Sections Voters' Qualifications to Candidates Registration cover the positive conditions for the right to active or passive suffrage as well as the limitations that might curtail such rights for various reasons. By and large, these limitations:
- vary from one system to another regarding age requirements and the relevance of other legal conditions, such as nationality, residence or full civil and political rights
- show exceptions within these categories
From the democratic point of view, their evaluation is very different. Thus, it is evident that when anyone who has been convicted of a serious crime is deprived of active suffrage, while serving their prison sentence, or anyone holding a certain public office or magistracy is prohibited from standing as a candidate, does not necessarily mean a limitation of voting.
On the other hand, elections in which people of a specific race, economic status or certain political views have neither active nor passive suffrage rights cannot be considered as free.