Suchergebnisse

W wyniku rozprzestrzeniania się koronawirusa SARS-CoV-2 w debacie politycznej powrócono do rozmów nad wdrażaniem alternatywnych metod głosowania dostępnych dla wszystkich obywateli. Jedną ze zdalnych metod oddawania głosu jest głosowanie za pośrednictwem Internetu. Dotychczas jedynie Republika Estonii gwarantuje taką możliwość uczestnictwa w wyborach powszechnych swoim obywatelom. Poniższa praca może stanowić istotną platformę do określenia kierunków zmian potrzebnych do wdrożenia procedury e-votingu zarówno z prawnego punktu widzenia, jak również społecznego czy technicznego. ; As a result of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the political debate resumed discussions on the implementation of alternative voting methods accessible to all citizens. One of the remote methods of voting is e-voting. So far, only the Republic of Estonia guarantees this possibility to participate in general elections to its citizens. The work below may constitute an important platform for determining the directions of changes needed to implement the e-voting procedure from a legal, social and technical point of view.

The article discusses the electoral system in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elections are the process of citizens electing their representatives for specific positions. In this context, the method and principles of conducting the election are important, so that its fundamental rule - universality - is preserved. Although more than a dozen electoral regulations were in force since 1989 and the traditional model of voting at a polling station was still in place, the Polish legislator also provided for postal and proxy voting. Due to the risk related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that changes to the Polish Electoral Code will be necessary. The adaptation of the new provisions to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, however, turned out to be too ambitious a task for the domestic legislator. Therefore, the Act of April 6, 2020 on the special rules for holding general elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020, did not enter into force finally, because the functioning of a democratic state ruled by law requires that fundamental rights and civil liberties, including electoral ones be guaranteed. This study is empirical in nature - it is a case study of a specific legislative action shown in a comparative approach on the example of Poland and the United States of America.

Research on economic voting in Poland have been carried out from the beginning of the democratic transformation, focusing on isolating and testing of the transition model specific to the countries of Central Europe. Its differentiating feature is a novel way of simultaneously joining the retrospective and prospective motivations in the behavior of voters, compared to the conventional model present in consolidated democracies. The purpose of the present article is to attempt to determine the relationship between the two types of electoral motivations identified above in the parliamentary elections, starting with the election of 1991 and ending with the 2011 elections. Based on analysis and constructive criticism of findings of other researchers and own research, the presented paper evidences that the validity of applying the transitional odel in the study of economic voting in Poland has been exhausted, as the prospective motivation is nowadays predominant in the decisions of voters. Keywords ; Narodowe Centrum Nauki

One of the gravest problems of modern democracies is undoubtedly low electoral turnout. Numerous states try to prevent low turnout in different ways. One method to increase it may involve the introduction of compulsory voting, which is a legally regulated prescript to participate in an election. The principal goal of this paper is to attempt to answer the question of whether imposing compulsory voting, and thus obtaining a higher voter turnout, increases the legitimization of representative bodies. The issue of imposing compulsory voting is controversial and does not necessarily have to provide an effective solution to diminishing voter turnout. This is particularly valid for Central and Eastern European states, where imposing an obligation to vote on citizens can be contrary to saving democracy and the legitimization of public authorities. There is a risk that the citizens of countries that found themselves in the orbit of the Soviet Union after WWII may associate compulsory voting with their undemocratic past and as another attack on their rights. ; One of the gravest problems of modern democracies is undoubtedly low electoral turnout. Numerous states try to prevent low turnout in different ways. One method to increase it may involve the introduction of compulsory voting, which is a legally regulated prescript to participate in an election. The principal goal of this paper is to attempt to answer the question of whether imposing compulsory voting, and thus obtaining a higher voter turnout, increases the legitimization of representative bodies. The issue of imposing compulsory voting is controversial and does not necessarily have to provide an effective solution to diminishing voter turnout. This is particularly valid for Central and Eastern European states, where imposing an obligation to vote on citizens can be contrary to saving democracy and the legitimization of public authorities. There is a risk that the citizens of countries that found themselves in the orbit of the Soviet Union after WWII may associate compulsory voting with their undemocratic past and as another attack on their rights.

One of the gravest problems of modern democracies is undoubtedly low electoral turnout. Numerous states try to prevent low turnout in different ways. One method to increase it may involve the introduction of compulsory voting, which is a legally regulated prescript to participate in an election. The principal goal of this paper is to attempt to answer the question of whether imposing compulsory voting, and thus obtaining a higher voter turnout, increases the legitimization of representative bodies. The issue of imposing compulsory voting is controversial and does not necessarily have to provide an effective solution to diminishing voter turnout. This is particularly valid for Central and Eastern European states, where imposing an obligation to vote on citizens can be contrary to saving democracy and the legitimization of public authorities. There is a risk that the citizens of countries that found themselves in the orbit of the Soviet Union after WWII may associate compulsory voting with their undemocratic past and as another attack on their rights.

The article discusses the electoral system in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elections are the process of citizens electing their representatives for specific positions. In this context, the method and principles of conducting the election are important, so that its fundamental rule - universality - is preserved. Although more than a dozen electoral regulations were in force since 1989 and the traditional model of voting at a polling station was still in place, the Polish legislator also provided for postal and proxy voting. Due to the risk related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that changes to the Polish Electoral Code will be necessary. The adaptation of the new provisions to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, however, turned out to be too ambitious a task for the domestic legislator. Therefore, the Act of April 6, 2020 on the special rules for holding general elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020, did not enter into force finally, because the functioning of a democratic state ruled by law requires that fundamental rights and civil liberties, including electoral ones be guaranteed. This study is empirical in nature - it is a case study of a specific legislative action shown in a comparative approach on the example of Poland and the United States of America. ; W artykule omówiono jedną z instytucji systemu wyborczego w dobie pandemii COVID-19. Wybory to proces wybierania przez obywateli przedstawicieli na określone stanowiska. Istotne w tym kontekście są sposób i zasady przeprowadzania elekcji, tak by zachowana została jej fundamentalna reguła - powszechność. Chociaż od 1989 r. obowiązywało kilkanaście ordynacji wyborczych, a tradycyjny model oddania głosu w lokalu wyborczym nadal funkcjonował, to polski ustawodawca przewidział także głosowanie korespondencyjne oraz za pośrednictwem pełnomocnika. Z uwagi na ryzyko związane z pandemią COVID-19 wydawać by się mogło, że dalsze zmiany w polskim Kodeksie wyborczym będą niezbędne. Dostosowanie nowych ...

An increasingly popular tendency can be observed in numerous states in Europe and globally, where modern forms of casting votes are implemented, including, first and foremost, electronic voting via the Internet or mobile telephones. In the opinion of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) advocates modern civilization is facing an era of electronic democracy, which constitutes this new form of exercising power, based on information and communication tools. Estonia is a European leader in applying electronic voting for election procedures. The paper presents an analysis of Estonia's experience in the field of e-voting in the elections of 2005–2009. ; An increasingly popular tendency can be observed in numerous states in Europe and globally, where modern forms of casting votes are implemented, including, first and foremost, electronic voting via the Internet or mobile telephones. In the opinion of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) advocates modern civilization is facing an era of electronic democracy, which constitutes this new form of exercising power, based on information and communication tools. Estonia is a European leader in applying electronic voting for election procedures. The paper presents an analysis of Estonia's experience in the field of e-voting in the elections of 2005–2009.

The idea o f retrospective voting refers to voting decisions that are based on an evaluation of how the government has managed the economy. Research on economic voting in Poland have been carried out from the beginning of the democratic transformation, focusing on isolating and testing of the transition model specific to the countries of Central Europe. Its differentiating feature is a novel way of simultaneouslyjoining the retrospective and prospective motivations in the behaviour of voters, compared to the conventional model present in consolidated democracies. The retrospective voting model is defined as deciding whether to reward or punish the incumbent party on the basis o f past policy performance. Based on analysis and own research, the presented paper evidences that the validity o f applying the transitional model in the study of economic voting in Poland has been exhausted, as the retrospective motivation is nowadays predominant in the decisions of voters.

This article examines the Upper Silesia plebiscite of 20 March 1921. The plebiscite was recognized by the Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference as the most effective instrument for appraising the local population's political preferences and their support for remaining in Germany or merging with Poland. Despite seemingly equal campaigning efforts and similar voter turnout, the proposed solution featured several limitations with more profound consequences for Poland. Only a part of Upper Silesia was covered by the plebiscite; the date of the plebiscite was announced less than a month before the event (both the local residents and the emigrants could vote); the German administration and representatives of the middle class (the bourgeoisie) and the upper class (aristocrats) exerted political pressure on local communities with Polish sentiments; the number of peacekeeping troops was insufficient to guarantee a fair Polish campaign and the emigrants' participation in the vote, including in the plebiscite area. Although their impact is difficult to determine, the above factors undoubtedly contributed to the absolute victory of German supporters. Despite the above, the proposed solution was not effective in dividing Upper Silesia into separate regions occupied by Polish and German communities.

During the local self-government elections that took place in 2018 in Poland, for the first time regional electoral commissions for conducting voting in the circuit and regional electoral commissions for determining the results of voting in the circuit appeared. Both electoral commissions are appointed by the appropriate electoral commissioner from among the voters. The tasks of the regional electoral commission for voting in the circuit include conducting voting in the circuit and ensuring that the election law is observed in the place and time of voting. However, the tasks of the regional electoral commission for determining the results of voting in the circuit include determining the results of voting in the circuit, making them public and sending the results of voting to the appropriate electoral commission. The introduction, by the legislator, of regional electoral commissions for conducting voting in the circuit and regional electoral commissions for determining the results of voting in the circuit should be assessed positively. However, the legal position of both committees certainly requires changes to be made by the legislator. ; W czasie wyborów samorządowych, które odbyły się w Polsce w 2018 r., po raz pierwszy zafunkcjonowały obwodowe komisje wyborcze ds. przeprowadzenia głosowania w obwodzie i obwodowe komisje wyborcze ds. ustalenia wyników głosowania w obwodzie. Obie komisje wyborcze powołuje spośród wyborców właściwy komisarz wyborczy. Do zadań obwodowej komisji wyborczej ds. przeprowadzenia głosowania w obwodzie należy przeprowadzenie głosowania w obwodzie oraz czuwanie w dniu wyborów nad przestrzeganiem prawa wyborczego w miejscu i czasie głosowania. Natomiast do zadań obwodowej komisji wyborczej ds. ustalenia wyników głosowania w obwodzie należy ustalenie wyników głosowania w obwodzie i podanie ich do publicznej wiadomości oraz przesłanie wyników głosowania do właściwej komisji wyborczej. Wprowadzenie przez ustawodawcę obwodowych komisji wyborczych ds. przeprowadzenia głosowania w obwodzie oraz obwodowych komisji wyborczych ds. ustalenia wyników głosowania w obwodzie należy ocenić pozytywnie. Z pewnością jednak pozycja prawna obu komisji wymaga wprowadzenia przez ustawodawcę zmian.

Celem tekstu jest szczegółowa analiza partycypacji wyborczej Polaków przebywających i głosujących za granicą w wyborach krajowych w Polsce (parlamentarnych i prezydenckich) w dwóch ostatnich dekadach (lata 1990-2011). W tym okresie odbyły się siedmiokrotnie wybory do Parlamentu i pięciokrotnie wybory Prezydenta. Celem poniższego tekstu jest przedstawienie wyników poszczególnych wyborów w oparciu o dane Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej, w tym liczby zarejestrowanych wyborców, oddanych głosów, frekwencji oraz liczby utworzonych obwodów głosowania za granicą. Analizując długofalowe trendy, zaobserwować można znaczący wzrost liczby oddanych głosów za granicą w wyborach krajowych po roku 2004, co bez wątpienia jest bezpośrednim rezultatem fali wyjazdów Polaków po wstąpieniu kraju do Unii Europejskiej (UE), ale także zwiększonym zainteresowaniem mediów i partii politycznych tematem emigracji i emigrantów w okresie kampanii wyborczych. Na zmienną dynamikę poziomu głosów oddanych przez wyborców za granicą mają zatem wpływ czynniki związane z sytuacją społeczno-polityczną Polski, ale także wynikające z procesu organizacji samych wyborów. Do tych ostatnich zaliczyć należy warunki rejestracji do spisu wyborców za granicą, liczbę tworzonych poza krajem obwodów głosowania oraz tryb oddania głosu. Preferencje polityczne Polaków głosujących za granicą nie są identyczne z tymi, jakie reprezentują wyborcy w kraju, dodatkowo wyraźnie widoczne są różnice pomiędzy polskimi wyborcami głosującymi na kontynencie amerykańskim i europejskim w poparciu partii politycznych. Tekst składa się z trzech głównych części. W pierwszej omówione są ogólne trendy partycypacji wyborczej Polaków za granicą w wyborach krajowych. Kolejna zawiera szczegółowe dane (ilościowe i jakościowe) dotyczące wszystkich wyborów (prezydenckich i parlamentarnych) mających miejsce w latach 1990-2011. W części podsumowującej wskazane są najważniejsze czynniki wewnętrzne i zewnętrzne determinujące dynamikę poziomu uczestnictwa Polaków głosujących za granicą w wyborach krajowych. ; The text presents a comparative analysis of participation of Poles residing abroad in national elections in Poland (both parliamentary and presidential) over the last two decades (1990-2011). There were seven parliamentary and five presidential elections in Poland during this period. The text contains a detailed analysis of particular elections based on the State Electoral Commission database, including the number of registered voters and votes cast abroad, the turnout level and the number of polling stations established out of Poland. Taking into account the long-term trends, there is a noticeable increase in the number of votes cast abroad in state elections after 2004. This is a direct effect of the growing number of Poles living abroad after Poland's accession to the EU, but it is also due to the fact that diaspora became an important target group for political elites and media during the electoral campaigns. Thus, the changing number of votes cast abroad has been influenced by various factors related on the one hand to the socio-political situation and, on the other - to the elections organization process, including the voter's registration scheme, the number of polling stations established abroad and the system of voting. The political preferences of Polish voters abroad are different from the population voting in the country. Additionally, when the political parties' support is examined, there are visible differences between Poles residing in American and European countries. The text consists of three main parts. The first presents general trends in electoral participation of Poles abroad in national elections. In the second part, there is a detailed data analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) of all elections (presidential and parliamentary) in the years 1990-2011. The concluding part summarizes the internal and external factors which determine the dynamics of the participation level of Poles abroad in national elections. ; Ośrodek Badań nad Migracjami Uniwersytet Warszawski

Zarówno Rada, jak i Rada Europejska działają zgodnie z "kulturą konsensusu", co oznacza, że nawet jeśli formalnie mogą decydować o niektórych sprawach większością kwalifikowaną, w praktyce rzadko to robią. Jest to szczególnie prawdziwe w przypadku Rady Europejskiej i dlatego dla wielu obserwatorów było zaskoczeniem, gdy 9 marca 2017 roku Donald Tusk został wybrany na drugą kadencję jako przewodniczący Rady Europejskiej, pomimo przeciwnego głosu jednego państwa członkowskiego (Polski). Wydarzenie to oznaczało, że Rada Europejska po raz pierwszy skorzystała z możliwości wyboru swojego przewodniczącego większością kwalifikowaną, a nie jednogłośnie. W niniejszym artykule argumentuję, że stosowanie w takich sytuacjach formalnych przepisów pozwalających na głosowanie większością kwalifikowaną nie tylko nie podważa kultury konsensusu, ale wręcz jest niezbędne do jej utrzymania. Argument ten jest osadzony we wkładzie zwrotu praktycznego do badań politologicznych. Ten nurt umieszcza praktyki społeczne w centrum zainteresowania i podkreśla fakt, że mogą być one wykonywane mniej lub bardziej kompetentnie. Dlatego też, jeśli państwo członkowskie wykonuje "praktykę konsensusu" niepoprawnie, nie może oczekiwać, że normy, które tworzą kulturę konsensusu, pomogą mu narzucić swoje stanowisko innym państwom członkowskim. Ponieważ sposób funkcjonowania Rady Europejskiej jest trudno dostępny bezpośrednio, artykuł rozwija swoją argumentację, czerpiąc z dorobku badań nad procesem podejmowania decyzji w Radzie (w tym badań prowadzonych przez autora). Następnie przeprowadzona zostaje analiza dostępnych źródeł odnoszących się do wydarzeń z 2017 r., związanych z reelekcją Donalda Tuska. ; Both the Council and the European Council are said to operate under "the culture of consensus", which means that even if they formally can decide on some issues by qualified majority, in practice they rarely do so. This is particularly true of the European Council and so it was surprising to many observers when on 9 March 2017 Donald Tusk was re-elected for a second term as the European Council's president despite the explicit negative vote of one member state (Poland). This event marked the first time the European Council used the possibility of electing its president by qualified majority rather than unanimously. In this paper I argue that using formal provisions allowing for qualified majority voting in such situations is, far from undermining the culture of consensus, in fact necessary to maintain it. The argument is embedded in the practice turn contribution to political research. Practice turn moves social practices to the centre of researchers' interest and emphasises the fact that they can be performed more or less competently. Therefore, if a member state performs the "practice of consensus" incorrectly, it cannot expect the norms which constitute the culture of consensus to help it impose its position on other member states. Because the way in which the European Council operates is difficult to access directly, the paper develops its argument by drawing from the ongoing qualitative research on decision-making in the Council (including author's own field research). It also uses available publicly-available sources relevant to the events of 2017 Donald Tusk re-election to substantiate the argument.

Zarówno Rada, jak i Rada Europejska działają zgodnie z "kulturą konsensusu", co oznacza, że nawet jeśli formalnie mogą decydować o niektórych sprawach większością kwalifikowaną, w praktyce rzadko to robią. Jest to szczególnie prawdziwe w przypadku Rady Europejskiej i dlatego dla wielu obserwatorów było zaskoczeniem, gdy 9 marca 2017 roku Donald Tusk został wybrany na drugą kadencję jako przewodniczący Rady Europejskiej, pomimo przeciwnego głosu jednego państwa członkowskiego (Polski). Wydarzenie to oznaczało, że Rada Europejska po raz pierwszy skorzystała z możliwości wyboru swojego przewodniczącego większością kwalifikowaną, a nie jednogłośnie. W niniejszym artykule argumentuję, że stosowanie w takich sytuacjach formalnych przepisów pozwalających na głosowanie większością kwalifikowaną nie tylko nie podważa kultury konsensusu, ale wręcz jest niezbędne do jej utrzymania. Argument ten jest osadzony we wkładzie zwrotu praktycznego do badań politologicznych. Ten nurt umieszcza praktyki społeczne w centrum zainteresowania i podkreśla fakt, że mogą być one wykonywane mniej lub bardziej kompetentnie. Dlatego też, jeśli państwo członkowskie wykonuje "praktykę konsensusu" niepoprawnie, nie może oczekiwać, że normy, które tworzą kulturę konsensusu, pomogą mu narzucić swoje stanowisko innym państwom członkowskim. Ponieważ sposób funkcjonowania Rady Europejskiej jest trudno dostępny bezpośrednio, artykuł rozwija swoją argumentację, czerpiąc z dorobku badań nad procesem podejmowania decyzji w Radzie (w tym badań prowadzonych przez autora). Następnie przeprowadzona zostaje analiza dostępnych źródeł odnoszących się do wydarzeń z 2017 r., związanych z reelekcją Donalda Tuska. ; Both the Council and the European Council are said to operate under "the culture of consensus", which means that even if they formally can decide on some issues by qualified majority, in practice they rarely do so. This is particularly true of the European Council and so it was surprising to many observers when on 9 March 2017 Donald Tusk was re-elected for a second term as the European Council's president despite the explicit negative vote of one member state (Poland). This event marked the first time the European Council used the possibility of electing its president by qualified majority rather than unanimously. In this paper I argue that using formal provisions allowing for qualified majority voting in such situations is, far from undermining the culture of consensus, in fact necessary to maintain it. The argument is embedded in the practice turn contribution to political research. Practice turn moves social practices to the centre of researchers' interest and emphasises the fact that they can be performed more or less competently. Therefore, if a member state performs the "practice of consensus" incorrectly, it cannot expect the norms which constitute the culture of consensus to help it impose its position on other member states. Because the way in which the European Council operates is difficult to access directly, the paper develops its argument by drawing from the ongoing qualitative research on decision-making in the Council (including author's own field research). It also uses available publicly-available sources relevant to the events of 2017 Donald Tusk re-election to substantiate the argument.

The main aim of the paper is to present the legal and institutional framework related to participation of citizens residing abroad in national elections (so called external voting) implemented in various countries. In particular, the legal framework existing in Poland is a subject of detailed analyses, including the changes over the last century. A review of present legal and organizational solutions connected to external voting is presented in the text, as well as national models based on cases of selected states. The possible procedures of registration and voting from abroad and their development in time (reflecting the transformation of external voting towards better accessibility and universality) are also discussed in the paper. The subject of analysis are existing dilemmas related to implementation of voting from abroad in practice, including passive voting rights (the seats in parliament dedicated to diaspora representatives).

The notion of democracy poses a significant challenge and problem in modern considerations on history, philosophy and politics. At present, in the face of the so-called information revolution, democracy has undoubtedly undergone profound and easily visible transformations. It can be said that the application of IT to exercise democratic power has brought about a revolution that will span a period of many years, given the different potential differing states have to spread the new technologies. The development of information and communications technology (ICT) has introduced new notions related to democracy, such as teledemocracy, technopolitics or electronic democracy (e-democracy). The subject of this paper, electronic voting (e-voting) is among the highly significant instruments of e-democracy. Electronic voting is the fulfillment of the principle of national sovereignty as it can be applied in the procedures of both indirect (e-elections) and direct (e-referendum) democracy.