Voting by Correspondence and Voting by Proxy: World Experiences vs. Ukrainian Realities

Under modern conditions elections are an integral part of social life of every state. They determine the level of democratism of a state system and constitute the basic form of exercising the sovereign power of the nation. Elections are the foundations of a democratic political system and a guarantee that interests of various social groups are represented in state organs. Under Ukrainian legislation a special place is occupied by personal voting. Nevertheless, voting by correspondence and voting by proxy are not at all inconsistent with personal voting. The thorough analysis of the possibility to apply voting by correspondence and voting by proxy in all types of elections in Ukraine allows for the conclusion that providing for this option by the legislator would have a positive impact on democratisation in Ukraine. It would therefore be necessary to make an amendment to electoral law by establishing precise criteria of membership to the category of voters that would be entitled to cast their vote by correspondence and/or by proxy. It also would be recommendable to increase the legal responsibility of the participants in electoral processes for breaching electoral laws. Above all, it would be necessary to develop effective legal mechanisms that would enable to enforce legal responsibility, including the criminal liability. The indicated measures would result in eliminating the unlawful control over electoral processes, as well as in diminishing the electoral absenteeism, which in turn would enhance the legitimacy of power.

The article concerns the Polish regulation and practice concerning postal voting. After presenting some background information on postal voting in Poland, such as the circumstances of its introduction in 2011 and changes it has undergone since then, the author focuses on the latest amendments related to postal voting in the presidential election that were ordered for 10 May 2020. The issue has recently become extremely topical as the ruling party wanted to use postal voting for a large scale as a remedy for problems with holding the traditional election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That idea was followed by the adoption of a specific law which, however, has aroused many controversies and great doubts about its constitutionality, mainly related to the way it was proceeded.

The article examines the thesis that the electoral law in Poland is treated instrumentally. Changes of postal voting regulations in Poland have been collated with solutions applied in other countries. The analysis focuses on the motivation politicians had to revise the Election Code and introduce postal voting. The article indicates to the ad hoc nature of solutions adopted and their short-term political benefits for various political groupings. The discussion focuses on the course of political actions related to the presidential election in Poland during the coronavirus pandemic.

Postal vote during the Covid-19 pandemic. Experiences from the Polish presidential election in 2020

In order to guarantee a higher level of implementation of the principle of universality of elections, many countries introduce additional (other than voting at a polling station) forms of voting in elections. Postal voting is one of the most popular alternative voting methods – complementary to traditional voting. If this form is the only way to participate in elections – there appear doubts as to the low degree of guarantee of the principle of universality. The aim of this article is to analyze Poland’s rather limited experiences with postal voting, with particular emphasis on the organization of elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Postal voting in Austria: analysis of the 2008–2019 experiences

The research objective is to review the regulatory arrangements for postal voting available in Austria and to analyse how this alternative voting method was used in the 2008–2019 federal elections. The article seeks to answer the following questions: 1) what percentage of Austrian voters chooses to vote outside polling stations in the federal election? and 2) since the postal voting was made more accessible to a larger group of voters in 2007, how has the turnout changed in Austria? The hypothesis assumes that a considerable portion of the Austrian electorate takes advantage of the chance to vote by post, despite the procedural limitations which curb the number of eligible voters. The analysis proves that casting a vote outside the polling station is becoming more and more popular, which warrants further liberalisation of the procedure by abolishing the requirement to provide a reason for choosing an alternative voting method.

The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Poland and, consequently, the introduction of the epidemic on March 20, 2020, influenced the decision not to hold the election of the President of the Republic of Poland scheduled for May 10, 2020. Therefore, in the face of objective difficulties in the organization of elections, a new voting deadline was set on June 28, 2020. Due to the prevailing global pandemic, the elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020 with the possibility of postal voting, were conducted and prepared in exceptional circumstances. With this in mind, this article presents a number of various problems, and even limitations, of the electoral rights granted to each voter, which have become a consequence of the legal solutions introduced without in-depth analysis, often in a hurry. 1