This entry summarizes the legal requirements concerning registration of parties and candidates. The procedures by which parties select their candidates are considered elsewhere, see Registering Candidates for Presidential Elections, Regulating Nominations in Majoritarian Systems and Regulating Nominations in PR Systems.
Registering Parties: the Australian Example
Party registration is not the practice in all countries, see Party and Candidate Registration. Australia illustrates the objectives, procedures, advantages, and disadvantages of party registration.
Australia does not require parties to register. However, if they fail to do so, they cannot claim a number of privileges. The privileges of registered parties are:
- their candidates may be identified on the ballot paper with the party label
- they are entitled to receive election funding from the public purse; this is calculated on the total number of votes obtained, and is given only in respect of its endorsed candidates and Senate groups who obtain at least 4 percent of the formal first preference votes
- they are entitled to a free copy of the latest edition of the electoral roll and other specified computerized roll products, which include 'sensitive and private data'.
In order to qualify for these privileges, parties have some obligations. These are intended to ensure that their internal administration is sufficiently developed to ensure their ability to comply with various regulations, especially concerning the party's financial disclosure obligations. The main obligations are:
- the party must possess a formal internal constitution containing certain minimum features
- the party must appoint a number of officials with specific responsibilities; they are the party secretary, the party agent, the registered officer, and deputy registered officers; in addition to the national party agent, there must be an agent for each State or Territory branch of the party, including unregistered branches
- the party must submit a list of 500 members in order to qualify for registration; there is no set fee to qualify for membership, but the procedure for recording membership is highly formal, in order to ensure that those listed have consented to be members
- the party accepts that all its organs, national and local, will comply with legislation regarding the disclosure of accounts and of donations.
It may reasonably be argued that the advantages of this registration system are that it avoids misleading party labels by candidates, that it helps to ensure compliance with the rules concerning financial aid and financial disclosure, and that the barrier of 500 members is reasonable for a national party since it eliminates 'sofa parties' but makes the system relatively open to newly-formed or small parties.
Disadvantages
At the same time, there are possible drawbacks. First, the registration process itself is fairly lengthy. Not only must a would-be party complete the formalities of recording the names, addresses, and signatures of 500 members, but it must then wait a considerable time for the Australian Electoral Commission to process the application. This takes six to seven weeks. However, it is likely to last longer during the period preceding an election. It is also likely to last longer if there are any objections to the registration application, and if the matter must be referred to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Moreover, once the writ for any federal election or partial election has been issued, 'no action is permitted to be taken in relation to any application for registration of a political party.'
A second possible disadvantage is that the required formalities, simple though they are intended to be, are sufficiently onerous to lead to the centralization and bureaucratization of party organizations.
A third objection relates to the rules regarding party names. They are certainly likely to succeed in avoiding confusion between party names, but they arguably give unfair advantages to existing parties. For instance, factions that break away from an existing party are not permitted to refer to themselves by the title of 'Independent' combined with the name of the party from which they have split. The breakaway faction must choose a completely different name, thus losing the electoral advantage of a name that indicates its roots in the 'old' party 10.
Registering Nominations: the British Example
The nomination paper must state the candidate's name and home address. There are detailed rules, supported by legal precedents, about the definitions of both 'name' and 'home address'. Questions about surnames and first names cover the question of when a change of name is permitted.
A candidate may give up to six words on the nomination paper by which he wishes to be described on the ballot paper. If a candidate wishes to describe himself by a party name, he may do so without restriction: 'There is no copyright in such descriptions; there is nothing to stop an unofficial candidate of a political party describing himself in the same way as the official candidate.' If two candidates use the same party label, the election publicity of the better known candidate will need to draw the electorate's attention to the similarity, in case they mistakenly vote for the wrong candidate 11.
the nomination must include the names of ten voters: a proposer, seconder, and eight assenters
the nomination paper must be delivered in person to the district electoral officer by the candidate, proposer, seconder, or agent
a deposit of £500 must be delivered to the district electoral officer in the form of cash or a draft
there are timetables both for the delivery of nomination papers and for objections to nominations
Draft Only
