Alternatywne procedury głosowania w polskim i litewskim prawie wyborczym

Abstract

Organizing voting in general elections only in the traditional way (i.e., at the ballot boxes) may make it difficult for more and more voters to participate. This is due to the increasing mobility of society and the fact that citizens are away from home on election day, the aging population and much more difficult access of the old and the sick to polling stations, and – as shown in the years 2020–2021 – unexpected epidemic crises that affect public health, which in turn translates into the election process. This article focuses on alternative voting methods in Poland and Lithuania. The main intention of the authors is to analyze the legal basis and compare the functioning of alternative voting procedures in the electoral systems of both countries, as well as to answer the question about the possibility of introducing new forms of voting that could increase the health safety of voters and ensure the democratic nature of elections in emergency situations. The motivation to take up this topic were: the wprowapresidential elections in Poland in 2020 and the parliamentary elections in Lithuania in 2021, during which not only alternative voting methods were used (e.g., correspondence voting), but also the possibility of implementing completely new solutions – safe in the event of spreading coronavirus pandemic.