Condensed entry: Every citizen has the right to vote by universal and equal suffrage in elections held by secret ballot. All citizens should be allowed to vote and there should be no distinction between citizens on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status is permitted. States that do not permit women to vote, for example, will be in violation of this right.Equal suffrage means that each citizen may only vote once and every vote should be counted equally. Secret ballot implies that voters should be protectedfrom any form of coercion or compulsion to disclose how they intend to vote or how they voted, and from any unlawful or arbitrary interference with the voting process.The right to vote must be established by law and may be subject only toreasonable restrictionssuch as setting a minimum age limit for the right to vote. Comprehensive entry: Article 25(b) of the ICCPR guarantees citizens the right ‘[t]o vote … at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot …’ [1] Universal suffrage means that as a general rule all citizens should be allowed to vote. However, objective and reasonable criteria set out in law,[2] such as setting a minimum age limit for the right to vote are allowed.[3] Legal provisions that define citizenship for purposes of the right to vote must be established.[4] No distinction between citizens on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status is permitted.[5]Regarding a referendum on self-determination, the HRC held that it was legitimate to limit participation to persons with sufficiently close ties with the territory whose future was being decided by restricting the vote to ten years continuous residence.[6] Persons who have been convicted of an offence should not be deprived of their right to vote solely on this basis.[7] (See *political participation while in detention*). Equal suffrage entails that each citizen may only vote once and everyone’s vote should be counted equally.[8] Voting districts should be proportional to the number of inhabitants.[9] Hence, significant differences in the number of inhabitants or registered voters per elected representative in different parts of a municipality in the absence of factors that might explain such difference violated the right to participation of voters and candidates.[10] Non-citizen residents may be allowed to vote.[11] The HRC has emphasized the duty of the state to ensure that people entitled to vote are able to exercise that right.[12] A citizen may not be excluded from voting even when he or she has undertaken to waive the right to vote.[13] To ensure effective exercise of voting rights by an informed community, voter education and registration campaigns are necessary.[14] States should positively take measures to overcome specific difficulties impeding the free enjoyment of the right, such as language, disability, illiteracy, or poverty.[15] Registration processes should be facilitated in a fair and transparent manner to ensure that all those eligible to vote can register; residence requirements for registration must be reasonable especially not to exclude the homeless from the right to vote. Interference with registration or voting or intimidation or coercion of voters should be prohibited by penal laws which should be strictly enforced.[16] States should ensure secrecy of the ballot. Secret ballot implies that ‘voters should be protected from any form of coercion or compulsion to disclose how they intend to vote or how they voted, and from any unlawful or arbitrary interference with the voting process.’[17]
[1] UDHR art 21; CEDAW art 7; art 3 of the First Protocol ECHR; art 23 ACHR; art 13 ACHPR.
[5] HRC General Comment 25 para 3; see also Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains (MIDH) v Côte d’Ivoire (2008) AHRLR 75 (ACHPR 2008) para 83; Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia (2001) AHRLR 84 (ACHPR 2001) para 72.
[6]Gillot and others v France communication 932/2000 (HRC 2002) paras 14.7 & 15.
[7]Hirst v UK application 74025/01 (ECtHR (GC) 2005) para 82.
Every citizen has the right to vote by universal and equal suffrage in elections held by secret ballot. All citizens should be allowed to vote and there should be no distinction between citizens on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status is permitted. States that do not permit women to vote, for example, will be in violation of this right.Equal suffrage means that each citizen may only vote once and every vote should be counted equally. Secret ballot implies that voters should be protected from any form of coercion or compulsion to disclose how they intend to vote or how they voted, and from any unlawful or arbitrary interference with the voting process.The right to vote must be established by law and may be subject only to reasonable restrictions such as setting a minimum age limit for the right to vote.
Comprehensive entry:
Article 25(b) of the ICCPR guarantees citizens the right ‘[t]o vote … at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot …’ [1]
Universal suffrage means that as a general rule all citizens should be allowed to vote. However, objective and reasonable criteria set out in law,[2] such as setting a minimum age limit for the right to vote are allowed.[3]
Legal provisions that define citizenship for purposes of the right to vote must be established.[4] No distinction between citizens on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status is permitted.[5] Regarding a referendum on self-determination, the HRC held that it was legitimate to limit participation to persons with sufficiently close ties with the territory whose future was being decided by restricting the vote to ten years continuous residence.[6] Persons who have been convicted of an offence should not be deprived of their right to vote solely on this basis.[7] (See *political participation while in detention*).
Equal suffrage entails that each citizen may only vote once and everyone’s vote should be counted equally.[8] Voting districts should be proportional to the number of inhabitants.[9] Hence, significant differences in the number of inhabitants or registered voters per elected representative in different parts of a municipality in the absence of factors that might explain such difference violated the right to participation of voters and candidates.[10] Non-citizen residents may be allowed to vote.[11]
The HRC has emphasized the duty of the state to ensure that people entitled to vote are able to exercise that right.[12] A citizen may not be excluded from voting even when he or she has undertaken to waive the right to vote.[13] To ensure effective exercise of voting rights by an informed community, voter education and registration campaigns are necessary.[14] States should positively take measures to overcome specific difficulties impeding the free enjoyment of the right, such as language, disability, illiteracy, or poverty.[15]
Registration processes should be facilitated in a fair and transparent manner to ensure that all those eligible to vote can register; residence requirements for registration must be reasonable especially not to exclude the homeless from the right to vote. Interference with registration or voting or intimidation or coercion of voters should be prohibited by penal laws which should be strictly enforced.[16]
States should ensure secrecy of the ballot. Secret ballot implies that ‘voters should be protected from any form of coercion or compulsion to disclose how they intend to vote or how they voted, and from any unlawful or arbitrary interference with the voting process.’[17]
[1] UDHR art 21; CEDAW art 7; art 3 of the First Protocol ECHR; art 23 ACHR; art 13 ACHPR.
[2] HRC General Comment 25 para 4.
[3] HRC General Comment 25 para 9; Purohit and Moore v The Gambia communication 241/2001 (ACHPR 2003) para 75.
[4] HRC General Comment 25 para 3.
[5] HRC General Comment 25 para 3; see also Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains (MIDH) v Côte d’Ivoire (2008) AHRLR 75 (ACHPR 2008) para 83; Legal Resources Foundation v Zambia (2001) AHRLR 84 (ACHPR 2001) para 72.
[6] Gillot and others v France communication 932/2000 (HRC 2002) paras 14.7 & 15.
[7] Hirst v UK application 74025/01 (ECtHR (GC) 2005) para 82.
[8] HRC General Comment 25 para 21.
[9] Matyus v Slovakia communication no 923/2000 (HRC 2002) para 9.2.
[10] Matyus v Slovakia para 9.2.
[11] Cf HRC General Comment 25 para 3.
[12] HRC, General Comment 25 para 11.
[13] HRC General Comment 25 para 20.
[14] HRC General Comment 25 para 11.
[15] HRC General Comment 25 para 12.
[16] HRC General Comment 25 para 11 .
[17] HRC General Comment 25 Para 20.