It is evident that the voters list, or register, should offer the complete data necessary for the effective organisation of the electoral processes and the guarantee of the individual right to suffrage in such a way that the information obtained is protected against any attempt to invade the privacy of the citizens.
The problem of possible utilisation of the register for commercial purposes in the most developed countries is a very important current issue, as there is an evident interest in the data it contains. Obviously, the more data it contains, the greater the interest, for example, regarding address, employment, education and even income level.
To guarantee the dual requisites that registers have to be public and yet protect privacy--contradictory to a certain extent--electoral or data protection laws should envisage the following issues:
- As a public register, it should contain the data that is absolutely indispensable for the holding of the elections and no other purpose;
- In certain justified cases, it will be possible to exclude some data, such as the voter's address;
- Should the personal data displayed not be correct, an effective procedure to guarantee the correction at the request of the interested party should exist;
- It must be predetermined who may gain access to the voters register and by which procedures;
- Any utilisation of the voters register for purposes other than electoral business must be classified as criminal or administrative offences.
