External Voting a comparative overview

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External Voting a comparative overview

• External Voting Voting from abroad
• 213 countries and territories researched
• 91 countries and territories allow external
  voting (as of May 2006)
• Africa (21), Americas (13), Asia (16), Europe
  (36), Pacific (6)
• Positive trend, recently introduced in Mexico,
  Italy, Ghana...

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External Voting a comparative overview

• Provisions for external voting exist in 4
  additional countries - not yet applied in
  practise (Angola, Bolivia, Greece, Nicaragua,
  Mozambique until recently).
• Some additional countries and territories allow
  external voting for local elections only.
• Exceptional practice or abolishment of external
  voting in i.e. Eritrea and East Timor
  (referendums related to independence in 1993 and
  1999 respectively) and Cambodia 1993 where it was
  applied on a restrictive scale.

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External Voting a comparative overview

• The Comparative Overview addresses three
  variables
• Who is entiltled to an external vote
• Which elections external voting applies to
• What are the voting methods for external voters

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External Voting a comparative overview

• Who is entitled to an external vote?
• 65 countries and allow external voting for all
• 26 countries external voting restricted
  associated to the voters activity and/or length
  of stay abroad
• 15 countries external voting restricted
  associated to the length of stay abroad
• Other restrictions intention to return
  (Philippines), geography, nationality)

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External Voting a comparative overview

• To which type of election does external voting
  apply?
• National elections only (51 countries)
• National and local elections (11 countries)
• National elections and referendums (19 countries)
• National and local elections and referendums (9
  countries)
• Referendums only (1 country)
• National elections include presidential elections
  where applicable.

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External Voting a comparative overview

• What are the voting methods for external voters?
• Voting in person (41 countries)
• Voting by mail (24 countries)
• Voting by proxy (1 country)
• Mixed (of the above) (25 countries)
• E-voting (Estonia, Netherlands...)

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External Voting a comparative overview

• Electoral system, ballot paper design and
  boundary delimitation design of external voting
  practises
• Reserved seats in 7 countries (Croatia, France,
  Italy, Portugal, Cape verde, Mozambique,
  Colombia)

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External Voting a comparative overview

• A comparative overview
• The history and politics of external voting
• The legal framework and an overview of electoral
  legislation
• Entitlement to vote as an external voter
• The implementation of external voting
• External voting and participation
• Host country Issues
• The political rights of refugees and displaced
  persons enfranchisement and participation

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External Voting a comparative overview

• The political rights of migrant workers and
  external voting
• Observation of external voting
• E-voting and external voting
• Case studies Afghanistan, Bosnia and
  Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chad,
  Colombia, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic,
  Estonia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Marshall
  islands, Mexico, Mozambique, The Philippines,
  Portugal, Senegal, Switzerland, Zimbabwe.

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Why a handbook?

• To provide tools, options and knowledge to those
  involved in
• Implementing external voting
• Introducing or discussing the introduction of
  external voting
• Improving existing external voting practises
• Debating external voting
• Election assistance and election observation
• Working on issues of political rights and
  migration
• Academics, media and others

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E-voting as external voting - pros

• Convenience to external voters
• External voters as the ideal test group for
  remote e-voting
• Citizens abroad are well organized and capable
  bringing their needs onto the agenda.
• Remote e-voting might save costs.

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E-voting as external voting - cons

• Security concerns
• Financial aspects
• Equal treatment of all voters (external and
  internal)

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e-voting and external voting France
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e-voting and external voting Estonia
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e-voting and external voting The Netherlands
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e-voting and external voting New Zealand
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e-voting and external voting Singapore
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e-voting and external voting concluding remarks

• Voters abroad as a focus group for those
  countries that are considering the introduction
  of remote e-voting in.
• Sometimes urgency for introducing e-voting for
  external voters is bigger than for introducing it
  for internal voters.
• Practical difficulties
• No world-wide trend towards introducing remote
  e-voting for external voting only a few
  countries.

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International IDEA

• Intergovernmental organisation, 24 member states
• Founded in 1995, financed through contributions
• To promote sustainable democracy worldwide
• Democracy building and conflict management
• Electoral processes
• Political parties
• Political equality and participation
• 55 staff, 30 nationalities

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International IDEA

• Thank you!
• Maria Gratschew
• Electoral Processes Team
• Strömsborg
• 103 34 Stockholm
• Sweden
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• m.gratschew_at_idea.int