Voting and elections
Relevant sources: ICCPR Art. 25(b); CEDAW Art. 7; CRPD Art. 29; ICERD Art. 5(c); ICRMW Art. 41; UDHR Art. 21(3)
Core elements of the guarantee during the COVID-19 pandemic include:
- Promote media that is “free, independent, and diverse” (UN, OSCE, OAS)
- Ensure that restrictions placed on elections “comply with the international law three-part test requirements of legality, legitimacy of aim and necessity” (UN, OSCE, OAS)
- Promote varied election coverage by media including through promotion of “digital media and information literacy, including in relation to elections” (UN, OSCE, OAS)
- Ensure that human rights standards are upheld in making decisions about “whether to proceed with elections” (ACHPR)
- Guarantee that changes to elections, such as suspension or postponement, meet legal requirements including a proportionality test and procedural requirements (Council of Europe)
- Consider and support different “means for campaigning” such as “public or private media or the use of Internet, including social media,” particularly if “door-to-door campaigning or public rallies [are] subject to severe limitations (Council of Europe)
- Account for the “security of election management staff and members of election commissions, including during election day and vote counting” (Council of Europe)
- Consider various voting modalities such as “postal voting, mobile ballot boxes and voting by Internet” while also considering the needs of “voters from vulnerable groups and elderly people” (Council of Europe)
- Address the needs of groups who may have lower turnout during emergency situations, for example through “mobile ballot boxes, drive-in polling stations or Internet voting” (Council of Europe)
Further guidance can be found here: COE; IDEA; Oxford Statement
Show me all types of advances during COVID-19
| Measure | Country |
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| NEC to Announce the Special COVID-19 Prevention Measures for the April 7th Re and By-Election | Korea, Rep. |
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The National Election Commission (NEC) “announced that, they prepared the special COVID-19 prevention measures to ensure the voters’ safety for the upcoming re and by-election on the April 7th. Upon… |
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| Report on the Conduct of the 2020 Presidential and National Assembly Elections | Seychelles |
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The report, submitted “to the President of the republic and the National Assembly” following the 2020 Presidential and National Assembly Elections includes information regarding steps taken with respect to COVID-19… |
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| Scottish General Election (Coronavirus) Bill | United Kingdom |
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The “Act of the Scottish Parliament to provide for measures relating to protection against coronavirus to apply to the ordinary general election for membership of the Scottish Parliament due to… |
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| Electoral Amendment Regulations (No 4) 2020: Special Vote by Person in Isolation or Quarantine | New Zealand |
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In advance of the 2020 general election, a new regulation entitled “Special vote by person in isolation or quarantine” was inserted into the “Electoral Regulations 1996” to “enable persons to… |
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| Broad Guidelines for Conduct of General Elections/Bye- Elections During COVID-19 | India |
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The Election Commission of India published guidelines for election conduct during COVID “with respect to key activities of the conduct of elections, considering the upcoming General Elections and bye-elections in… |
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| Special Voting Arrangements to Protect Health and Safety at General Election 2020 | Singapore |
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The Elections Department “consulted with the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the voting arrangements” for “groups of voters” including “COVID-19 patients,” “those on Quarantine Order (QO) for COVID-19,” and “those… |
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| The Electoral Commission Institutes the Queue Management System at Its Registration Centres | Ghana |
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The Electoral Commission of Ghana “instituted a Queue Management System” due to “overcrowding at some [voter registration] Centres in the Greater Accra Metropolis” as part of the “2020 Voters Registration… |
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| Electoral and Other Legislation (Accountability, Integrity and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2020 | Australia |
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An “Act to amend” existing legislation contains provisions “to facilitate the holding of the 2020 general election in a way that helps minimise serious risks to the health and safety… |
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| Power of Attorney: Simplified Procedures (Procuration: des Démarches Simplifiées) | France |
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In response “to the current health situation linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, exceptional provisions . . . in particular in the context of powers of attorney” were put into place… |
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| Press Release: The Manner of Exercising the Right to Vote which imposed a Measure of Self-Isolation | Croatia |
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The State Election Commission issued instructions to voters who would be “in self-isolation on election day, July 5, 2020” on the process for requesting that they be allowed to vote… |
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| Election Management in Response to COVID-19: 21st National Assembly Elections in the Republic of Korea | Korea, Rep. |
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In response to COVID-19, the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea implemented measures to hold the National Assembly elections on April 15, 2020. Among other measures, the “courses… |
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| Enforcement of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) (Vollzug des Infektionsschutzgesetzes (IfSG)) | Germany |
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According to a decree issued by the Bavarian State Ministry for Health and Care and the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, Sport and Integration, runoff elections for the previously-held… |
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