1.    THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION    4

2.    INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS    5
3.    LEGAL FRAMEWORK    8

4.    FUNCTIONS OF VOTER REGISTRATION    9

5.    TYPES OF VOTER REGISTRATION    13
5.1.    Voter register – voter list    13
5.2.    Active and passive voter registration    13
5.3.    Continuous and periodic voter registration    14

6.    AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VOTER REGISTRATION    15

7.    USE OF VOTER REGISTER    17
7.1.    Compilation    17
7.2.    Updating    20
7.3.    Closure    21
7.4.    Voter list on election day    22
7.5.    Use of voter register in special voting arrangements    23
7.6.    Voter list after election day    26

8.    DATA OF VOTER REGISTER AND DATA OF VOTER LISTS    27

9.    PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF VOTER REGISTRATION    28

10.    LEGAL REMEDIES    31

11.    BEST PRACTICES AND PROBLEMS IN LEGAL FRAMEWORK    34

12.    BEST PRACTICES AND PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION     35

13.    VOTERS’ LIST EFFECT ON GENDER AND VULNERABLE GROUPS     36
 

1.    THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION

Voter registration usually seems to be something merely technical that is why one can forget about importance of this part of electoral process.
However, all electoral experts acknowledge significance of the principle of universal and equal suffrage. That principle is declared also in international human rights instruments.
Voter registration is the tool for enforcing universal suffrage by ensuring that every individual who is eligible to vote is able to exercise his or her right to vote. It serves also the principle of equal suffrage as it guarantees that every voter will cast his or her ballot only once.

In our essay we make an attempt at offering a brief survey of legislation and practice in connection with voter registration. We examined almost 40 participating states of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for exploring similarity and difference between the ways in which they regulate voter registration and between the ways in which voter registration effectively operates.
Our research principally covered the legislation for parliamentary elections, but in some cases, we took also legislation for other types of election (presidential election, election of the members of European Parliament, local elections) into consideration.

As the goal of the essay was foundation of a project about voter registration, we aimed for writing an impartial comprehensive study without any estimation. Drawing the conclusion is mission of readers.

 
2.    INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

As human rights became universal, right to vote and to be elected happened to be also a part of the international documents. This took place in the middle of the 20th century and this procedure goes on till recently.

In the framework of United Nations Organization, it is Universal Declaration of Human Rights which mentions at first time the periodic and genuine elections in article 21: ‘The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.’

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) words similarly: ‘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 mentioned in article 2 are ‘distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’

Naturally, the abstraction level of these international treaties does not allow them to expressly mention voter registration, but the legislation of Member States has to take into consideration the principles of them while regulating voter registration system.

The General Comment No. 25 on the ICCPR refers also to voter registration: ‘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 shall be facilitated and obstacles to such registration shall not be imposed. If residence requirements apply to registration, they must be reasonable, and shall 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 shall be prohibited by penal laws and those laws shall be strictly enforced. Voter education and registration campaigns are necessary to ensure the effective exercise of article 25 rights by an informed community’¹.

In the field of voter registration, there is another part of ICCPR which is really important. According to article 2 paragraph 3, each State Party undertakes to ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, and to ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his or her right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy. It means that in connection with the election, complaints mechanisms shall be in place. Voters shall be given the opportunity to claim their rights before the judiciary and raise claims about the conduct of the election administration, including voter registration.

The international documents of regional organizations do not forget right to vote either.

In the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe participating States declared among others that they will hold free elections at reasonable intervals, as established by law; permit all seats in at least one chamber of the national legislature to be freely contested in a popular vote; and guarantee universal and equal suffrage to adult citizens.

Some document of OSCE and Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHIR) deals specifically with voter registration. The document titled International Standards and Commitments on the Right to Democratic Elections: A Practical Guide to Democratic Elections Best Practice specifies the requirements which the regulation of voter registration must meet. According to the document voter register must be true, accurate, accessible and transparent, must be regularly updated. Circumstantial orders handle the legal remedies: Requests for changes, entries, and deletions in the voter registers shall not be limited to a time period just before a given election, except where necessary to finalise registers prior to an election. A person shall not be limited to making requests that relate only to that person. A person shall be permitted to make a request that affects another person, provided the other person is notified of the request and permitted to respond to the request.

Pursuant to Guidelines for Reviewing a Legal Framework for Elections the legal framework shall require that voter registers be maintained in a manner that is transparent, accurate, protects the right of citizens of legal age to register, and prevents the unlawful or fraudulent registration of persons.

Council of Europe deals also with right to vote. Article 3 of Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms guarantees the right to free elections: ‘The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.’ The European Court of Human Rights discussed several times in its judgement the principle of universal suffrage but until now nobody applied to the Court about problems with voter registration².

The most detailed criteria of voter registration are drafted in Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters accepted by the Venice Commission. According to the Code, fulfilment of the following criteria is essential if electoral registers are to be reliable:

■    Electoral registers must be permanent.
■    There must be regular up-dates, at least once a year.  Where voters are not registered automatically, registration must be possible over a relatively long period.
■    Electoral registers must be published.
■    There shall be an administrative procedure - subject to judicial control - or a judicial procedure, allowing for the registration of the voter who was not registered; the registration shall not take 
place at the polling station on election day.
■    A similar procedure shall allow the voter to have incorrect inscriptions amended.
■    A supplementary register may be a means of giving the vote to persons who have moved or reached statutory voting age since final publication of the register.  

In 2004, Council of Europe adopted a separate Recommendation on Legal, Operational and Technical Standards for E-voting, which develops the criteria of voter registration in the light of modern voting technologies.

3.    LEGAL FRAMEWORK

In a democratic state, genuine and periodical elections are the most important way of wielding of power. That is why basic principles of elections are regulated in states’ constitution. First of all, it is constitution which includes the principle of universal and equal right to vote. On the other hand, constitutions usually determine who has the right to vote and the right to be elected in the different types of elections. This plays a significant role in the field of voter registration while only those citizens who meet these constitutional requirements can be enrolled in voter register. These requirements are usually minimum age, citizenship and residency. It is also the constitution which lays down those circumstances which can cause disfranchisement. The two typical causes are mental incapacity and imprisonment.

Constitutions usually do not mention voter registration, the detailed regulation can be found in lower norms, which can be acts or decrees.

Usually electoral acts regulate the main aspects of voter registration: who registers voters, when and how it happens. The rules on transparency of voter register and on legal remedies shall be ordered also on this level.

There are different types of regulation models on the level of acts. Some states have separates act on different types of elections (parliamentary, presidential, regional and local elections), and every act contains similar rules on voter registration. Most of the states have only one electoral act (a so-called electoral code) which regulates every type of election in the country. In this case, the unity of rules can be formed easier. Some states have a separate act on voter registration which shall be applied in every type of elections.

Technical particulars can be regulated by decrees or orders. The subject of these legal instruments are usually the form of voter register and voter list, the rules of using a computer while compiling and updating registers and the tasks of electoral bodies.

In some states, the main electoral bodies have a right to issue legal instruments which are compulsory for every participants of electoral procedure and these acts can contain also rules in connection with voter registration.

Right to vote is a human right, which shall be protected and insured by every democratic state that is why regulation of voter registration has to meet all of the constitutional requirements in connection with human rights. When establishing the level of regulation of voter registration, the most important requirement is that these instruments have to be public, transparent and accessible for every voter and every participants of the electoral contest.  

Other constitutional principles which have to be taken into consideration while regulating voter registration are among others separation of powers, equality of rights, non-discrimination and ensuring an effective legal remedy.

4.    FUNCTIONS OF VOTER REGISTRATION

The main function of voter registration is to proof who has the right to vote. Someone who is enrolled on the voter list can go to the polling station and vote. Its contrary is also true: someone whose name does not appear on the voter list is not allowed to vote even if he or she goes to the polling station.³  So voter register protects the principle of universal suffrage. This function is realized during the compilation and update of voter register and on the election day.

The equal suffrage, which means that every voter has one vote (or has an equal number of votes), is a basic principle of democratic elections. Voter register helps ensure that every voter will cast only one ballot and helps avoid double-voting. This function is attained on the election day by the polling station committee, and after the voting by processing voting data. Voter register has a special role in countries where voting is compulsory: it helps control who has cast his or her vote and punish absence.

Voter register plays an important role also in special voting situations. Many states permit voting also for voters who are away from their place of residence on election day. This can mean voters who are abroad or voters who are in the country but away from their place of residence. A lot of countries enable voters who are in a health establishment or in a prison to vote there, and ill people to cast their ballot even in their home. Internally displaced voters and nomadic voters are also exceptional groups. These special situations have to be managed by voter registration also.

Voter register can be useful also for establishing the right to be elected. In a lot of countries, eligibility has the same conditions as right to vote. The electoral act of some states expressly contains the requirement that the candidate must be recorded in the voter register. Electoral act can demand also that a candidate has to be enrolled in the same constituency where he or she would like to stand for election and that this status have to exist on the day of the announcing of election or on the day of registration as a candidate (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta).

Establishing the fact if someone obtains suffrage or not can be necessary not only during electoral period. Some countries’ legislation requires suffrage for several public offices such as civil servants, notaries, judges, lay judges, jurymen. Voter register is a base for justify also the suffrage of these people.

Voter registration can help in cases where the legal instruments authorize only voters to an action in the electoral procedure. These rights are in fact the parts of suffrage.

During electoral procedure, several electoral bodies work on different levels to conduct election. One part of the members of electoral bodies is usually elected by local governments; other part of the members is appointed by the candidates and parties taking part in electoral race. Usually only voters can be members of these electoral bodies (e. g. Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Georgia, Malta, Slovakia).

Only voters have the right of nomination, only they can support a party, candidate or list with their signature. Electoral management has to compare supporters’ list with voter register to establish the valid number of signatures (e. g. Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Sweden).
If legislation ensures the right to submit complaints why someone has broken the law or the right to appeal against the result of election, voters – besides parties – are authorized to perform these actions (Finland, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine). Sometimes it is a group of voters who is qualified (e. g. 50 voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, minimum 100 voters or minimum 5% of the voters of a constituency in Croatia).

Some national legal instruments give other rights to voters, too. These can be: to make decisions concerning both nominated candidates and electoral lists, to publicly ask nominated candidates questions, to be on time, truthfully, completely and impartially informed about both the programs and activities of submitters of electoral lists and of the candidates on those lists, to take part in electoral campaign and in the observation of the conduct of the election (Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine).

In these cases, electoral bodies can control the suffrage by seeking the person in the voter register.

The most effective way to inform voters about the date of election, the place where they can cast their ballot and other particulars is sending each voter who is enrolled a notice (Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine). This information helps voter be convinced of being in voter register. If a voter does not get a notice he or she has the possibility to submit a complaint. The information can be executed by other forms. For example, in Austria in larger municipalities the number or the names of voters are displayed in staircases of block of flats.

At the same time as informing voters, electoral body can send a voter card which can be used for proving the voter’s identity in the polling stations or for voting outside the polling station (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Malta and Sweden). In Lithuania, a voter himself may print his or her voter certificate in accordance with the data of the voter register received electronically.

Voter register can be also useful for establishing the total number of individuals eligible to vote. It is inevitable for several parts of electoral procedure.

For example, this data is crucial for boundary delimitation and for establishing the number and territory of polling districts. The principle of equal suffrage demands that every constituency shall contain nearly the same number of voters and in multi-member constituencies, the number of representatives to be elected is proportional to the number of voters. For example, in Armenia the deviation for each electoral district may not exceed 10 percent of the ratio of the total number of eligible voters to the number of districts or, in exceptional cases, 15 percent. The number of voters in constituencies must be from 0.8 to 1.2 of the average number of voters in all single-member constituencies in Lithuania. In Montenegro, one representative per every 6000 voters shall be elected in the Republican Assembly⁴.

In polling districts, the successful conduct of voting requires that only a defined number of voters shall belong to a polling station (e. g. from 150 to 1000 in Albania, maximum 2500 in Germany, at least 30 up to 3000 in Moldova, approximately 1000 in Slovakia).

The number of voters included in voter register is necessary also if there is a turn-out requirement (e. g. half of the voters in the voter re even if he or she goes to the polling stationgister have to vote in Belarus, 40% of voters in single-member constituencies and 25% in multi-member constituencies have to participate in Lithuania). In that case, two numbers are needed. On one hand, the total number of voters which can be established with the aid of voter register. On the other, the number of voters who cast their ballot in the polling district which can be stated by counting the signatures or marks beside the names of voters on the voter list.

Public can be informed about turn-out during the election day with the use of voter list (e. g. Austria, Hungary).
In some countries the necessary number of signatures supporting a candidate or electoral list is fixed in a certain percent of voters of the constituency or in another way which is in connection with voters’ number (e. g. 1% of voters in Albania, different number of signatures in constituencies with different sizes). It can happen that also the number of members of electoral bodies or elected bodies is the function of voters’ number (e. g. number of municipal electoral commission’s members and municipal assemblies’ members in Bosnia and Herzegovina, number of polling station election commissions’ members in Ukraine). Temporary county election boards may be established only in counties with the number of voters higher than 25000 in Turkey.

Establishing the number of voters in advance can help financial planning of elections, too. It is useful especially for calculating the needed number of ballot papers (e. g. up to 3 percent more than the number of voters in the polling district’s voter list in Armenia, minimum 70% and maximum 100,5% of the number of voters of the polling district).

In the end, the number of voters can be a base for establishing the maximum amount of campaign costs (e. g. 0.30 KM per voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1 Polish zloty for each elector of the country, 16 cents in United States of America for candidates for president).

5.    TYPES OF VOTER REGISTRATION

5.1.    Voter register – voter list

Before executing the classification of voter registration systems, one must define some expressions. Voter registration is an integral part of the electoral procedure; it is a process where the electoral management collects the data of those individuals who are eligible to vote. Individuals eligible to vote are people who meet the suffrage requirements established by constitution or electoral act. These requirements are usually minimum age, citizenship, residency. The result of this process is voter register which includes the data of every voters of the country. The basis of the voter register is usually civil register, a set of records of all citizens of a municipality or a State. Before the election, the data of voter register are assigned to specific polling districts, which results in voter lists. So while voter register is a total database of voters, voter list is a part of it, which can be used only in one polling district. An election can be conducted without a voter register, but it is rarely conducted without voter lists. In this essay, we use this pair of terms despite the fact that national legislations apply also other expressions for these elements of voter registration (e. g. electoral roll, electoral register, voter roll).

5.2.    Active and passive voter registration

These two types of voter registration differ from each other in the role of voters. In passive system, voters have nothing to do, it is electoral management who takes the data of voters from a separate database (usually civil register) without any contact with the voters. Typically, a population registry includes information such as name, age, gender, marital status and address for every citizen of a country. Births and deaths are also recorded in the registry. Identifying eligible voters requires searching the existing population registry for those individuals who meet the necessary criteria, as well as noting the names of individuals who shall be removed from the voters list due to death or other reason. However, voter register is only as reliable as the civil register.

In active system, election officials get the data direct from the individuals eligible to vote, so it is the voter who decides about inclusion in voter register. There are two forms of active system. Individual-initiated system requires the active cooperation of voters, they must take the initiative to go to registration offices or send a registration form by mail. In state-initiated system, electoral officials have the responsibility of going to the public in order to identify those individuals who are eligible to vote. This is typically done by trained staff canvassing door-to-door.

In some countries, election officials employ a mixture of the two systems. For example, registration centres may be established in some areas that are easy for the public to reach, while in remote areas officials go directly to the residence of potential voters. Mixed system can mean also that voter register is exacted from a state register but legislation enables all voter or some groups of voters (such as voters abroad or citizens of another sate) inclusion at their own request.

Active systems can be compulsory (people shall register) or voluntary (people can decide if they want to be enrolled or not).

5.3.    Continuous and periodic voter registration

In a continuous system, register is based on an initial register that is updated on a regular and ongoing basis, each time an individual civil status event occurs. Voters may inform the authorities about changes in their voter information at any time, usually by contacting an administrative office. In a periodic system, records are updated (or even compiled) periodically – either prior to an electoral event or once in every certain number of years. Electoral officials must create an entirely new voter register for every election.

6.    AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VOTER REGISTRATION

It depends on the state’s institutional and electoral system which authorities are responsible for enrolling voters and which authorities take part in this procedure.

Compilation of voter register is an administrative task and that is why it is usually a duty of the government. This is really important in passive systems where civil register or other state registers are the basis of voter registration because these registers are also compiled and updated by several authorities of government. The authorities responsible for voter registration are usually authorities which keep the civil register or other records which are the base of the voter register. These bodies can be Ministry of Interior, civil register centre (chief processor of the population register in Estonia, Population Register Centre in Finland, keeper of the population register in Lithuania), Ministry of Justice (Macedonia), State Police (Armenia)  or State Statistical Institute (Spain). This task is done by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs in Latvia.

Governmental authority can be not only a ministry or a central office but also a local governmental authority. It is important in particular in individual-initiated system that the registration office shall be close to voters to make them registration easy (e. g. Ireland). But these authorities can play a crucial role also in passive systems. In Ukraine, voter registration working groups shall be created by the local state administrations for the compilation and update of voter lists.

In some states, there are local offices that have access to civil registers and so they are able to produce a voter list themselves (e.g. Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia). Sometimes, the head of the local administration or the elected head of a local government participates also in the voter registration procedure. For example, in Albania, voter list is signed by the mayor and the responsible official of the civil status office.

In the United Kingdom there is a passive registration system and to realise this process, registration officers who are responsible for the registration of voters shall be appointed by local governments for every constituency or part of a constituency.

In some countries, voter registration is the duty of electoral bodies. In active systems, where registration is not bound to State registers, an electoral commission or office is able to enrol voters. In this case, the electoral administration needs to possess all the necessary financial matters and human resources for registration. Electoral bodies can participate in voter registration also in passive system. In Georgia, it is Central Election Commission which is responsible for compiling of voter register. In Lithuania compiling, updating and keeping voter lists shall be organised by the Central Electoral Commission.  In Romania, Central Election Authority prepares the voter register and this is the task of Voter Registers General Directorate (established by the Supreme Board of Elections) in Turkey.

It can take place that there is a mixed system: state authorities and electoral bodies have also exercises in voter registration procedure. For example, in Armenia, compilation of voter register is a task of the Passport and Visa Department of the Republic of Armenia Police, but Territorial Electoral Commission shall follow the process. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the municipal authority shall establish a Voters Register Centre in each municipality. The responsibility is shared among these centres, the municipal electoral commissions and Central Election Commission. In these mixed systems, electoral bodies usually shall ensure the impartiality, independence and transparency of voter registration in order to counterbalance (or even neutralize) the accidental governmental influence which can be the result of governmental organizations’ participation in voter registration process.

In Croatia, a separate body is established for controlling the voter registration procedure. The commission for the list of voters shall be established by the municipal assembly and is comprised of a president and two members. The commission determines if the list of voters was properly compiled or not and can return the not correctly compiled list to the authorised body.
Anyway, the authorities managing the voter register have to work in an impartial, independent, professional way.

Usually there are several authorities who participate in voter registration process by judging complaints and appeals against voter register. We are dealing with them in chapter 11 below.
International and domestic observers are special participants in voter registration process: their presence at compilation and their right of inspection can be a significant guarantee of free and fair elections.

7.    USE OF VOTER REGISTER

7.1.    Compilation

As mentioned above, compilation of voter register depends on the registration system.

In active system, compilation means collecting the registration of voters which they can transmit personally in registration offices or send by mail.

In United Kingdom, registration officer must take all steps that are necessary for the purpose of complying with his duty to maintain the register. The steps include among others sending more than once to any address the form to be used for the canvass and making on one or more occasions house to house inquiries. Between September and November every year the local council delivers a registration form direct to every home in Great Britain (annual canvass). In Northern Ireland there is no annual canvass – once voters have registered, they just need to update their registration if their details change or they move home. Voters can register during the whole year by sending the registration form available on electoral commission’s website to their local electoral registration office.

In Turkey registering of voters shall be made by visiting the voters in their domiciles by commissioned officials. On the date of registration, no one except the registrars shall be allowed to leave his or her location from 5 a. m. until it is announced that voter registration is completed. Registry officers shall registers only the voters present in their place during registration.

Application for registration is usually made by the voter himself or herself, but for instance in Montenegro, voter’s request can be submit by another person, by a parliamentarian party or by other legal entity having legal interest.

Registration is generally helped with registration forms and assistance in registration offices. In the United States of America, National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as Motor Voter Act) introduced a new method to encourage voter registration.  According to this act, each state motor vehicle driver’s license application shall serve as an application for voter registration with respect to elections for federal office unless the applicant fails to sign the voter registration application. Voter registration procedure was also promoted by introducing a mail registration form and establishing voter registration agencies.

In passive system, the body responsible for registration extracts the data of those who are eligible to vote from state registers. In this system voter register contains really all of the individuals eligible to vote.

Which state registers may be the basis of voter registration? The most common registers used are population register/register of civil status of citizens (e. g. Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Spain) and register on permanent and temporary residence of citizens (e. g. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan).

Naturally, these records usually do not contain enough data for establishing the eligibility of an individual. Data about age, citizenship and place of residence can be found in them, but data about criminal convictions and legal capacity are not included in these registers. Therefore other registers shall be also applied or other authorities have to furnish particulars for compilation.
Voter registration is an abstraction in this system: authority shall select from state register the records of persons who fulfil the requirements of suffrage. The process is usually made electronically, with the help of IT systems.

There is also a third form of voter registration, this is mixed system. It means that there is a passive registration which is completed by an active registration element. Registration by request can be available for everybody who is not included in state registers (e. g. Armenia, Malta). But the most frequent practice is that only special groups shall file an application for being enrolled. These groups are generally voters resident abroad (Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden) and voters who have no lodgement in the constituency where they reside (Germany, Poland).

In member states of European Union there is a special mixed registration system. Union citizens who are residing in other country than the one they are citizens of, can cast their ballot on election of members of European Parliament in the country where they reside. The only condition is filing a request in which they notice that they wish to be included in the voter register, state their nationality and address in country of residence, state the constituency or the area in the home state where they were last included in the electoral roll, and give assurance that they will not vote in another member state. Notification that someone has been included in the voter register shall be sent to that election authority in the state where the voter is a resident. Voters who have been included in this special voter register will remain there until they are deleted from it upon personal request or the conditions for entitlement to vote are no longer satisfied.

Every person who is eligible to vote shall be in voter register but only once. What about person who will reach the voting age only after compilation? There is two way of solving this problem. One solution is enrolling all persons who will attain the voting age before election day. In United Kingdom, voter can be enrolled if he or she is 16 years old or over and will be 18 within the lifetime of the electoral register (year’s register lasts from 1 December to 30 November next year). Other solution is enrolling them only during update procedure of voter register.

The time of compilation can vary. Compilation is permanent in continuous system. For example, in Kazakhstan, the data on voters are submitted by the local executive body to the corresponding territorial election commissions by July 1 and January 1, each year. Permanent Electoral Authority shall draw up, keep, and permanently update the voter register until 31 March of each year in Romania. Voter register shall be compulsorily brought up to date in the course of every calendar year, not later then on March 31. In Turkey, registration shall be made on the second Sunday of April simultaneously throughout Turkey, for editing voter register once every four years and auditing of the register once every two years. In France, voter register is kept permanently and is subjected to an annual revision.

In periodic systems the date of compilation is a few days after setting the date of election and some weeks before election day (e. g. 80 days prior election day in Belgium, 21 days prior election day in Germany, 90 days before election day in Latvia, not later than 25 days prior election day in Montenegro, until October of the year preceding the year of regular elections in Ukraine).

The result of compilation is usually a voter register which contains the data of all individuals eligible to vote in the state and it is transformed to voter lists only before election day. In some countries there is no voter register, and the adoption of data from state registers happens at local level and separately in each constituency, municipality or polling district (Bulgaria, Hungary). In this case, the compilation results in preliminary voter lists, and before the election day, final voter lists are composed (e. g. Lithuania).

7.2.    Updating

It is not enough to compile an accurate voter register before the election. Updating is as important as compiling because its lack can cause that several voters can not cast their ballot or ineligible people can vote and wrongly influence the result of the election.

Also in the last weeks of electoral procedure, a lot of events can happen which effects the voter register. Indicating of these changes can happen in two ways. If a voter states that something have to be changed in voter register, this statement is usually a subject of a legal remedy. (We deal with legal remedies in chapter 10.) Another way is correcting voter register ex officio, when it is an authority that observes inaccuracy. The second way is not only a possibility but also a duty of authority responsible for voter register effectuated by updating.

People who loose their suffrage shall be deleted from voter register. The causes for that can be death, incarceration, moving abroad, being declared incapable or loosing nationality. However, other persons get the right to vote by reaching the voting age, by regaining their suffrage or by naturalization. These persons have to be enrolled. It can also happen that the data of register have to be amended, for example because someone has moved to another town or his/her marriage or divorce resulted in the change of family name. In case of leading separate voter lists in each municipality, when a voter moves to another municipality in the country, it is inevitable that contemporary with enrolling him or her in the voter list of municipality of his new residence he or she shall be cancelled from the voter list of the municipality of his previous residence. Otherwise he or she will be enrolled twice which endangers the principle of equality of suffrage.

Corrections and additions to the voter register are to be performed immediately after the information for correction or addition is received. Voters enrolled or cancelled have to be informed about the fact and an adequate legal remedy is to be ensured for them against that decision.

In some countries there are facts which can be taken into account but others not. For example, in Estonia changes in name, identification code, citizenship and legal capacity can be considered, but any changes made to the residential address less than thirty days before election day shall be disregarded.

In passive system, updating happens at the same time as updating of state register which is basis of voter register (e. g. Bosnia and Herzegovina).
In active system updating is most exceptional as it is limited for the cases in which there is an error in processing the applications. The most typical error is duplication: a voter is included two-times in voter register or is enrolled in two or more voter lists. Legislation of Turkey chose a special solution for this problem. In case of duplication, voter data with higher item number shall be kept in voter register and others are transferred to the duplicate data list. These duplicate data shall be stored for a period of two years.

In continuous system updating is permanent or is made once or twice in a year. In Armenia, for example, voter register is updated once in July and once in January every year. In Italy, there is a continuous system, but there are several types of updating. Periodic revision is conducted in order to add those who will attain voting age within the next semester and to delete those whose entries have to be removed due to various reasons. Ordinary revision is conducted twice a year in order to add those who are of voting age but whose names do not appear in the lists. Before an election, extraordinary revisions are held four-times (eight days before the official opening of the election campaign, 45 days before election day, 30 days before election day and 15 days before election day). In periodic system it is made from the time of compilation till the day of voter register’s closing.

The updating of voter register can be best ensured by a computerized system but not every country can effort such a system and they use a hard copy register.

7.3.    Closure

Several days before the election day the voter register have to be closed and assigned to specific polling districts. If there are no voter register, this is the time to make final voter lists.
The time of closing voter register is very different in several countries. This date is between the third and the first day before election day in Germany, on the third day before polling day in United Kingdom. In Macedonia it is made on the 15th day, in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 20th day prior election day, in Poland on the day before election day. In Czech Republic voter lists are closed to amendment two days before the first election day.  

Usually, this is the time of printing voter lists also. Closing has to be verified by signing and stamping by authority responsible for voter register, and by indicating the total number of voters enrolled. The numbers of registered voters state-wide, by local government units and by polling stations can also be announced. These numbers can be used by political parties and candidates for campaign, and announcing can enforce the confidence in voter registration process.

These final lists comprise all of the changes which were made as a result of legal remedies and ex officio updating. Ideally these lists are accurate and harmonize totally with the facts.

These voter lists get to the polling station. Voters can cast their ballot in the polling station where their name is enrolled.

Usually the voter list can not be changed by the polling station committee but there are countries where it is also possible to be enrolled on the polling day.

7.4.    Voter list on election day

In the polling station, voter list plays a crucial role. Every voter who wants to cast his or her ballot has to prove his or her identity with a valid identity document and/or a voting card got from the electoral management. Identity documents can be an identity card, a passport, driver’s licence, rarely temporary identity card or a military certificate. In some countries, voters shall prove also their residence with the same identity document or with a separate document.  In Canada, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish each year a notice setting out the types of identification that are authorized for voting. The data of voter list is usually in accordance with the data of these documents. It is important that these documents usually include also a photograph so it is possible to establish that a voter cast his or her ballot personally. In Austria, voters who have no identification document with them can also vote if the majority of the polling station committee members knows them personally and there is no objection against this fact. In some countries they hinder double-voting also by marking the hand of the voter with a special ink (Albania, Montenegro, Serbia) or by marking the passport of voter (e. g. Latvia). These methods supplement the guarantees of accurate voter list.

The managing of voter list in polling station is usually a task of an appointed member of the polling station committee. The polling station committee has to check if the voter is on the voter list and whether he or she has already voted. It must be manifested on the list that a voter got his or her ballot(s) by signing the list or marking the name. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, polling station committee shall ascertain that the signature of a voter in voter list corresponds to the signature on the identification document the voter presented to them. If a voter is unable to sign the voter list himself or herself, he or she shall have the right to seek help from other citizens or polling station committee members. In Macedonia and Turkey, if a voter is illiterate, then he or she shall affix his or her fingerprint. Sometimes a member of polling station committee shall sign the voter list next to the name of the voter, too. These marks helps after the closing of polling station to count the voters who cast their ballot and to compare this number with the number of ballots found in the ballot box. In some states, polling station committee shall register also the type and serial number of the identity document (Russian Federation, Sweden). Sometimes they draw a line through the name of the voter on the voter list (Albania).

In many countries, people who are eligible to vote will not be permitted to cast a ballot on election day if their names do not appear on the voter list (e. g. Denmark, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Serbia).

Other countries have procedures that enable such individuals to vote after adding their names to ‘supplemental list’ on election day or to vote with a ‘tendered’ or ‘challenged’ ballot. If a voter proves his or her identity and his or her address, polling station committee writes the voter’s data on the voter list, and/or enrols him into a supplemental list. In some countries, voter has to proof his eligibility with a court decision or a certificate of a competent body of the state administration which shall be attached to the voter list or to the supplemental list (Albania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Poland, United States of America).

After the end of voting, polling station committee closes the voter list, establishes the number of voters on the list, the number of voters who cast their ballot and indicates these numbers in the electoral protocol. These data helps ensuring the transparency of voting procedure and are inevitable for establishing the turn-out and validity of election.

7.5.    Use of voter register in special voting arrangements

There are voters who can not present at the polling station on election day. Many states offer these voters a special method for voting. Voter registration has to manage these situations, too.

First of all, voters who due to age, disability or state of health are unable to move independently, can vote in their home in several countries. In this case, members of polling station committee visit the voter at his or her request in his or her place of stay. There are several methods for ensuring the use of voter list by home-voting. If a request can be filed only before election day, an extract can be made which contains only the voters concerned (Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine). If voter can demand a mobile polling box even on election day, the procedure is usually managed by a blank register which is filled by the polling station committee with the help of voter list (Hungary, Serbia). If the voter has cast his or her ballot, he or she signs this separate register. When filling the register or after returning to polling station or at the end of election day, the names included in this register must be marked in the voter list as voters who have cast a ballot. The separate register shall be attached to voter list.

In Slovakia, there is no separate register but voter’s participation shall be registered by the polling station committee in the voter list immediately after the commission members sent with the portable ballot box have returned to polling station.

Beside these solutions of individual voting, there are methods for ensuring voting in institutions such as health establishments, prisons, vessels where there are more voters together. In some states, the procedure is the same as by home-voting as written above (Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine) or the same as voting with a certificate (Italy). In other states, special institutions comprise a separate polling unit and director of institution prepares the voter list and delivers it to the mayor of the local government unit where the institution is located (Moldova, Ukraine).  

National legislations usually provide an alternate opportunity also for voters who are not restricted in their movement but can not go to polling station on election day.

The first group of such voters contains voters who are in the country but away from their place of residence on election day. Most of countries meet this case with a voting certificate (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine). While issuing the certificate at the voter’s request his or her name is cancelled from the voter list of residency. When voter appears in the polling station which is indicated in the certificate (or any polling station of the country), polling station committee includes him or her into the voter list and attaches the certificate to the voter list. Usually voter is registered also in a supplemental list which enables the transparency of electoral procedure.

Some states manage the question of moving also with a certificate.

It is simpler in case of a nationwide voter register, because voter can be transferred to another part of register without cancelling and adding his or her data (Latvia).

Some groups or voters can be enrolled in another polling district than the one according to their residence. Students are usually enrolled according of the location of their hostel, military servicemen according to their military units, polling station committee members according to their place of service and in some countries voters staying in rest houses or prisons are also enrolled there (sometimes also into a supplementary list) ex officio (Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova).

In another case, voters are abroad on election day. States mostly ensure voting at their foreign representations (Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia). A separate voter list must be compiled for that purpose according to the request of voters who want to vote there. At the same time as enrolling someone in this special list, he or she must be abandoned from voter list of his or her residency (e. g. Spain). Updating of this special list deserves stressed attention. However, the time of closure of this special register is earlier as one of general register. In Czech Republic, for example, special electoral roll for overseas voters is closed 30 days before election. In some states, voting at embassies and consulates functions also as voting by tendered ballot (Hungary).

There are solutions which may be used for both groups above.

The first solution is early voting where voters can cast their ballot at specially appointed polling centres before the voting day (Denmark, Finland, Russian Federation, Sweden). This method requires an accurate keeping of voter register: it shall be entered in the voter register where and when voter has voted. It shall be ensured that a voter who cast his or her ballot during early voting could not vote against on voting day.

During early voting usually a tendered or challenged ballot is used. Voter is allowed to fill out a ballot that is not placed directly into the ballot box, but in an unmarked envelope. That envelope is then placed inside a second envelope along with a form containing the voter’s identification or with his or her voter card. A procedure is then followed to verify eligibility according to the voter register, and, if it is established, the secret ballot is included in the vote count immediately after election day.

The second solution is postal voting (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia). It usually operates also as a tendered ballot. A certification is attached to the envelope which contains the vote. In this certification voters shall indicate their data and according to these data it is checked by electoral body if voter is in the voter list. If yes, vote is placed into the ballot box, otherwise it is destroyed.

The third solution is Internet voting. This method is used in parliamentary elections only in Estonia. After the close of electronic voting, the National Electoral Committee shall prepare a list of persons who voted electronically by polling divisions. This lists shall be forwarded to  polling stations, where a notation is made in the voter list. If a voter has voted electronically as well as with a ballot paper, the ballot paper of the voter shall be taken into account and electronically given vote shall be annulled.

7.6.    Voter list after election day

In most of countries, voter lists are preserved for a period after the election day to be available in legal remedy processes. In this period, voter lists can be used for control if nobody voted more than once. At the expiry of the time allowed for complaints, voter lists have to be destroyed to ensure that included personal data shall not get to a person unauthorized (Denmark, Germany, Hungary).
Voter lists are retained by electoral bodies for a longer period in some countries (e. g. two years in Canada, four years in Ukraine, five years in Croatia, twenty-two months in the United States of America). In Bulgaria, the original of the voter register shall be kept by the municipal administration until the next election. Voter list shall not be inspected during this period by anybody except under an order of a court.
In countries where there is a two-round election system, the same voter register is usually used in the second round as the one in first round. Another solution is updating voters list between the two rounds but there shall be enough time for doing that.
When a court decision annuls the result of election and orders repeated elections, there are also two ways as in case of two-round elections. It depends on time at the disposal of electoral management which method is ordered by national legislation.

8.    DATA OF VOTER REGISTER AND DATA OF VOTER LISTS

Data of voter register and data of voter lists differ from state to state. Voters’ data used most often are first name and surname, date and place of birth, mother’s or father’s name, registered address, personal identification code. These data shall be in conformity with the data of identity documents to ensure the proof of voter’s identity. In passive system, data of voter register are the same as the data of civil register or other records which are basis of voter register.

By studying national electoral acts, other examples of voter register’s data can be found: patronymic (Albania, Kazakhstan), gender (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia), citizenship (Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Montenegro), native language of the voter (Finland), information regarding the voter’s identification document (Latvia, Lithuania), date of entering and deleting (Macedonia), a remark about permanent disability of movement (Ukraine), serial number of voter’s birth certificate (Italy).

In Bulgaria, where the name of the community, street, hosing area or number of housing building was changed during the preceding six month before election, voter list shall feature also the old name or number.

In some countries, voter list also contains the photograph or fingerprint of voters (Macedonia, Malta).

While completing of voter list, from the data of voter register only those are taken over which are indispensable for identification of voter in the polling station (typically name, surname, address and personal identification code). On the voter list, every voter has an ordinal number. Voter list contains voters usually in alphabetical order according to their surname. In Russian Federation, voter data included in the voter list shall be arranged in the alphabetical or some other order (by populated centres, streets, houses, flats). In Belgium, voter register can be established by alphabetical order or by order geographic according to streets.

Voter lists can be prepared in two versions. The first version contains every data of voter and is used by the polling station committee. The second version is public; it is also displayed for inspection that is why only the most necessary data can be enclosed in it to ensure the security of personal data. Especially identification numbers are prohibited to be published.

In United Kingdom, Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced the ability to register anonymously. Anyone who does not wish for their name to appear in the voter register can apply to their Electoral Registration Officer to be registered anonymously, although good reason would have to be provided for this. Applicants would need documentary evidence of a Court Order or attestation from certain persons to support their application.

Beside the data of voters, the voter list may include information about the type and date of election, the name of electoral constituency, the number of polling district and the place of polling station.
The above mentioned data are on the voter list before starting of voting but there are a lot of data which can be recorded on it during election day. Voter list shall contain a suitable place for these data. These data are usually: signatures or markings of voters who have cast their vote; the series and number of the voters’ personal identification document (Armenia, Russian Federation).

While the data of voter register and voter list are prescribed by law, the form of voter lists are usually established by the central electoral body (e. g. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Latvia, Russian Federation) or by the ministry responsible for conducting elections (e. g. Denmark, Hungary, Poland).

9.    PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF VOTER REGISTRATION

To build confidence in voter registration, it is inevitable to ensure the transparency of voter registration and the publicity of voter register or voter lists.

First of all, voter register have to be recognizable for individuals. They shall be able to control if they are enrolled or not. The most common way is to display the register in a visible and public place, especially in the building of the local government or electoral body or somewhere in the territory of the respective electoral district. The time of the inspection can be limited for several days or weeks (e. g. 15 days in Belarus, from 21st day before election for 10 days in Austria, from 41st day in Finland, from 20th to 16th day before election in Germany) or the publicity can be ensured during the whole electoral procedure or even during the whole year if voter register is permanent (Macedonia, Turkey). In the second case, it can be happen that two form of voter list is displayed: first the preliminary voter list, later the final voter list which is consolidated with the changes made during the inspection (Armenia).

So voter can enter the building, control his or her data on the list. If he or she finds his or her name on the list, he or she can be sure that he or she will be able to cast his or her ballot on election day. If he or she is not enrolled nor have an error in his or her data, he or she can file a legal remedy. In some states, voters can check also the data of other voters and submit a complaint if he or she finds that somebody ineligible is on the list. (Legal remedies are the subject of chapter 10 of this essay.) In Czech Republic, voter lists are not published prior to elections. However, each individual voter is allowed to inspect the voter list to determine whether or not he or she is included.

Sometimes voters have the right to get a certification whether their name is or is not found on the final voter list (Albania), can make a copy of the list (Austria) or can get an extract free of charge (Finland). In other states it is expressively prohibited to make a copy of the list (Lithuania). In Netherlands, the municipal executive shall immediately notify any person at his or her request whether he or she is registered as a voter. If not, he or she shall be notified of the reasons for this no later than on the seventh day after receipt of the request.

Voter lists can be published also in another way. For example, in Armenia voter list shall be posted in the Internet. In several states of United States of America and in Ireland, voters can check if they are enrolled via Internet by giving the personal identification code or other data. In Finland and Lithuania, the information in the voting register may be obtained free of charge via telephone during office hours. In Kazakhstan, on the elections of the deputies to the Senate, voter list is published in local mass media. The electoral code of Malta chose a special solution: the revised voter register is to be published in the Gazette twice a year, in the month of April and in the month of October. In fact, any additions, cancellations or corrections to the voter register shall be also published in the Gazette.

However, in many states voter gets a personalized invitation for voting which proves also that he or she is in the voter register, a democratic state has to ensure the openness of electoral procedure as extensively as possible, so also with other methods. The only barrier to this transparency is data protection. Personal data have to be protected also during this process. Members of electoral bodies and any other person, body or organ, acquainted with the personal data contained in the voter list, shall be obliged to secure and protect them. Data protection means also that displayed voter lists must not contain the personal identification code of voters or number of his or her identification document. These codes are usually used also for other purposes and their procurement by a third person can cause the voter significant disadvantage, or even damage. Neither can be published voter lists with the signatures of voters who have voted in the election. In Lithuania, each voter shall have the right to refuse to consent that the address of his or her place of residence would be publicly announced in the polling district voter list. The Central Electoral Commission shall create the appropriate conditions for a voter to exercise this right.

In some states (e. g. Montenegro) the inspection is supplemented by a public announcement about numerical and tabular review of voter register’s data and modifications made on it.

In several countries, political parties can also get the data included in voter register. Sometimes they can get a free copy of the register, electronic or paper form (e. g. Albania, Belgium) In some states, candidates and parties have to pay for voters’ data (e. g. Armenia, Austria, Hungary, Macedonia, United States of America). Getting these data can facilitate them carrying on a direct campaign. To avoid the use of voters’ data for other goals, several instructions must ensure destroying of the database after the election day.

Representatives of political parties and independent candidates have a special right in Estonia: after election day, in the event of justified interest, they may examine voter lists to the extent necessary and the lists may also be used for scientific purposes. So there the right of inspection is subsequent.

In United Kingdom, there are two versions of the voter register. The full register lists everyone who is registered to vote. Anyone can look at it and make notes but copies can only be supplied for certain purposes (establishing eligibility and checking the names by credit reference agencies). The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for any purpose, can be bought by any person, company or organisation and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing. Voters can choose not to be on the edited register while registering.

Voter education plays a crucial role in voter registration. In active system, people must know how, where and when they can register. Printed and electronic media, posters and information campaigns can be used also for that purpose. Qualified voter register officers have to help voters complete the registration form and to answer all of the questions.

Information is also inevitable in passive systems. Voters have to understand how one compiles, updates and closes voter register. They have to know exactly who are authorized to manage their personal data and which the guarantees for securing these data are. They must be informed about conditions of inspection and legal remedies.

10.    LEGAL REMEDIES

In chapter 7 we pointed out how voter register can be changed by the authority responsible for voter registration. This chapter, we write about changes in which an individual plays also a role.

The right for a legal remedy is a constitutional provision in most of democratic states. It means that everybody can lodge an appeal against any judicial decision or decision of an administrative authority. Electoral law is also subject to the constitutional provisions so we can not avoid writing about legal remedies when dealing with voter registration.

Legal remedies has a special function in voter registration procedure: because no voter register is perfect, the possibility of going to law guarantees that errors made while composing voter register can be corrected.

As we have mentioned above in chapter 10, voters have the possibility to inspect voter register after its compilation. The time of inspection is usually limited. In most of the states, the opportunity for applying for legal aid is exist only during this period (e. g. Germany). Otherwise, deadline of filing complaints is usually fixed in a date before election. Deadline is for instance 16th day before election day in Finland, 5th day before election day in Moldova. In other states, legal remedies can be given during the whole electoral procedure, what is more, also on election day (Bulgaria). In other countries, voter can notice errors of voter register when he or she gets or does not get his or her voter card that is inevitable for cast his or her vote (Denmark).


It appears also in national legislation that there are two periods in that one may lodge complaint: first against the preliminary voter register, second time against the final voter list. In Albania, for example, you can give a complaint against preliminary voter register till the 60th day before election and one against final voter list until 24 hours before election day.

The majority of these legal redresses are submitted by the person concerned. Voters are always entitled to submit a complaint but in several countries, this action can be made instead of them by another person such as a member of the family (Albania, Georgia). Some countries’ legislation requires the assistance of a legal representative, especially in procedures before court.

In some states, the change of voter register’s records may be requested by third parties, either by individuals eligible to vote or by political parties (Armenia, Canada, Croatia). It is especially meaningful in active systems (e. g. Malta), where registration offices get the data directly from the voter concerned and it is most likely to enrol a voter ineligible.

There is a solution where anybody can indicate a fact that would change the content of voter register, but only in several cases. For example, in Albania, these facts are the death or disenfranchisement of a voter.

The remedy can be made typically in written form, but some national legislation enables a verbal declaration (e. g. Austria, Croatia). If it is made verbally, the authority shall make an official report. Necessary particulars are specified by law. These are generally the full name and address of the individual, the reason for requesting the changes to the voter register, the documents that prove the cause for which the change is being requested. A special form can be established for this purpose (Canada, Finland).

There are three possible reasons for filing a legal remedy:

■    Someone has suffrage but he or she is not enrolled (exclusion).
■    Someone is disenfranchised but he or she is enrolled (wrong inclusion).
■    Someone’s data in voter register are wrong (wrong data).

In active system and in cases where enrolling is based on the application of a voter, legal remedy can be submitted also against the unfavourable decision of registration office.

The remedy can usually be submitted to an intermediate authority or directly to the authority which will judge it. It is practical if the intermediate authority is the same who compiled the voter register because it can send also its opinion at the same time as forwarding the complaint.

Which are the authorities that judge such a request? In first instance, this authority is the same who compiled the voter register. This enables that a fault made during compilation can be corrected in a short time, namely this authority has all of the essential data for judging the facts stated in a complaint. Second instance can be different. In some states, when authority of first instance does not allow the complaint, it shall turn to a higher authority or to court for a decision. In this case, the submitter of the complaint has nothing to do but to wait. In other states, the submitter gets a decision and can appeal against it before a higher authority or before court.  If voter can indicate the fault in voter list on election day, the decision of correction is usually made by the polling station committee.

So legal remedy in voter registration procedure usually has two instances. In Estonia, for example, first instance is rural municipality or city secretary and second instance is an administrative court of voter’s residence. However, in Macedonia, there are three instances: Ministry of Justice, State Election Commission and then Supreme Court. The legislation is similar in Italy: complaints of citizens concerning their exclusion from the voters list are adjudicated by the Territorial Electoral Commission. Decision of the Commission may be appealed to the Court of Appeals or further, to the Court of Cassation.

Sometimes the decision is made by different authorities in case of exclusion and wrong-inclusion as in case of wrong data. In Bulgaria, for example, one can turn to District Election Committee and then to District Court in case of exclusion and wrong-inclusion, but one can ask the mayor of the municipality for correction of his or her data in voter register.

Anyway, the impartiality of this body has to be also guaranteed.

The procedure of the court is usually regulated by code of civil procedure or administrative judicial procedure act and not by electoral laws. It can be litigious or non-litigious. Independently from the type of procedure, the most common evidences introduced are documents. Sometimes, hearing of plaintiff and/or authority and testimony can also be used.

As electoral procedure is a short period, it is impossible to give the authority the regular deadline of administrative procedure, so a number of days or even weeks. So deadlines in voter registration legal remedy process are usually between two and five days. If there is a possibility to demand change of voter list till one or two days before or even on election day, authority or court shall make a decision in a very short time to ensure that a voter shall be able to cast his or her vote. For instance, in Russian Federation, the polling station commission shall review application and submitted documents within 24 hours of the submission or within 2 hours if submitted on voting day but not later than the end of the voting.

After taking a decision, the plaintiff has to be informed by sending him a copy. The resolution shall contain not only the decision but also the reasons for the decision. Decision may be rejection of complaint or allowing it and changing the data of voter register.

There is a special form of legal remedy in Canada. Any elector may make an objection before the returning officer respecting the inclusion of the name of another person in voter list for that electoral district. The returning officer shall send to the person objected to a notice advising the person that he or she may give evidence to show that he or she is entitled to vote in the electoral district in question by appearing personally or by representative before the returning officer, or sending him any documentation that the person considers appropriate. So in Canada, the procedure is trilateral: it happens among voter included in voter list, voter who makes the objection and authority.

11.    BEST PRACTICES AND PROBLEMS IN LEGAL FRAMEWORK

As establishing the legal framework of voter registration, legislator has to take not only international standards but also some theoretical and practical principles into consideration.

First of all, both under-regulation and overregulation must be avoided. Legislation shall ensure that every situation could be judged according to legal conditions but regulation shall not be so detailed that it would slow down or even stop decision-making process.

Regulation of voter registration must be transparent and accessible for every actor of electoral procedure. It means that legislation shall be published, recognizable by reading it in the gazette and possibly via internet.  Secret legislation is prohibited and written law is an expectation in the field of voter registration.

It is especially important for voter that laws in connection with voter registration shall be clear, understandable. As legislation is usually hard to understand for citizens, there must be commentaries, interpretations, explanations, arguments. The influences of voters’ actions and neglects must be foreseen by them. This condition includes also that every electoral body and court shall interpret laws in the same way: judgements in voter registration process must be similar if facts which are basis of decision are the similar in two situations.  

Stability of legislation is also a requirement. If laws change many times, it can undermine voters’ confidence in electoral process. It is expressively dangerous if changes are made in the period immediately prior general election. The solution can be the inclusion of the main part of voter registration’s regulation into a law which is subject to a qualified majority vote or other onerous processes. Nevertheless, necessary flexibility must be also allowed because legal, social and technical circumstances can transform from time to time. This can be ensured by leaving the detailed provisions to administrative rules issued by the government or authorised election administration bodies.

Last point of view is practicability. A national legislation can meet all of the requirements mentioned above, so can be in accordance with international and constitutional conditions, can be transparent, accessible, stable and flexible at the same time, predictable and so on, but if the state possesses no satisfactory administrative, institutional or technical conditions to effectuate it, legal framework remains only an empty phrase.  

12.    BEST PRACTICES AND PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION

The accuracy of the voter register can be influenced by the way the election management system handles the most critical questions or problems of the composition: address changes, citizens voting abroad, military personnel voting, registration of those who are deprived of voting rights, minorities and women voting, woman, absentee voting, homeless, refugee, internally displaced and nomadic voting.
Citizens change their addresses quite often, in some countries every second year, but they do not register the changes immediately after it occurs.  Therefore in election periods it is extremely important that authorities assist the citizens in quick and efficient registration of address changes. In some countries, where Sundays are the traditional election days authorities work on Saturdays to register address changes.

Data protection of voters’ personal data becomes an issue related to public display of voters’ lists for possible correction. As in this case two important rights, the citizens’ right to control, whether they are correctly included into the voters’ list, and their right to protect their personal data are in conflict, election management bodies have to decide, how to compromise between the conflicting interests.  

An adult citizen can be deprived of his/her voting rights for two reasons:  either his/her legal conviction includes deprivation of voting rights, or the citizen is mentally disabled, therefore unable to decide alone. In both cases law enforcement and health system authorities are obliged to cooperate with the electoral registries to take the names off from voter’s lists of those, who are deprived of voting rights. One of the best examples to register those, who are not allowed to vote, is a separate non-voter’s registry, which is frequently updated and compared to the voter’s registry.

To guarantee that no dead people are in registries, state administration must ensure that death registries are up to date, and efficiently connected to voter registries. In some countries citizens delay death registration of their relatives to receive longer the benefits, pensions of them. Such illegal practice should be avoided by adequate sanctions.

Election fraud is possible in every election system and in the voter registration systems also. The accuracy of voter’s lists, transparency and the legal complaint remedies are the major tools in avoiding possible election fraud in the registries.  

13.    VOTERS’ LIST EFFECT ON GENDER, VULNERABLE AND SPECIAL GROUPS

In some male-dominated traditional or conservative societal groups woman are not encouraged to participate in elections, therefore their voter registration is not appropriately managed by their families. Authorities should ensure, that woman is given the same opportunities in voter registration as man.

If the constitution and the electoral law permit voting for citizens living abroad, a special registry system should be set up for them. Usually citizens have to register at their embassies in the countries where they live, which should occur parallel with their erasing from the register in their original domicile, just like by address changes. Another option is voting by mail.

The military personnel’s voting registry creates a double problem: if they are deployed abroad in an international mission, a special system similar to the citizens voting abroad should be set up for them. If they are voting in their barracks on the national territory, special arrangements are made to register them either in the district of their deployment or in their original domicile.

The equal voting rights of members of national and ethnic minorities are crucial in a democratic society.  Although the legal framework of voter registries rarely has implications to minority rights, during the practical implementation special attention is made in some countries to ensure that minority citizens are equally registered as majority citizens. The same applies for women voting rights, as in some traditional communities it is not obvious that women have the same rights as men.

Absentee voting is allowed in many countries of the region, when citizens have to register in a given period before election day, where they want to vote, so that they can be registered in that different constituency than their domicile.

Refugees and internally displaced persons often are given similar rights as citizens, especially if they came from war-torn regions, and they belong to the majority ethnic group of the given country. The voter registration of those persons creates a special administration problem, if they live in shelters or refugee camps and if they possess different identity documents as citizens.

Homeless, refugee, internally displaced and nomadic voting create a special voter registration problem. The most common solution is to set up special election units, where citizens of these specific backgrounds can vote.