The purpose of this article is to explain what a digital form of journalism, called data journalism, is and how it is applied in practice related to politics. Definitions and various aspects of data journalism (i.a. exemplary variables, most common in data journalism in general, ways of presenting data, factors that data journalists focus on in their work etc.) appear in the first part of article. Politics, as the title of this work indicates, is one of the areas in which this type of journalism is used. In this article, three projects related to data journalism are described. The first example of a tool, based on American politics, used to visualize and obtain data on congressmen and elections in general, is Election DataBot. This paper provides a description of this tool, as well as information about organizations that launched it. The next two initiatives related to data journalism are: European Data Journalism Network (as the name suggests, it refers to European politics) and Media 3.0 Foundation (related to Polish politics). They offer many practical options to observe, analyze and show political data. The research method used in the study is the analysis of thematic online sources. The hypothesis is that data journalism is still a growing branch of journalism that has its adhibition in politics, thus supporting journalists, researchers and others interested in obtaining and visualizing data.

The Bundestag is the largest democratically elected parliament in the world, only the Chinese National People’s Congress is larger. At the moment, 138 more members sit in the Berlin Reichstag than the legally required size, thanks to overhang and compensatory mandates. The Federal Constitutional Court has already declared the federal electoral law unconstitutional several times. All parties agree that the German Bundestag must become smaller again. This is to be achieved by fundamental reform of the electoral law.

The Principle of Equality in Elections to Bodies of Self- Governments of Public Trust Professions

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the constitutional principles relating to elections to public authorities should mutatis mutandis be the benchmark for elections to the bodies of self-government of public trust professions. The principle of equality of the electoral law is of particular importance in this area. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of the Polish Constitution, the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal and the laws and internal acts regarding professional self-governments. It follows that a breach of the principle of equality in the internal acts of a professional self-government may be grounds for declaring them unlawful. Whereas, laws concerning these self-governments should enable the scrutiny of elections. The considerations lead to the conclusion that topics combining the position of professional self-governments and democratic standards of the election law can be a field of interesting research in the domain of constitutional law.

Results of the elections to the Regional Parliament and the Cortes Generales in the Basque country as a reflection of the nationalist tendencies

Basque nationalism is a multifaceted and complex issue in which many aspects overlap, but much can be deduced from the political sympathies expressed by the inhabitants of the Basque Country during the elections to both the regional parliament and the Cortes Generales. The political parties’ programs are also a good source of knowledge. The aim of the article is to outline the programs of the Basque main political parties and the results of parliamentary elections as two important determinants for the analysis of nationalist tendencies in this autonomous community. The article provides an analysis of the political origins of Basque nationalism and also focuses on the PNV party as the leading political force for moderate nationalism. The last part concerns the socio-political moods at the end of the second decade of the 21st century in the Basque Country.

Alternative voting procedures in Polish and Lithuanian election law

Organizing voting in general elections only in the traditional way (i.e., at the ballot boxes) may make it difficult for more and more voters to participate. This is due to the increasing mobility of society and the fact that citizens are away from home on election day, the aging population and much more difficult access of the old and the sick to polling stations, and – as shown in the years 2020–2021 – unexpected epidemic crises that affect public health, which in turn translates into the election process. This article focuses on alternative voting methods in Poland and Lithuania. The main intention of the authors is to analyze the legal basis and compare the functioning of alternative voting procedures in the electoral systems of both countries, as well as to answer the question about the possibility of introducing new forms of voting that could increase the health safety of voters and ensure the democratic nature of elections in emergency situations. The motivation to take up this topic were: the wprowapresidential elections in Poland in 2020 and the parliamentary elections in Lithuania in 2021, during which not only alternative voting methods were used (e.g., correspondence voting), but also the possibility of implementing completely new solutions – safe in the event of spreading coronavirus pandemic.

Candidates in the elections for the President of Rzeszów in June 2021 in regional daily newspapers of the Subcarpathian province

The article presents the results of research devoted to the presentation of candidates for the presidential election in Rzeszów in June 2021 by two of the largest regional dailies published in the Subcarpathian region – “Gazeta Codzienna Nowiny”, and “Super Nowości”. The concept of mediatization of politics provided an adequate theoretical framework to describe the involvement of the media in the political process. The research was quantitative and qualitative. In the first case, issues such as the number of texts devoted to candidates, their area and mutual proportions were examined. The qualitative approach was aimed at analyzing the emotional overtones of the examined units – paragraphs – and determining the candidate’s image of a positive, negative or neutral character presented in them. The results of the research made it possible to indicate certain likes and dislikes of both analyzed titles.

Procedure of Nominating Candidates in Elections for the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland

The article analyzes the procedure of nominating candidates for the office of the President of the Republic of Poland. The provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Code were assessed. The analysis of the elections to the office of the President in Poland indicates that the requirement to collect 100,000 signatures of citizens who have the right to vote for the Sejm is not difficult to reach. As a result, candidates with low public support, who receive less than 100,000 votes, participate in the election of the President. At the same time, election practice shows that there is a lot of irregularities during collecting the signatures. This problem was repeatedly pointed out by the National Electoral Commission The article ends with proposals to amend the Electoral Code aimed at clarifying the rules for collecting signatures of support and introducing an election deposit.

The Issue of Direct Submission of Candidates for Members of District Electoral Commissions

The aim of the article is to analyze the solution that allows voters to report directly to a member of the district electoral commission (without the participation of the election committee), in particular to present the advantages of such a solution from the point of view of the fairness of the election. The indicated procedure is an interesting solution both from the point of view of the voter and the election administration. In the first case, it eliminates the need for the voter to manifest his political sympathies. In the second one, it regulates the procedure of supplementing the committee members in the event of vacancies. As part of this paper, an attempt was also made to answer the question of what potential this procedure may have in the context of improving the electoral process. The formal and legal method was used in the work.

Postulates of the National Electoral Commission Regarding the Desired Direction of Changes to the Electoral Code

The aim of this article is to make a critical analysis of the postulates for amending the Electoral Code, proposed by the National Electoral Commission. We can agree with a large part of the above postulates, although their final normative shape will be of key importance in this case. However, there are also some proposals that can be considered at least debatable. First of all, this concerns the postulate to abandon the judicial composition of district electoral commissions, because even despite doubts as to the legality of the appointment of judges with the participation of the unconstitutional composition of the National Council of the Judiciary, guarantees of judicial independence are also a safeguard against politicization of the composition of subsequent election administration bodies. Anyway, it is worth emphasizing that the NEC’s proposals were in practice intended to constitute a form of justification for introducing changes contrary to the fundamental principles of electoral law, which took place in the winter of 2023.

Electoral Knowledge of Generation “Z” in the Perspective of a Quantitative Study on Secondary School Students in Warsaw

The research problem of the described study was the electoral knowledge of representatives of generation Z. The aim of the content of the article is to clarify the extent to which today’s secondary school students are familiar with the principles of electoral law and to determine the significance of gender on their level of knowledge in this area; obtaining information on the self-assessment of knowledge regarding electoral law and elections, as well as the importance of the length of learning for the level of self-assessment, as well as learning about the most convenient form of voting in the opinion of secondary school students. Research to date in this area has mainly focused on the millennial generation, not on today’s youth. This text therefore seeks to fill this gap. The study was carried out by means of a diagnostic survey using a survey technique and an online survey questionnaire research tool.

The Right to Vote for Non-Residents

The article deals with the possibility for country’s non-citizen residents to participate in elections, in the political life they wish to participate in. This issue remains outside the mainstream of jurisprudence and doctrine, but it is important due to the increased social mobility. The article presents the practice of selected countries and documents of international law relating to the title issue. Theoretical and comparative issues were confronted with Polish solutions regulating voting issues of Polish citizens residing abroad. The article also contains proposals for necessary legislative changes, the introduction of which to the electoral code will guarantee respect for the universality of electoral law. The article uses the legal-dogmatic method, supplemented to the necessary extent by the legal-comparative method.

Change in the Status and Powers of the Pool Watchers after the Enactment of the January 26, 2023 Amendments to the Election Code

The amendment to the Election Code made on 2023 significantly changed the status and powers of the pool watchers. If they observe the voting for at least 5 hours and observe the entire process of determining the results of voting until the signing of the voting protocol, they will receive 40% of the flat-rate allowance of members of ward electoral commissions. The chairmen of ward electoral commissions are obliged to keep records of the working time of the pool watchers. The most controversial issue is granting them the possibility of registering all activities of ward electoral commissions on election day using their own devices recording all activities of the ward electoral commission also during voting. This solution violates the principle of secrecy of voting, the right to privacy, and may be treated as an unacceptable form of pressure on the voter regarding the content of his vote.

Central Register of Voters as a Sign of the Impact of Technological Developments on Electoral Law. Remarks in the Context of the Amendment of the Electoral Code of 26 January 2023

Author verifies the thesis that changes in electoral law in Poland take into account the progress of technology. The subject of the research is the amendment of the Electoral Code of 26 January 2023 in regard to the introduced Central Register of Voters. The conducted analysis shows that the Polish legislator follows the development of technology. This deserves approval, improving the functioning of the electoral bodies, but above all making it easier for voters to participate in the elections. However, as pointed out in the article, the amendment to the Electoral Code has been done in a way that raises a number of questions that need to be kept in mind when assessing it. In addition, the changes to electoral law in the field of technology use raise a certain shortcoming from the point of view of the omission of normative changes regarding alternative voting methods, including e-voting.

Election Commissioners – Evolution of Institutions after 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the political position and powers entrusted to election commissioners after the amendment of the Electoral Code in 2018. Election commissioners, as plenipotentiaries of the National Electoral Commission, participate in all types of elections, and their powers granted under the amendment to the Electoral Code strengthen their position as an electoral body, but also in relation to local government. The changes that have been made significantly increased the number of appointed election commissioners to 100, departed from the adopted judicial model, and gave the authority to an external body, i.e. the executive body, to decide which of the candidates and according to what criteria will be selected and then presented National Electoral Commission.

The Role of the Federal Election Commission in the Electoral Process – Remarks Based on the Background of the 2021 Bundestag Elections

During the preparation and conduct of elections to the Bundestag, up to the determination and confirmation of the election result and the allocation of seats, electoral and administrative bodies and other institutions make a number of decisions and actions related to the elections. The procedure for verifying the correctness of the elections takes place after the elections, so it comes too late. The Federal Elections Act provides for legal remedies that can be taken before the elections, i.e. a complaint against the decision of the Federal Election Commission not to grant party status and a complaint against the decision of the State Election Commission not to admit the national list to the elections. The article is a synthetic analysis of the competence of the federal election commission in the field of applying legal measures to prevent irregularities during elections.

A Constitutional Complaint as an Instrument for Protecting Individual Electoral Rights – Comments in the Context of Constitutional Complaints Considered by the Constitutional Tribunal in 2012–2023

It seems that currently any attempt to undertake a substantive assessment of the activity of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, especially after 2015, is doomed to the need to address the problem of the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland. Nevertheless, the analysis of statistical data allows us to put forward the thesis that the “popularity” of the constitutional complaint as a means of protecting individual freedoms and rights – at least seemingly – has not been completely wasted even in these difficult conditions. It can be concluded that a constitutional complaint is not a commonly used instrument for the protection of an individual’s electoral rights. Nevertheless, given the constitutional problems raised in the constitutional complaints, the structure of this instrument of protection of the constitutional freedoms and rights of the individual prevents effective protection (ie. the possibility of restoring) the infringed electoral rights of the individual.

The Syntactic and Chronological Structure of the Article 10 section 2 of the Constitution and Voting Legitimacy of Governments of the President of the Republic of Poland

The subject of the foregoing considerations will be the adequacy of constitutional and political competences of the President to the investiture method of a given person assigned to act in this office. Political and legal view of this issue will comprise, in particular, reflection on the division of powers, the impact that citizens may have on the state, the analysis of relations between entitlements and elections, as well as the study of opinions in the referred scope. The aspects of the states of emergency have been omitted here. In the article uses formal-dogmatic, comparative, and historical method. The aim of limiting the President’s influence on politics is to maintain state balance. However, according to the syntactic and chronological construction of the Art. 10 sec. 2 of the Constitution, the institution of the President should be strengthened so that it would be a real organ of the „first place”.

The aim of this paper is to outline an analysis of the codal formulation and doctrinal interpretation of the concept of electoral process in Ukraine. The author analyzes the concept of electoral process, its temporal, subjective and procedural aspects. He also presents the regulations of the Electoral Code of Ukraine on the principles of electoral process. A properly regulated electoral process is the starting point in any democratic state for holding free and fair elections with effective public scrutiny. In Ukraine, this is extraordinarily important for a number of reasons. The provisions of the Election Code passed in 2019 have never been applied in parliamentary or presidential elections to date, and therefore their evaluation is possible only from a doctrinal point of view, and the views of Ukrainian doctrine are the most significant on this issue for obvious reasons.

The Responsibility of the Financial Representative of an Electoral Committee for Illegal Financial Benefits Obtained by the Electoral Committee

The paper discusses the question of the nature of the forfeiture of the equivalent of a material benefit, as provided for in the Electoral Code, applied to the financial representative of the committee, and whether and under what conditions this regulation can be considered constitutionally permissible. This issue has not been the subject of extensive doctrinal analysis but is of practical importance. The article discusses the purpose of financing party electoral committees exclusively through the party’s electoral fund, as well as the reasons for introducing the discussed solution into the Electoral Code. Then, guided by the proportionality test developed by the Constitutional Tribunal, an assessment of the usefulness, necessity, and proportionality sensu stricto was carried out. This analysis led to the conclusion that the provisions establishing financial liability for the financial representative are indeed restrictive, but in the existing normative environment, they may be considered as meeting constitutional requirements.

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.