Because voting almost always has citizenship and residence requirements, most voters reside in the country and the electoral district where they are eligible to vote. However, some citizens temporarily living abroad may retain the right to vote and thus to register. In addition, some eligible voters will be in the country but away from their electoral district at the time of an election; they too retain the right to register and vote. Further, in a post-conflict situation there often is justification for extending voting rights to people now living outside the country as displaced persons, refugees or with some other status in their new country of residence.
Until recently, members of the armed forces stationed abroad were the citizens most commonly allowed to retain voting and registration rights while out of the country. Since these voters normally continue to maintain a residence in their home country, they can usually be assigned to a voting station. Greater labour mobility has expanded the number of a country’s citizens who go to work abroad, particularly in the European Union, and this trend has swelled the ranks of non-resident voters. People may even have voting rights in their country of nationality as well as the country where they currently reside such as in Australia. Citizens’ increased ability to travel and work abroad makes the task of organising registration and voting more onerous.
Temporary Absence Abroad
At any time, a number of a country’s nationals will be making brief trips abroad. Such persons may still be allowed to register. Some countries permit registration to people who go abroad for specified reasons, such as study or business; a vacation may not be an acceptable reason. Procedures must be designed to accommodate eligible voters who are out of the country during registration or voting; these may include advance registration or registration by mail.
Aside from military or other specially designated personnel, such as nationals posted in diplomatic missions, historically there have not been many provisions allowing citizens who reside abroad to vote. But this is changing. Citizens who are outside the country now are often permitted to apply for registration and vote by special ballot. Sometimes they may even vote by proxy. Enabling them to vote may be expensive but the trend is to regard voting while out of the country as a right of citizenship.
Post-Conflict Absentee Registration and Voting
Recently, in a number of post-conflict situations, citizens living abroad have been granted registration and voting rights in their country of origin. Administering free and fair elections in these circumstances is challenging, particularly because many of the citizens living abroad cannot prove their status by showing official, original documents from their country of origin. Without official documents such as birth certificates, passports or identity cards, the election management authority may need to rely on whatever documents may be available for example, documents from international agencies confirming individuals’ refugee status. In several cases the international community has become involved, assisting with voter registration and voting in a foreign environment. Sometimes national election management authorities have been called on to administer elections for foreign nationals living in their country.
In one recent instance, voter registration for an election was initiated by telephone. Intending voters supplied details of their identity and were then sent a computer-generated registration form, to be signed and returned together with photocopies of any documentation they possessed. Anyone whose application was rejected could appeal to a respected international agency.
