Voting rights are the most important element of the electoral system. This is one of the fundamental political rights of citizens. A distinction is made between ACTIVE and PASSIVE voting rights.

Active voting rights relate to the circle of people who have the right to elect representative bodies, while the passive voting rights relate to the circle of people who have the right to be elected to such bodies.

The right to vote is universal and equal, meaning that it is the right of every citizen that has reached 18 years of age to vote and be elected regardless of class, ethnic, racial, economic or other affiliation. The law may determine under what conditions aliens also have voting rights.

Voting rights are regulated in detail by the National Assembly Elections Act.

The voting rights of members of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities is specially regulated for the election of deputies from those ethnic communities, since only members of the communities – and not citizens – have the right to vote and stand for election as deputies of the Italian and Hungarian communities.

There are direct voting rights and indirect voting rights. When voters vote without any intermediary for members of a representative body, we may speak of direct voting rights. On the other hand, when voters merely select electors or an electoral college which then elects members of a representative body, we speak of indirect voting rights.

Free suffrage means that voters can truly make a free choice amongvarious candidates or political parties in elections. A free vote also involves the right of every voter to exercise their voting rights or not. The principle of free suffrage is especially emphasised in the Constitution concerning elections to the National Assembly, although in view of the nature of the constitutional provisions this principle should be taken as a general principle that applies to all elections.

In casting votes, voters must be assured of freedom of voting, something especially emphasised by electoral legislation. Free suffrage is also protected under criminal law. This principle of free suffrage is closely linked to the principle of secret ballots. In the Slovenian electoral system this is provided in the Constitution and broken down in detail in electoral legislation.

Voting rights register

There are currently two methods of recording voting rights: permanent and occasional. Slovenia uses a permanent voting rights register, which is occasionally combined with an occasional record (electoral registers for members of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities and members of the Roma community).

The permanent voting rights register comprises:

• the voting rights register of Slovenian citizens who have permanent residence in Slovenia;
• the voting rights register of EU citizens who have permanent residence in Slovenia;
• the voting rights register of Slovenian citizens who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia;
• the voting rights register for elections to the European Parliament.

 
The permanent voting rights register is kept in the permanent population register at the administrative unit and in the central population register of the Republic of Slovenia.

For each election or ballot, electoral registers are compiled on the basis of the voting rights register for all polling stations in the country. In addition to these, the following electoral registers are also compiled for specific elections:

• Slovenian citizens who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia (for presidential and National Assembly elections);
• Slovenian citizens who are members of the Italian or Hungarian ethnic communities (for National Assembly and local elections);
• Slovenian citizens who are members of the Roma community (for local elections).

For elections to the European Parliament, a special electoral register is compiled of Slovenian and European Union citizens who have the right to vote in those elections.

Protection of voting rights and objection

Voting rights are a fundamental political right and are therefore protected through legal remedies. Under Slovenian legislation, protection of voting rights can be enforced in procedures before electoral commissions and the National Assembly, and judicial protection of voting rights is also provided in the courts and at the Constitutional Court.

Voters on the electoral register usually vote at the polling station where they have their permanent residence. Local electoral commissions will send voters notifications about the number and location of the polling station, and about the serial number for their entry in the electoral register. The notification is for information only and voters are not required to bring it to the polling station. Voters who have not received a notification should go to the polling station where their family members vote, or the polling station that is closest to their place of residence.

We should point out that these notifications are sent to the place of permanent residence and not to any place of temporary residence.

The chairperson or a member of the election committee will determine the voter’s identity using any personal identification document that shows the voter’s personal data.

Voters who  are absent on polling day may vote early at a special polling station at the headquarters of the local electoral commission, but no earlier than five days prior to polling day and no later than two days prior to polling day.

Voters may vote early only at the local electoral commission in the area where they are listed in the electoral register (at the administrative unit where they are registered as permanent residents).

The chairperson or a member of the election committee will determine the voter’s identity using any personal identification document that shows the voter’s personal data.

The following persons may vote by post:

1. those in the care of a home for the elderly who do not have permanent residence at the home;
2. voters who are being treated at hospitals or health spas;
3. voters who on polling day are in a penal institution;
4. voters who have been recognized as invalids on the basis of a decision of the competent authority. People with disabilities can vote by mail once or permanently.

Notification of the intention to vote by post must be sent to the local electoral commission or the constituency electoral commission ten days prior to polling day.

The notification form for postal votes can be obtained from the institution in which the voter is located or on the state election commission website.

Such polling stations can be used by:

a) Voters who on polling day will be away from the district where they are registered as permanent residents

Local electoral commissions will determine the OMNIA polling station where voters from another place can vote (e.g. a voter from Maribor wishes to vote in Ljubljana).
Voters who will be away from their location of permanent residence on polling day and who wish to vote at a polling station outside their district of permanent residence, must communicate their intention to the local electoral commission.

Voters can give notice of their intention on the form
published on the website www.dvk-rs.si. Notice can be sent:

• by post to the address of the local electoral commission;
• by fax to the number of the local electoral commission;
• by e-mail (signed and scanned) to the e-mail address of the local electoral commission.

Voters must send such notice no later than three days before polling day.
The deadline for giving notice is preclusive, meaning the deadline refers to when the notice must arrive. Notices received late will be rejected as submitted too late.

Voters who have notified the local electoral commission that they wish to vote at a polling station outside the area of their own local electoral commission (at an OMNIA polling station), should present themselves between 7 am and 7 pm on polling day at the special polling station in the location they have chosen.
The chairperson or a member of the election committee will determine the voter’s identity using any personal identification document that shows the voter’s personal data.
 
b) Slovenian citizens who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia (emigrated Slovenians) and who wish to vote on polling day at a polling station in Slovenia.

METHODS OF DISABLED ACCESS VOTING – GENERAL EXPLANATIONS
Disabled voters may vote in the following ways:
 

1. AT POLLING STATION

Polling stations must be made accessible to persons with disabilities.

2. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF ANOTHER PERSON

Each voter has the right to be accompanied by a person to assist them in filling in or submitting the ballot paper, if their physical impairment prevents them from doing so on their own.
 

3. VOTING OUTSIDE THE BUILDING ASSIGNED AS A POLLING STATION

If a polling station is not accessible to the disabled, voters with disability may also cast votes by means of the election committee facilitating voting in front of the building assigned as the polling station, with two members of the election committee providing the voter with a ballot paper and envelope, into which the completed ballot paper is placed, in front of the building assigned as the polling station. When the voter casts a vote, next to the name and surname of the voter that cast the vote, a note is made in the electoral register that such a method was used and the ballot paper is placed in the ballot box.

4. USING AIDS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

At polling stations the election committees have aids for voting intended for the blind and visually impaired (stencils), facilitating the casting of votes by such persons.

Voters who through illness cannot vote in person at the polling station where they are listed in the electoral register can vote before the election committee in their homes. This intention must be communicated to the local electoral commission no later than three days before polling day.

Notification can be sent in the following ways:

• by post to the address of the local electoral commission;
• by fax to the number of the local electoral commission;
• by e-mail (signed and scanned) to the e-mail address of the local electoral commission;
• by telephone (notification of the local electoral commission).

All information about local electoral commissions can be found on the state election commission website.

Voters who are abroad also have the right to vote. These voters can be divided into two categories:

1. voters who have registered permanent residence in Slovenia, and who are therefore in the general electoral register for a polling station area within Slovenia, and who on polling day are temporarily abroad (voters temporarily abroad – EXPATRIATES);
2. voters who have emigrated from Slovenia and are entered in a special electoral register of Slovenian citizens who do not have registered permanent residence in Slovenia (EMIGRATED SLOVENIANS)

I. Voters temporarily abroad – expatriates

Voters who will be abroad temporarily on polling day may vote in two ways:

1. at a diplomatic or consular representative office (DCR);
2. by post from abroad.

For both types of voting, voters who will be abroad temporarily on polling day must communicate their intention to the state election commission. The notification can be sent via the e-Administration portal, which enables the submission of an application with a digital certificate and without a digital certificate.

The deadline for giving notice is preclusive, meaning the deadline refers to when the notice must arrive. Notices received late will be rejected as submitted too late.

In the electoral register for the area where voters are registered as permanent residents, a note will be entered against the name and surname of the voter in the column “remarks” regarding the method of voting. The election committee cannot allow such voters to cast votes even if they appear in person at the polling station.

Options for voting:

1. Voting at DCR

Voters who vote at a diplomatic or consular representative office of the Republic of Slovenia will be entered in a special electoral register. On polling day they should appear between 9 am and 5 pm local time at the polling station in the DCR, where the voting procedure is exactly the same as at a polling station in Slovenia (identification of voters with personal ID, voter signature, voting using ballot papers). These voters do not receive any special notice of entry on the list of voters if they have submitted an application to vote at a DCR in due time.

1. Postal votes

Voters who vote by post from abroad can return the voting materials they receive at their address abroad:

1. to the address of the competent local electoral commission (the address will already be printed on the return envelope enclosed with the voting materials) or
2. to the address of the Slovenian DCR where the polling station is located (the materials must arrive by the time the polling station closes).

II. Voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia – emigrated Slovenians

Emigrated Slovenians have the right to vote in:

• referendums,
• elections to the National Assembly,
• presidential elections
• elections to the European Parliament.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia of the calling of elections or referendums and of the possible methods of voting.

Emigrated Slovenians may freely choose to vote at a polling station in a diplomatic or consular representative office, by post or at a special polling station at the headquarters of a local electoral commission (“OMNIA” polling station).

Options for voting:

1. At a DCR of the Republic of Slovenia, if the DCR has set up a polling station and voters are on the electoral register.

Voters using a DCR should appear on polling day between 9 am and 5 pm local time at the polling station in the DCR, where the voting procedure is exactly the same as at a polling station in Slovenia (identification of voters with personal ID, voter signature, voting using ballot papers).

1. By post

1. Elections to the National Assembly, presidential elections and elections to the European Parliament:

In accordance with Article 82 of the National Assembly Elections Act, the state election commission will send a ballot paper with the names of candidates or candidate lists to the permanent residential address of the voter abroad.

Instructions on the method of voting by post are an integral part of the voting materials. Voters must send the completed ballot paper and personally signed voting card to the address of the local electoral commission (the address will be enclosed), or they may also send the materials to a diplomatic or consular representative office of the Republic of Slovenia.

1. Referendums:

Voters who do not have permanent residence in Slovenia (emigrated Slovenians) wishing to vote by post must notify the state election commission professional of their intention. The notification can be sent via the e-Administration portal, which enables the submission of an application with a digital certificate and without a digital certificate.

The deadline for giving notice is preclusive, meaning the deadline refers to when the notice must arrive. Notices received late will be rejected as submitted too late.

Emigrated Slovenians who vote by post from abroad can return the voting materials they receive at their address abroad:

1. to the address of the competent local electoral commission (the address will already be printed on the return envelope enclosed with the voting materials) or
2. (in exceptions) to the address of the Slovenian DCR where the polling station is located (the voting materials must arrive at the DCR by the time the polling station closes).

1. At a special polling station at the headquarters of the local electoral commission (administrative unit) – “OMNIA”

Emigrated Slovenians who will be in Slovenia on polling day may opt to vote at a special polling station at the headquarters of the local electoral commission (administrative unit), i.e. an “OMNIA” polling station.

Emigrated Slovenians wishing to vote at such polling stations must notify state election commission of their intention. Emigrated Slovenians should give notification in the manner set out in point I. Emigrated Slovenians must send such notice no later than three days before polling day.

The DCR at which the emigrated Slovenian is listed in the electoral register will be immediately notified that the person is voting in Slovenia, and a note will be made in the electoral register that the person has opted for this form of voting.

Emigrated voters who opt to vote at “OMNIA” polling stations should appear on polling day at the “OMNIA” polling station in the location they have chosen. For every election or referendum the precise addresses of “OMNIA” polling stations are published on the state election commission website.

Elections at which voters choose their representatives are a prerequisite for the democratic formation of the most important bodies of the state. The electoral system encompasses such issues as who is entitled to vote, how elections are organised, how seats are apportioned, how the right to vote is safeguarded, and so on. A summary of the electoral system as it applies to elections to the National Assembly, presidential elections and elections to the European parliament is given below.

1.   Elections to the Slovenian National Assembly

National Assembly elections are regulated by the Elections to the National Assembly Act. The right to vote is universal and equal, meaning that every citizen over the age of 18 is entitled to vote and to be elected regardless of their class, nationality, race, economic standing, etc. ‘Equal voting right’ relates to the active right to vote and means that every vote from every voter has the same value, that every voter has one vote only, and that no vote takes precedence over another. The sole exception to this principle is the voting right exercised by members of the Italian and Hungarian national communities: each community is represented by one deputy in the National Assembly, with the members of these communities being entitled to vote for other National Assembly deputies as well.

The electoral procedure involves standing as a candidate, voting and the counting of votes to determine the outcome of an election. The procedure starts at a specified time with the calling of an election, when the start and end of the election procedure are determined. General elections to the National Assembly are called by the president of the republic.

At general elections, all deputies are elected at the same time. A distinction is drawn between regular elections (every four years upon expiry of the term of the parliament) and early elections (when the National Assembly is dissolved during the four-year parliamentary term).

General elections are re-run if irregularities arise during the electoral process or if elections that have already been held are annulled because of electoral irregularities.

Subsequent elections are elections held when a ballot was not held in an electoral unit or at a specific polling station on the day assigned for voting.

A by-election occurs when one or more deputies have to be elected because one or more parliamentary seats become vacant during a parliamentary term (i.e. a deputy’s term has been brought to an end). However, since Slovenian legislation states that elections to the National Assembly are to be held under the proportional representation system, the established rule is that by-elections are not held. Instead, when a deputy’s term comes to an end, they are replaced by that candidate from the list of candidates who would have been elected had the outgoing deputy not been elected at the general election.

Under Slovenia’s electoral legislation, candidates can be proposed by political parties or by voters.

The country is divided into eight electoral units for elections to the National Assembly. Each unit is divided into 11 districts; accordingly, each unit returns 11 deputies. The principle enshrined in law is that one candidate is elected in each electoral district. Special electoral units have been formed to serve those areas in which the Italian and Hungarian national communities reside.

Under the National Assembly Elections Act, the election threshold is 4%. Whether a party has reached that threshold is determined by the National Electoral Commission when the seats are apportioned. Seats are apportioned to party lists that have reached that threshold. This process takes places at two levels, as follows:

• Within an electoral unit, seats are apportioned according to the Droop quota.
• At the national level, seats are apportioned according to the D’Hondt method.

The Constitution states that voters must be permitted to exercise a certain influence over the allocation of seats to candidates; this is ensured in part by a process whereby those candidates who received the highest number of votes as a proportion of the total number of votes in the electoral districts in which they stood are elected from the list of candidates (relative to the seats received). Voters may only opt for that candidate from the list who stood for election in their voting district.

2.   Presidential elections in Slovenia

The President of the Republic of Slovenia is elected at a direct, universal and secret ballot on the basis of a two-round majority voting system. The Election of the President of the Republic Act provides that the president shall be elected on the basis of a universal and equal voting right at free and direct elections in a secret ballot. The president is elected for five years and may only serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. Presidential elections are called by the president (speaker) of the National Assembly.

The right to vote in a presidential election is universal and equal, which means that it is held by everyone who has the right to vote in National Assembly elections. The principle of the universal voting right applies to the right to stand for election as well as the right to vote in elections. The Election of the President of the Republic Act sets out in detail who has the right to vote and stand for president of the republic. The right to vote and stand for president is therefore held by any citizen of Slovenia who has reached the age of 18 by the time the election is held.

Presidential candidates are put forward by National Assembly deputies, political parties and the electorate. The process of standing for president is similar to that employed when standing for election to the National Assembly. Regardless of the way in which candidates stand for office, the basic rule is that each deputy and each voter may only vote for one candidate.

Candidacy for president of the republic requires the written consent of the candidate, and they may withdraw this consent in a written declaration. A proposal for candidacy, which must contain the elements prescribed, is submitted directly to the National Electoral Commission no later than 25 days prior to the election. The National Electoral Commission draws up a list of candidates for president of the republic on the basis of those candidacies it has approved; this list contains the names of the candidates and those of their nominators. The order of the candidates is determined by the drawing of lots. The National Electoral Commission must publish these lists no later than 15 days prior to the election.

The ballot paper is different to the ballot papers for National Assembly elections, and contains the names and surnames of the candidates in the order in which they appear on the list of candidates, along with instructions on how to cast a vote. The ballot paper is also completed in a slightly different way. The voter may vote for only one candidate; they do so by circling the number that appears before the name and surname of the candidate for which they are voting. The outcome of the election is established by the National Electoral Commission. The candidate who receives a majority of the valid votes cast is elected president of the republic. If no candidate secures a majority of the valid votes cast, a run-off between the two candidates who secured the most votes is held. This means that Slovenian presidential elections can involve a second round of voting in which there are only two candidates.

After the outcome of the election is established, the National Electoral Commission compiles a report on the outcome; it then submits it to the speaker of the National Assembly and publishes it in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. This officially concludes the procedure for electing the president of the republic.

3.   Election of Slovenian members of the European Parliament

It is Slovenia’s right and duty, as a Member State of the European Union, to participate in the work of all EU bodies. However, participation in the work of the European Parliament is different from participation in those other bodies, as the European Parliament is the only EU body formed on the basis of direct elections. The European Parliament is therefore elected by voters in EU Member States.

Eight MEPs are directly elected from Slovenia for a five-year term in a secret ballot on the basis of a universal and equal right to vote.

All citizens of Slovenia with the right to vote in National Assembly elections (the right to vote and the right to stand for office) have the right to vote in European Parliament elections; this means that the right to vote is held by a citizen of Slovenia who has reached the age of 18 on the day of the election. Citizens of European Union Member States with permanent residence in Slovenia also have the right to vote in European Parliament elections. Slovenian citizens and citizens of EU Member States have exactly the same right to vote in European Parliament elections and exactly the same right to stand for election.

Candidates may be proposed by political parties and by voters. The list of candidates may only contain as many candidates as are elected to the European Parliament from Slovenia. Both sexes must have at least 40% representation on the list of candidates. The candidacy procedure takes place in its entirety before the National Electoral Commission. In European Parliament elections, Slovenia is counted as a single electoral unit. The electoral system is a proportional ‘preferential vote’ system. This means that seats are not apportioned according to the order of precedence of the candidates on the candidate list; instead, the candidates who received the highest number of preferential votes are elected from an individual list. Preferential votes for individual candidates are taken into account if the number of preferential votes for an individual candidate exceeds the quota, which is calculated by dividing the total number of votes given to a list by twice the number of candidates on the list. If this rule fails to elect as many candidates as the number of seats belonging to an individual list, the candidates are elected to the remainder of the seats on this list in accordance with the order of precedence of the candidates on the list of candidates. The National Assembly confirms the election of MEPs.

4.   Elections to the National Council

National Councillors are elected in indirect elections held within interest groups or local communities by voting bodies (i.e. via electors).

The right to vote and be elected as a member of the National Council is therefore held by a citizen of Slovenia who has reached the age of 18 on the day of the election and whose capacity to contract has not been removed. Members of the National Council are not elected on the basis of a universal voting right but on that of a ‘special’ voting right, as determined by the law for each interest group, i.e. their membership of an individual interest group or local community.

Under the relative majority principle, a seat is gained by the candidate with the highest number of votes. If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the election is decided by the drawing of lots.

The following have the right to vote for and be elected as members of the National Council:

• representatives of employers, employees, farmers, tradespersons, independent professions and non-commercial activities (‘functional interests’), i.e. persons engaged in an appropriate activity or employed in Slovenia. Foreign nationals engaged in an appropriate activity or employed in Slovenia may elect members of the National Council from these interest groups under the same conditions as apply to citizens of Slovenia; however, they do not have the right to stand for election to the National Council;
• representatives of local interests with permanent residence in a voting unit;
• eighteen members of the National Council (representatives of functional interests), who are elected by electors’ election committees. Representatives of the electorate (electors) are elected by local interest groups in accordance with their rules.

The 22 members of the National Council, who are representatives of local interests, are elected by local communities. A maximum of 22 voting units, each covering one or more local communities, may be formed for the election of representatives of local interests. 

Members of the National Council are elected for a term of five years.