EU will support use of mobile and postal voting for COVID-positive voters in elections

The European Commission said it will monitor developments related to the conduct of elections in Malta, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders wrote in a reply to independent candidate Arnold Cassola, that the organisation of elections during the pandemic and their accessibility will remain an important issue on the agenda of the Commission. 

Cassola wrote to Reynders, expressing concerns on the exercise of the right to vote of people who test positive for COVID-19 at the next Maltese parliamentary elections.

Reynders said it was the competence of national administrative and judicial authorities to ensure compliance with applicable law and relevant international standards as those of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

“Particular attention should be paid to ensuring the effectiveness of the right to vote and it is the responsibility of Member States to do so, including by guaranteeing the accessibility of their electoral processes so that every person enjoying the right to vote is in the position to effectively exercise this right,” Reynders said.

The Commission has also been supporting the exchange of best practices on elections, such as the use of proxy voting arrangements – based on which a voter authorises another person to cast their vote for them at elections and referendums, or mobile and postal voting for voters to cast their ballots from their home or current place of residence.

Mobile voting was discussed extensively at the meeting of the European Cooperation Network on Elections on 24 January, which discussed how to allow people positive for COVID to vote, including e-voting and ‘drive-through’ polling booths.

“The organisation of elections during the pandemic and their accessibility will remain an important issue on the agenda of the Commission and in its collaboration with relevant international organisations, such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,” Reynders said.

A number of EU member states have organised elections during the pandemic. Reynders said the Commission is monitoring the impact that measures taken had on free and fair elections and on a fair democratic debate.