The Right to Vote and Freedom of Expression in Political Process Cases Under the Charter

The right to vote and participate in the political process is a quintessential feature of any democratic society. Systematic risks to the integrity of US elections and passive civic participation in the EU political process present fundamental threats to the constitutional aspirations and the democratic ideals connected to “We the People” in the US and “United in Diversity” in the EU. The existence of power imbalances, social inequalities and information asymmetries in electoral and political processes illustrate that both jurisdictions are in peril and in risk of democratic backsliding. Blockchain-based voting can transform existing electoral and political processes in the digital age. This raises the question whether blockchain-based voting can be utilised as a digital tool to enhance the democratic legitimacy of US and EU electoral and political systems. Accordingly, this article aims to examine the prospects and limits of blockchain technology to secure foundational democratic norms connected to the right to vote and civic participation at the heart of contemporary constitutionalism. It contends that the decentralised, immutable, accessible, transparent, and secure processes of blockchain technology have the potential to enhance the legitimacy of the US and EU constitutional orders, since blockchain-based voting can act as a forum for enhanced civic participation, public deliberation, and democratic contestation. Nevertheless, the article concludes that a number of important steps must be taken to fully realise the potential of blockchain-based voting in a manner that combats the risks associated with the technology, strengthens public confidence in electoral and political processes and secures a balanced system of governance in the US and the EU constitutional orders.

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Framing Democracy with a Certain Indifference, 1921–1936

Iraq ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691157931.003.0003 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Adeed Dawisha

Keyword(s):

Northern Hemisphere ◽

Developing World ◽

Freedom Of Expression ◽

Government Policies ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Political Leaders ◽

Right To Vote ◽

Alternative Sources ◽

The Right ◽

Western Democracies

This chapter analyzes the democracy and the process of democratization in Iraq. Robert Dahl has identified eight minimal conditions for a functioning democracy: freedom to form and join organizations, freedom of expression, the right to vote, eligibility for public office, the right of political leaders to compete for support and votes, availability of alternative sources of information, free and fair elections, and institutions for making government policies depend on votes and other expressions of preference. However, these “minimal” conditions are only for mature democracies that tend to reside mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. If these “minimal” conditions were to be applied to the developing world, the analyst would be hard put to identify a single democracy, with the possible exception of India. This dilemma is certainly true in the case of Iraq. When set against the rigorous standards of mature Western democracies, monarchical Iraq fell short, indeed way short, of the Western democratic ideal.

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Freedom of Expression and the Right to Vote: Political Rights and the Common Law Constitution

Common Law Constitutional Rights ◽

10.5040/9781509906895.ch-006 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jacob Rowbottom

Keyword(s):

Freedom Of Expression ◽

Common Law ◽

Political Rights ◽

The Common ◽

Right To Vote ◽

The Right

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O PROCESSO POLÍTICO BRASILEIRO A PARTIR DA ANÁLISE DA AÇÃO DIRETA DE INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE N.º 4.451: O PAPEL DA CORTE BRASILEIRA NA PROTEÇÃO E EQUILÍBRIO DE DIREITOS FUNDAMENTAIS FRENTE AO FENÔMENO DA PÓS-VERDADE

Revista Eletrônica Direito e Política ◽

10.14210/rdp.v16n1.p221-250 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 221-250

Author(s):

Jéssica Beatriz Da Silva ◽

Denise Bittencourt Friedrich

Keyword(s):

Present Article ◽

Freedom Of Expression ◽

Direct Action ◽

Political Process ◽

Freedom Of The Press ◽

Access To Information ◽

Political Opinion ◽

The Press ◽

Deductive Method ◽

The Right

RESUMOO presente artigo referiu-se ao estudo do processo político brasileiro por meio da Lei n.º 9.504/97. Nesse enfoque, buscou-se a análise da lei em comento, além do exame da Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade n.º 4.451. Por fim, procurou-se investigar o fenômeno da Pós-verdade e a atuação da Corte brasileira nesse sentido. Restou-se com metodologia o método dedutivo, sendo empregados procedimentos como a revisão bibliográfica. Diante da influência da Pós-Verdade na formação de opinião política, em que as informações podem ser manipuladas ou até mesmo falsificadas e divulgadas como se verdadeiras fossem, reportou-se como dever da Corte ficar atenta as próximas demandas com a mesma temática, para assim, buscar uma leitura equilibrada entre o direito à liberdade de expressão e o acesso à informação.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Pós-verdade; Processo Político; Liberdade de Expressão; Liberdade de Imprensa; Acesso à Informação.ABSTRACTThe present article referred to the study of the Brazilian political process through Law No. 9.504 / 97. In this approach, the aim was to analyze the law in question in addition to the examination of Direct Action of Unconstitutionality No. 4,451. Finally, an attempt was made to investigate the phenomenon of the Post-Truth and the performance of the Brazilian Court in this regard. The deductive method remained with the applied methodology, using procedures such as bibliographic review. In view of the influence of Post-Truth in the formation of political opinion, in which information can be manipulated or even falsified and disseminated as if it were true, it was reported that it was the Court's duty to be attentive to the next demands with the same theme in order to seek a balanced reading between the right to freedom of expression and access to information.KEYWORDS: Post-Truth; Political Process; Freedom of expression; Freedom of the press; Access to information.

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THE CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL GUARANTEES OF ELECTORAL RIGHTS

Sociopolitical sciences ◽

10.33693/2223-0092-2020-10-4-85-90 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 85-90

Author(s):

VLADIMIR TROYAN ◽

Keyword(s):

Scientific Research ◽

Formal Aspect ◽

Universal Approach ◽

Right To Vote ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Right

The relevance of the interpretation of constitutional and legal guarantees of the right to vote is mediated by isolated scientific research in this area, as well as the lack of a universal approach to legal guarantees. In this regard, the purpose of the article is to argue and disclose the author’s definitive aspect of the claimed guarantees. In the work, the author named and characterized the normative (based exclusively on legal means) with the perspective of a branch of legal and technical; regulatory and institutional (combines the formal aspect with the activities of authorized entities) and associated legal (including a set of legal and other aspects) approaches to the definition of legal guarantees. Based on the second approach, as well as combining the guarantees of the right to vote directly guarantees of the subjective right itself and guarantees of its implementation, the author offers a definition of constitutional and legal guarantees of the right to vote.

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When the State Speaks, What Should It Say?

10.23943/princeton/9780691147628.001.0001 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Corey Brettschneider

Keyword(s):

Freedom Of Expression ◽

The State ◽

Hate Groups ◽

New Approach ◽

State Action ◽

Democratic State ◽

Theory Of Value ◽

The Right ◽

Equal Citizenship ◽

The Ideal

How should a liberal democracy respond to hate groups and others that oppose the ideal of free and equal citizenship? The democratic state faces the hard choice of either protecting the rights of hate groups and allowing their views to spread, or banning their views and violating citizens' rights to freedoms of expression, association, and religion. Avoiding the familiar yet problematic responses to these issues, this book proposes a new approach called value democracy. The theory of value democracy argues that the state should protect the right to express illiberal beliefs, but the state should also engage in democratic persuasion when it speaks through its various expressive capacities: publicly criticizing, and giving reasons to reject, hate-based or other discriminatory viewpoints. Distinguishing between two kinds of state action—expressive and coercive—the book contends that public criticism of viewpoints advocating discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation should be pursued through the state's expressive capacities as speaker, educator, and spender. When the state uses its expressive capacities to promote the values of free and equal citizenship, it engages in democratic persuasion. By using democratic persuasion, the state can both respect rights and counter hateful or discriminatory viewpoints. The book extends this analysis from freedom of expression to the freedoms of religion and association, and shows that value democracy can uphold the protection of these freedoms while promoting equality for all citizens.

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