Suffrage Research Articles

Neue Gesellschaftsform für Startups in Bulgarien – die Gesellschaft mit wechselndem Kapital

As of 1 August 2023, Bulgarian law provides for a new legal form to organise legal entities: the company with variable capital. This legal form is intended to allow modern companies in the IT sector to enter the market without requiring large amounts of capital or administrative resources. A major advantage of the new company form for founders is that shareholds have wide discretion in designing the articles of association. In particular, different classes of shares can be created, such as shares with disproportionate voting rights or with a right to a disproportionate share of profits. The new regulation also provides for simplifications in corporate governance, and the possibility of digital general shareholder meetings. The commercial register is scheduled to be technically capable of registering companies with variable capital from mid-2024.

How Election Rules Affect Who Wins

Abstract Contemporary election reforms that are purported to increase or decrease turnout tend to have negligible effects on election outcomes. We offer an analytical framework to explain why. Contrary to heated political rhetoric, election policies have small effects on outcomes because they tend to target small shares of the electorate, have a small effect on turnout, and/or affect voters who are relatively balanced in their partisanship. After developing this framework, we address how the findings bear on minority voting rights. We then show that countermobilization from political parties cannot explain the small effects of election laws. We explain that even when a state passes multiple policies at the same time, the reforms will still only have a marginal effect on turnout and an ambiguous effect on who wins. Finally, we explain what policies should raise alarm about affecting outcomes.

Policy of the Provisional Regional Government of the Urals on the Organisation of Civil-Military Interaction

This article aims to identify the model of relations between the civil and military authorities, an attempt to construct which was made between August and November 1918 by the anti-Bolshevik Provisional Regional Government of the Urals (PRGU). This problem seems relevant in view of its fragmentary study and contribution to the disclosure of the reasons for the defeat of the White movement and the “third way” in the Russian revolution. As a theoretical basis, the author refers to works of E. Hoffman on total institutions and S. Huntington on the historically established types of civil-military interaction. The study draws on the funds of the Sverdlovsk Region State Archive, including the memoirs of a few PRGU founders, its regulations, and office documents (PRGU minutes of meetings, correspondence with zemstvos and city bodies, chief representatives in counties). The article considers the PRGU’s plans for the formation of the Ural Region branches of power and local self-government with the deprivation of military voting rights, the PRGU’s relationship with the White Guard and Czechoslovak command, as well as the establishment of bodies and practices for the demilitarization of the spheres of civil administration in the Urals. The study shows that the PRGU demonstrated complete subordination to the All-Russian anti-Bolshevik authorities, while excluding the participation of the military in solving local political and economic problems, realizing their lack of specific experience, leading to excessive cruelty, and undermining the loyalty to the White regimes among the local population. At the same time, the PRGU made efforts to help the armed forces without interfering in the military sphere, which demonstrates greater optimality in comparison with the Provisional Government or White generals’ regimes.

Электоральная активность молодёжи в качестве кандидатов в депутаты Законодательного собрания Новосибирской области 2005-2020 гг

The object of the study was the Novosibirsk Region, which has the status of a border area, characterized by a high level of economic development and political competition among other Siberian regions. The study analyzed information about young candidates for deputies to the Legislative Assembly of the Novosibirsk Region, who participated in election campaigns in the period 2005-2020. A young candidate is a person under the age of 35 having the passive voting right. At the present stage, the majority of Russian researchers acknowledge the political passivity of young people. The analysis of the data posted on the official website of the Electoral Commission of the Novosibirsk Region allows to draw the following conclusions: the number of candidates, including young ones, nominated by political parties is growing; the number of young self-nominated candidates is decreasing with each electoral cycle. This fact may be explained by difficulties of signature collection process for non-partisan candidates. It is at this stage that a significant number of candidates drop out of the electoral race. At the same time, the number of young people elected to deputies over the course of four electoral cycles has consistently been 7-9 people from different political parties (in single-mandate constituencies and on party lists). Meanwhile, the number of vacant deputy mandates decreased from 98 to 76. Over the course of four electoral cycles, the LDPR has attracted the greatest number of young people as candidates for deputies in single-mandate constituencies and party lists. The United Russia party has the smallest percentage of young candidates in its ranks. Such a personnel policy of the ruling party is connected with the presence of a great number of well-known and trusted candidates. Other parties are experiencing a shortage of personnel and during the election campaign they run young candidates. Thus, young people have a real opportunity to be elected from different parties (the ruling party, parliamentary opposition parties).

Differential voting rights in listed companies in Denmark and Sweden – to be challenged or boosted by harmonization?

Differential voting rights in listed companies in Denmark and Sweden – to be challenged or boosted by harmonization?

Remote electronic voting in elections in Russia: State, problems, prospects

The paper examines the Russian experience of introducing remote electronic voting into the electoral process. By referring to the experience of other countries, we highlight the positive and negative aspects of remote electronic voting. The interest of states therein is due to the capability of combating the electorate absenteeism at polling stations for voting. Along with that, the results of surveying Russians on the use of remote electronic voting in elections show that some voters do not trust the outcomes of such voting for fear of fraud. We accumulated preferential provisions that constitute the interest of states in remote electronic voting. Blockchain technologies used in electronic voting are diverse and affect the public’s attitude to the voting results in different ways, many electoral process participants do not understand the technical component of the electronic program. Russia uses a closed blockchain, therefore only the electoral process participants having a special key can view the data. It turned out that blockchain-based voting does not solve fundamental security problems, but on the contrary is technically more vulnerable than traditional paper ballot voting or postal voting. In Russia, legal regulation relates more to the technical aspects of organizing and implementing remote electronic voting in elections, but does not solve all the problems, leaving many gaps for the guarantees of citizens’ electoral rights. Currently, the optimal model will be the combination of both traditional (paper ballot) and remote voting forms in order to reduce the risks of the latter, i. e. to apply a hybrid voting format in elections. Russian electoral legislation needs to be adapted to the hybrid format of elections with a paper ballot and an electronic ballot, providing voting rights of citizens and remote electronic voting.

Transition to broader-based politics: The role of suffrage extension in early 20th century Japan

The period of modern industrialisation is commonly characterised by gradual democratisation through enfranchisement and intra-elite competition between traditional landlords and emerging capitalists. This raises the question of whether the redistribution of de jure political power via suffrage expansion can catalyse the transition of intra-elite power structures, as reflected in political representation. This study explores the impact of suffrage extension, induced by the wartime tax increase in Japan during the mid-1900s, on the occupational composition of the House of Representatives. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, I demonstrate that the expansion of the electorate led to a significant decline in the seat shares of agricultural landlords, who initially constituted the dominant occupational group in the House. In consideration of the historical context, the overall findings suggest that suffrage extension likely played a crucial role in diversifying House politics away from a landlord-centred system.

The struggle of Polish feminist organisations to obtain the vote for women across the spectrum of Central Europe

The article presents the history of Polish feminist movements against the background of similar organizations in Bohemia and Hungary in 19th and 20th century. It describes their founders and members, cooperation between them and methods of activity leading to obtaining voting rights for women. Depicting similarities and differences between them, the article explains the complexity of factors creating the feminist movement in Central Europe. Their main goal was achieved only after the First World War. The authors mainly use texts by Polish feminists and literature in Polish, English, Czech and Hungarian. They used the comparative method during analysing the sources.

Strengthening the Accessibility of Persons with Disabilities through Political Education in the 2024 General Election in Medan City

The low participation of people with disabilities in elections is an issue that needs attention. Several studies have shown that people are not yet sensitive to the political rights of persons with disabilities. In addition, the lack of election accessibility for persons with disabilities is also an obstacle. Persons with disabilities are one of the large minority groups in Medan City. Therefore, this service aims to provide an understanding of strengthening the accessibility of persons with disabilities through political education in general elections in Medan City. Participatory Learning and Action methods through learning procedures that combine lecture techniques and participatory discussions to group learning are carried out in this activity. Firstly, this service activity was conducted with the Indonesian Blind Association (Pertuni) of Medan City, which includes learning about political education. Secondly, increasing the understanding of persons with disabilities about the importance of exercising their voting rights. Third, providing an understanding of political accessibility and political rights for persons with disabilities. The service results recommend that activity participants increase their understanding of the rights and obligations of citizens to vote. For the knowledge implemented in political education to run well, continuous coaching and mentoring are needed for the Indonesian Blind Association (Pertuni) in Medan City.

Granting Immigrants the Right to Vote in National Elections: Empirical Evidence from Swedish Administrative Data

AbstractFaced with rising levels of cross-border migration, many countries have extended local voting rights to non-citizen residents. However, empirical evidence indicates that voter turnout among non-naturalized immigrants is lower when compared to citizens. This raises the question of how to explain this difference. A common answer is that the low turnout rates of non-citizen residents are primarily due to the socio-economic composition of this group and the challenges involved in adapting to a new political system. An alternative but less discussed possibility is that the low turnout concerns the nature of the elections. Hence, we examine whether the turnout of non-citizens is hampered because they are only allowed to partake in local elections. Based on a regression discontinuity design (RDD) using Swedish administrative data, we find that turnout could increase by 10–20 percentage points if the voting rights of non-citizens were extended to the national level.

Litigating Policy Drift: Frozen Categories and Thresholds in Court

The combination of rigid policy rules with shifting political, economic, and social environments can produce drift: policy change without formal modification. We know much about the political origins and consequences of drift but little about the legal battles that accelerate or impede it. I identify two distinct forms of policy rigidity that generate drift: interval freezing and categorical freezing. Drawing from recent and historical cases encompassing voting rights, racial discrimination, religious conscience protections, and other hot-button issues, I argue that drifting policies possess several sources of legal resilience: injuries are difficult to identify; judges can be persuaded of the merits of restraint, textual formalism, and bright-line rules; and policy makers plausibly deny any intentional action in pursuit of controversial outcomes. Drift is not an automatic and unremarkable process of continual policy change but rather the outcome of high-stakes political and legal contestation over how rigid policy thresholds and categories should be adapted to meet shifting conditions.

Pendidikan Politik Bagi Pemilih Pemula Guna Meningkatkan Peran Pemuda dalam Demokrasi

The democratic system in Indonesia requires active participation from the community, especially the youth. In the electoral system, these young people are referred to as Beginner Voters, who have been able to exercise their voting rights for the first time. This service aims to increase the youth community's understanding of the importance of being actively involved in the electoral system implemented in their neighbourhood. Through political education, understanding of the democratic system and the role of youth as novice voters is part of what this service aims to achieve. This community service was carried out in Yanggandur Village, Sota District, Merauke Regency. The method used in this service is the delivery of material about the Political System in Indonesia; Election System and the Role of Youth in a democratic system, which is delivered through lecture and presentation methods. The result of the socialisation in this service is a real positive impact on increasing understanding of the importance of active participation of youth in the political system, especially the electoral system. So that it will increase the active participation of the Yanggandur community in the upcoming elections.

Penerapan Sistem E-Voting Dalam Pemilihan Kepala Desa Lito Kecamatan Paguyaman Pantai Kabupaten Boalemo Tahun 2019

<p>This research aims to discuss the application of the e-voting system in the election of the head of Lito village, Paguyaman Pantai District, Boalemo Regency in 2019. In this research the researcher used a qualitative method with a descriptive approach, where what was obtained was in accordance with the conditions that occurred in the field. or the data obtained is in accordance with what the community feels in selecting village heads using the e-voting system, data obtained through observation and direct interviews with informants for the sake of data accuracy in research. The object of this research is to measure the success of the e-voting system in the election of village heads, thus in the election of village heads through the e-voting system it has been running well, this can be seen from the high level of community participation in giving their voting rights. The factors that influence the implementation of the e-voting system are due to the lack of information from the implementing committee, so there are still many people who are not confident about the security of elections using the e-voting system. The conclusion in this research is that the implementation of the e-voting system in village head elections has gone well, while the influencing factor is a lack of information, so in the future socialization to the community must be intense so that the community believes in the level of security of the e-voting system.</p>

“Let Us Vote!”: Youth Voting Rights and the 26th Amendment

“Let Us Vote!”: Youth Voting Rights and the 26th Amendment

Strategi Komunikasi Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) Kabupaten Boyolali Melalui Pendidikan Politik untuk Meningkatkan Partisipasi Pemilih

General Elections (Pemilu) have become one of the essential democratic activities to achieve a more developed Indonesia. As Indonesian citizens, it is paramount to amplify efforts to advocate for their voting rights in democratic processes to use their voters. On the other hand, there are several complexities for voters in the world of democracy. Consequently, as an intermediary between institutions and the community, the Boyolali Regency General Election Commission (KPU) provides insights and information related to political education, further emphasizing activities to foster the spirit of voters during the Elections. The results of this research indicate that active voter participation is increasing with each implementation of the Legislative General Elections. This is based on the concept of "Who Says What In Which Channel To Whom With What Effect?" It has been evidenced that the Boyolali Regency General Election Commission (KPU) has successfully maintained about three times increase in voters exercising their voting rights. While boosting active voter participation, the Boyolali Regency KPU employs communication strategies through political education via socialization and Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5) visits to several schools, involving students as first-time voters, community groups, community leaders, and people with disabilities. Communication through mass media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are also conducted to encourage the audience to continue exercising their voting rights.

A Publicly Verifiable E-Voting System Based on Biometrics

Voters use traditional paper ballots, a method limited by the factors of time and space, to ensure their voting rights are exercised; this method requires a lot of manpower and resources. Duplicate voting problems may also occur, meaning the transparency and reliability of the voting results cannot be guaranteed. With the rapid developments in science and technology, E-voting system technology is being adopted more frequently in election activities. However, E-voting systems still cannot address the verifiability of the election process; the results of a given election and the credibility of the host organization will be questioned if the election’s verifiability cannot be ensured. Elections may also pose a series of problems related to privacy, security, and so on. To address these issues, this paper presents a public, and verifiable E-voting system with hidden statistics; this system is based on commitment, zk-SNARKs, and machine learning. The system can deal with a large number of candidates, complex voting methods, and result functions in counting both hidden and public votes and can satisfy the requirements of verifiability, privacy, security, and intelligence. Our security analysis shows that our scheme achieves privacy, hidden vote counting and verifiability. Our performance evaluation demonstrates that our system has reasonable applications in real scenarios.

Conceptualizing sustainable participation in the context of German football supporters

Institutionalized supporter participation is a traditional part of German professional football clubs. Due to commercialization, some challenging issues have arisen in recent years regarding supporter participation. To develop new approaches for improving participation, the study uses a social sustainability perspective, illustrating that social sustainability elements help to develop and structure the potential for improvement of participation in German professional football. By identifying and discussing links between social sustainability and institutionalized supporter participation, we contribute to the conceptualization of sustainable participation. Our research supports the creation of an inclusive and sustainable fan community where fans can actively participate in decisions and actions that affect their current and future fandom environment. Based on the social sustainability principles of health, influence, competence, impartiality, and meaning-making, we compile the following characteristics of sustainable participation: social well-being oriented participation, direct influence, regular voting rights, representative participation, appealable resolutions, information-based participation, barrier-free participation, democratic voting, established constitutions, and encouraged participation. This conceptualization provides approaches and foundations for future investigations regarding participation research in football and practical implications for member associations, association members, league organizers, and other stakeholders to establish and improve institutionalized participation.

The Role of Civic Education in Building Political Awareness of Generation Z Young People

Civic Education has a high role in increasing the spirit of nationality, especially for generation Z as the nation's successor who is expected to contribute to his country.Our reason for choosing the role of civic education in building young people's political awareness and many generation z who prefer abstention in general elections because they think that there are no political parties that can be trusted.This research uses interview and documentation methods. The interview method is like asking generation Z youth about the role of Civic Education in shaping political awareness and the documentation method we do is like taking pictures to document the physical or visual state of an event object.Many young people are less aware of politics in addition to generation Z youth do not care about politics.Starting from questions to high school students who say that civic education lessons do not increase awareness of politics.Then there are also many generation Z youth who do not use their voting rights or choose to abstain, fulfilled with quite logical reasons.Rethinking the importance of political participation in realizing political democracy. It is appropriate for young people to open political insights so that whatever public opinion is given regarding the political process is not accepted raw. Because one vote in the general election will determine the direction this nation will take. Choosing is not easy, but not choosing is not a wise attitude..

Imperative practices: The political inclusion of diasporas in Poland, Hungary and Lithuania

AbstractThis paper aims to present an in‐depth comparative analysis of how three states in Central and Eastern Europe—Hungary, Poland and Lithuania—ensure the political inclusion of their diaspora members by providing citizenship and electoral rights. The authors promote a broad understanding of diaspora that includes both emigrants and descendants as well as kin minorities. The analysis is based on a three‐dimensional analytical model (Lesińska & Popyk, CMR Spotlight 2, 2021) of diaspora policy. The paper examines the ‘thickness’ of political inclusion based on the relationship between citizenship and electoral rights at two stages: de jure and de facto. It reveals that the democratic rights of citizenship and voting are grounded not only in formal inclusion but, more importantly, in the accurate procedures involving those rights and access to them. The analysis demonstrates that extensive citizenship and voting rights are not necessarily associated with the factual political inclusion of all diaspora groups equally.

The Shackles of Veto: On the American Parallel of Article 19 TFEU and Its Tension with Procedural Justice

AbstractArticle 19 TFEU's unanimity requirement shares a striking similarity with a two-century old debate on voting and minority rights between the ‘father’ of the US Constitution, James Madison, and the ‘rebellious son’, John C. Calhoun. Madison made majority voting a necessary condition for impartial lawmaking and minority protection in multistate unions. Conversely, Calhoun sought to maintain the racial status quo through advocating for a competing unanimity-based structure. Minority protection in Article 19 TFEU aligns with Calhoun's model. This Article reassesses Article 19 TFEU through the foundational principles of constitutionalism underlying the US debate and shows their continued relevance for contemporary case law and minority protection in the EU. Particularly, it demonstrates, first, that Article 19 offends the impartiality principle of nemo judex in causa sua—no person should judge their own cause—which has long been a leitmotiv in Western constitutional theory. Second, it illustrates that unanimity causes de jure and de facto ramifications for ethnic and religious minorities in the EU. Last, the Article provides a theoretically grounded and comparatively informed argument to aid ongoing attempts for treaty amendment.