Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. It researches "the politics of law and the law of politics". The conceptual knowledge behind election law focuses on who votes, when that person can vote, and the construction behind the tabulated totals.
Issues
Some of the questions that are addressed by election law are:
Which people are entitled to vote in an election, and the procedures by which such persons must register to vote or present identification in order to vote
Which people are entitled to hold office, and the procedures candidates must follow to appear on the ballot and rules governing write-in candidates
The rules about what subjects may be submitted to a direct popular vote through a referendum or plebiscite, and the rules that governmental agencies or citizen groups must follow to place questions on the ballot for public consideration
The framework by which political parties may organize their internal government, and how they select candidates to run for political office
The financing of elections
The requirements for creating districts which elect representatives to a legislative assembly
What restrictions are placed on campaign advocacy
How votes are cast at an election
How votes are counted at an election, recounts, and election challenges
Whether, and how, voters or candidates may file legal actions in a court of law or administrative agency to enforce their rights or contest the outcome of an election
Definition of electoral fraud and other crimes against the electoral system
The sources of election law and the interplay between these sources of law
Regimes in comparative law
France
The French electoral code addresses most of the elections. However, other texts frame this material for special elections. Thus the Constitution but fixed some general basic provisions concerning the presidential election, the legislative and senatorial elections. For litigation election, the court depends on the concerned election. The Constitutional Council is responsible for the most important elections: presidential elections and senatorial elections or referendums. In contrast, to the municipal or district elections the administrative tribunal has jurisdiction, then the appeal is to the State Council. Finally, for the regional and European elections, the Council of State which has jurisdiction at first and last resort. In decisions on electoral matters, the law takes into account the results: if an essential principle is violated, the election is canceled but if fraud is "classic" but the election was won with a large or very large lead, the judge then cancels rarely the result.
Italy
The Italian Constitution fixes some general basic provisions concerning the legislative elections. Electoral disputes in Italy are complex because they are divided between several court orders. For example, with regard to the dispute concerning registration of candidates for ballots or litigation election, the administrative court has jurisdiction. For eligibility and disfranchisement, the judge is the ordinary tribunal. If a fraud is proven by the judge, it does not cancel necessarily the elections, unless they think that the result of election without the fraud would not have been identical. The survival of the acts already performed by the elected organs would seem solved by abundant case law that protects innocent trust of third parties.See Law of the United StatesIn the United Kingdom, election law is legislated for by The Houses of Parliament. The statutory governance of UK Election law comes from acts of parliament such as the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011. The Electoral Commission's mandate and establishment was set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, and ranges from the regulation of political donations and expenditure by political and third parties through to promoting greater participation in the electoral process. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 made a number of improvements to electoral registration, improving the security arrangements for absent voting, allowing observers to attend elections and a major change in reducing the minimum age for candidates at UK parliamentary elections. It also introduced the performance standards regime for electoral services.
