Voluntary vs. Mandatory Registration

Is voter registration an obligation and responsibility of citizenship, or is it simply a right of citizenship to be exercised at the discretion of the citizen? The way in which this question is answered has important implications for the administrative procedures that must be in place to facilitate voter registration. If the prevailing view is that voting is an obligation and responsibility of citizenship, for example, then logically it follows that registration would be mandatory.

Mandatory registration, then, places an obligation on the state to inform voters of the requirement to register or to update the continuous voters list by informing officials of changes in personal information (e.g., change of name or address). On the other hand, if voting is viewed as a democratic right, but not necessarily an obligation, then registration itself becomes optional, to be exercised at the voter's discretion. In this circumstance, often fewer resources are needed to encourage the registration of voters.

Comparative Participation Rates: Compulsory and Non-Compulsory Voting

Countries in which registration is voluntary, such as the United States, tend to have lower participation rates in the election than countries in which it is mandatory, such as Denmark. Similarly, there appears to be a marginal increase in voter turnout, as well, when voting is made mandatory.¹⁹

This said, however, there is much to suggest that voter turnout is not a simple function of legislating compulsory voting. A recent study in Malta, which does not have compulsory voting, for example, has shown that voter turnout has been much higher during the 1990s than in Australia, where voting is mandatory (96.7 percent versus 82.7 percent, respectively).²⁰ Similarly, a comparison of voter turnout in Central American countries between 1989 and 1991 showed that turnout was the highest in Nicaragua (86 percent), where voting was not compulsory, and lowest in El Salvador (52 percent), where voting was compulsory.²¹

Implicit State Responsibility

Even in countries where citizens are obliged to register, the state still has an obligation to ensure that the opportunity to register is comprehensive, convenient, fair and non-discriminatory. Where the election authority fails to meet any of these conditions, it is engaging in a process known as administrative disenfranchisement, or the administrative exclusion of otherwise eligible voters. This term implies that the election authority, while remaining true to the letter of the law in providing opportunities for registration, may fail to live up to its spirit, thereby denying some citizens their right to vote.

Many registration systems, while purporting to be open and inclusive, still contain some elements of administrative exclusion. When these features have a disproportionate effect on some groups of voters, they may introduce unacceptable distortions in the election outcome.

Self-Initiated or State-Initiated Registration

Another persistent issue in voter registration is whether it occurs at the initiative of the voter or at the instigation of the state. In the former case, voters become registered only if they act to initiate the process. In this scenario, the state provides the opportunity for citizens to register but does not take active steps to do so until requested by the voter.

In Senegal, for example, the state produces national and voter registry forms, but unless voters complete the forms, they will not be entitled to vote (see Senegal - Analysis of Electoral Code ).²² In the 1997 legislative elections in Cameroon, an election marred by controversy over the voter registration process, adjustments were made to the continuous registry only after the insistence of voters. But because the divisional supervisory committees were so poorly managed, they were responsible for the administrative disenfranchisement of thousands of voters.²³ These divisional committees were charged with maintaining the voters lists and distributing voters cards, but it was alleged some were not even staffed until after registration was closed.

In Bangladesh, the administration for years has relied on volunteers to conduct a door-to-door enumeration of voters. Far from producing a comprehensive and inclusive voters list that would augment electoral legitimacy, the registration procedures, and the resulting voters lists, have contributed to a lack of confidence in the electoral process.²⁴

In the United Kingdom, civic administrators initiate contact with voters every year by mailing them a card indicating their current listing in the register.²⁵ In Sweden, the electoral register is maintained by the local tax office, under the jurisdiction of the National Tax Board. The tax office maintains the national civil registry from which the voters list is produced as a subset. The voters list is prepared at the instigation of the state, and each year citizens are able to make application for any appropriate changes to their listings.²⁶

In the United States, while the obligation is on the individual to register, the individual states take steps to ensure this opportunity is accessible. This includes providing mail-in voter registration forms at numerous locations, registration through motor vehicle offices and some state agencies in which citizens come in contact with government employees. Most motor vehicle departments and welfare-related agencies are mandated by the states to comply with federal law.