses, shops and stores. This compromises the integrity of the voting process and the secrecy of the ballot. Polling stations should be public places, such as schools, tents, mobile vehicles that are neutral."
- "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"
- "States Parties shall take specific positive action to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national legislation and other measures to ensure that: a) women participate without any discrimination in all elections."
- "Polling personnel will require clear guidance in admitting and identifying qualified voters. Permissible questions to be put to voters at polling places should be expressly set out by statute to prevent voter intimidation, abuse of discretion, or discriminatory application."
- "Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use."
- "E-voting systems shall be designed, as far as it is practicable, to maximise the opportunities that such systems can provide for persons with disabilities."
- "Voters with disabilities should not face obstacles in enjoying their political rights, and the authorities should take measures to ensure access to polling stations, assisted voting, and, if necessary, absentee voting."
- "Arrangements should be made for persons with disabilities to have access to their designated polling stations."
- "Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with disabilities as electors and to this end, where necessary, at their request, allowing assistance in voting by a person of their own choice."