Changes in the system of the Polish election administration in 2018–2020

Recently there have been made many amendments to Electoral Code. They concerned mostly electoral administration and further are being announced. The article is an attempt to summarize made and proposed changes from the perspective of basic principles concerning electoral management in democracy, in particular impartiality and efficiency of electoral management bodies. Analyse shows mainly the lack of complex vision for electoral administration, which is highly inadvisable.

The aim of the text is the analysis of the tasks and activities of the municipal self-government during the organization of the 2020 election of the President in Poland during the period from the beginning of February to May 10, 2020, when, due to the development of the pandemic, the process of preparing the election took a different course. The study is based on documents and five in-depth expert interviews conducted with persons associated with the organization of the elections. This publication draws attention to the lack of knowledge about various aspects of the pandemic, the protraction of the decision-making process, the lack of cooperation, and citizens’ fears.

Local Government in the Process of Organizing General Elections During the Pandemic – The Experience of the 2020 Presidential Election in Poland

The aim of this text is to analyse the tasks and activities of the municipal government during the organisation of elections in the period after 12 May 2020, when elections were originally scheduled for, but in which no voting took place. A particular element of the context of this election was the pandemic threat. The study is based on source documents and five expert interviews conducted with people involved in the organisation of elections. The analysis focuses on two areas – the expansion of postal voting and sanitary restrictions at the polling station. This study draws attention to the increased tasks of local government and the short time for adaptation to the new legal regime.