V. 86 N. 2 (2023): The Quality of Elections in Italy
Special Issue on "The Quality of Elections in Italy"

Esclusi per legge. “Non-eligible voters” come categoria negletta delle democrazie contemporanee

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  • Dario Tuorto
Dario Tuorto
University of Bologna
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-14082

Pubblicato 2023-05-12

Parole chiave

  • Non-Citizen Residents,
  • Eligible Voters,
  • Turnout,
  • Electoral Exclusion

Come citare

Tuorto, D. (2023). Esclusi per legge. “Non-eligible voters” come categoria negletta delle democrazie contemporanee . Italian Journal of Electoral Studies, 86(2), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.36253/qoe-14082

Copyright (c) 2023 Dario Tuorto

Creative Commons License

TQuesto lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale.

Abstract

The inclusiveness of the electoral moment (of all adults) is one of the fundamental criteria of the modern democratic process based on universal suffrage (Dahl 2000, 37-8). However, there is always a greater or lesser difference between the number of people who are theoretically eligible to vote (VAP, voting-age population) and the number of people who can actually vote (VEP, voting-eligible population), i.e. who are legally entitled to take part in the elections. Although lower than in the US case (McDonald 2001), where some social groups are discouraged from voting by compulsory registration procedures (Avery and Peffley 2005; Delwin 2013), the gap between different measures of voter turnout is also found in Europe (Geys 2006; Tuorto 2022). The aim of this article is to compare the EU-27 countries (+ UK) in terms of criteria for the inclusion/exclusion of those social groups that are most likely to be subject to temporary or permanent restrictions on their electoral participation, in terms of specific conditions and/or public behavior. In particular, the article examines the situation of four categories of voters: people with disabilities (mental and physical), felons, non-resident citizens (nationals abroad) and resident non-citizens (immigrants). The heterogeneity of the situation found within the European countries highlights on the existence of significant legislative and cultural differences that can be traced back to dominant social representations and the normative translation of these representations. The systematic removal or exclusion of certain social groups from the electoral process poses a problem for the legitimacy of the democratic procedures, while legal, administrative, and symbolic barriers render electoral results incomplete and at least partially distorted.

Keywords: non-citizen residents, eligible voters, turnout

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