Ballot access rules, called nomination rules outside the United States, regulate the conditions under which a candidate or political party is either entitled to stand for election or to appear on voters' ballots. The criterion to stand as a candidate depends on the individual legal system, however they may include the age of a candidate, citizenship, endorsement by a political party and profession. Legal restrictions, such as those based around competence or moral aptitude, can be used in a discriminatory manner. Restrictive and discriminatory ballot access rules can impact the civil rights of candidates, political parties and voters.
Read more about Ballot Access: Overview of Ballot Access, State Laws, The Constitution, and International Human Rights, Write-in Status Versus Ballot Access, Other Obstacles Facing Third Parties, Justification of Strict Ballot Access Laws By Two Party Supporters
Famous quotes containing the words ballot and/or access:
“We are told it will be of no use for us to ask this measure of justice—that the ballot be given to the women of our new possessions upon the same terms as to the men—because we shall not get it. It is not our business whether we are going to get it; our business is to make the demand.... Ask for the whole loaf and take what you can get.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“Make thick my blood,
Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)