Voters lists prepared after the registration process are made available to political parties and may be inspected by the public. This increases public confidence in election integrity and ensures that the process is transparent. However, making personal information public may raise issues concerning privacy rights. Different countries have adopted various solutions.
For example, New Zealand has an “unpublished roll.” This is a special list of persons whose safety may be jeopardized by public disclosure of their address. These individuals need to submit a special application and furnish supporting documentation, such as a court order, a restraining order or an official statement by a police officer. [1]
When Canada created a National Register of Electors, it limited use of any information contained in it through provisions in the Canada Elections Act and the Privacy Act. Register information may be used only for electoral purposes and any other use is illegal. The Privacy Commissioner has the right to verify how information in the National Register of Electors is collected, stored, updated and used. Only registered political parties, members of Parliament and candidates have access to the names and addresses of electors, which they may use only to send campaign information, recruit new members and seek campaign contributions. The legislation also allows any elector in Canada to request that his or her name be removed from the Register or to prohibit transfer of contact information to a province or territory. Electors who choose not to be on the National Register of Electors retain the right to vote but they must register before voting.
Finally, one way to deal with the privacy issue is not to release the voters list. This is the approach chosen in Denmark, where the electoral register is not published or accessible to the public or political parties. [2]
NOTES
[1] Elections New Zealand, Everything You Need to Know About Enrolling to Vote.
[2] Folketing (Danish Parliament), “Parliamentary Elections and Election Administration in Denmark.”
