Election Law Flashcards
Do dual citizens need to establish residence before they may vote?
No. There is no provision in the dual citizenship law—R.A. 9225—requiring “duals” to actually establish residence and physically stay in the Philippines first before they can exercise the right to vote—on the contrary, R.A. 9225, in implicit acknowledgment that “duals” are most likely non-residents, grants under its Section 5(1) the same right of suffrage as that granted an absentee voter under R.A. 9189
Requirements to exercise suffrage
first, he must be a Filipino citizen;
second, he must not be disqualified by law; and
third, he must have resided in the Philippines for at least one (1) year and in the place wherein he proposes to vote for at least six (6) months immediately preceding the election.
Is the imposition of biometrics a violation of the right to suffrage?
No. Biometrics - not a criteria or requirement like citizenship, residence, age, but rather a regulation of voter’s registration.
The re-registration process is amply justified by the fact that the government is adopting a novel technology like biometrics in order to address the bane of electoral fraud that has enduringly plagued the electoral exercises in this country. While registrants may be inconvenienced by waiting in long lines or by not being accommodated on certain days due to heavy volume of work, these are typical burdens of voting that are remedied by bureaucratic improvements to be implemented by the COMELEC as an administrative institution.
Is the imposition of a drug test violative of the right to suffrage?
Yes. - It is basic that if a law or an administrative rule violates any norm of the Constitution, that issuance is null and void and has no effect.
- The right of a citizen in the democratic process of election should not be defeated by unwarranted impositions of requirement not otherwise specified in the Constitution
Planas Case
at the time of the proclamation of Defensor who garnered the highest number of votes, the Division Resolution invalidating his certificate of candidacy was not yet final, hence, he had at that point in time remained qualified. Therefore, his proclamation was valid or legal.
Effect of a candidate who fails to send a certificate stating that he is in a political party
he is still considered an independent candidate
Citizenship requirement as a continuing requirement
- The citizenship requirement for elective public office is a continuing one. It must be possessed not just at the time of the renunciation of the foreign citizenship but continuously. Any act which violates the oath of renunciation opens the citizenship issue to attack.
Effect when a person not qualified is voted for and garners the highest number of votes
even the will of the electorate expressed through the ballot cannot cure the defect in the qualifications of the candidate. To rule otherwise is to trample upon and rent asunder the very law that sets forth the qualifications and disqualifications of candidates.
- When there are participants who turn out to be ineligible, their victory is voided and the laurel is awarded to the next in rank who does not possess any of the disqualifications nor lacks any of the qualifications set in the rules to be eligible as candidates
Right to exchange in ideas in furtherance of political decision making
- In a democracy, the citizen’s right to freely participate in the exchange of ideas in furtherance of political decision-making is recognized. It deserves the highest protection the courts may provide, as public participation in nation-building is a fundamental principle in our Constitution. As such, their right to engage in free expression of ideas must be given immediate protection by this court.
Right to suffrage also includes the right to
to vocalize choice of candidate to the public in general, in the hope of influencing their votes.
