The dynamics of the principle of universal suffrage

Abstrakt

The dynamics of the principle of universal suffrage are manifested in changes in the electorate and the catalogue of guarantees for exercising the right to vote. In the first case, there has been a gradual move away from censuses based on gender, education, wealth, race, religion, and profession. Today, this applies to citizenship, which does not apply in the case of elections to local government bodies, age, the automatic deprivation of voting rights of incapacitated persons, and full political rights. At the same time, the author points to the problem of the active right to vote in local elections for people who have more than one place of residence and who should be able to vote in each of them. In the second case, new guarantees of universal suffrage are constantly emerging. Today, it is no longer just a matter of the day or days of voting, but also a significantly larger number of polling stations (including special ones, e.g., in hospitals), assistance for voters with disabilities, and the possibility of voting abroad or on ships. Nowadays, it is also possible to vote by proxy and by post, and online voting (i-voting) is also becoming increasingly popular, although this is unlikely to be introduced in Poland any time soon.