SV / EN

Allmän rösträtt 30 år? Entvärvetenskaplig blick på rätten till politiskt inflytande för barn, funktionshindrade och mottagare av försörjningsstöd

Published in Nordisk socialrättslig tidskrift nr 25–26.2020, October 2020 s. 71–96

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In 2021, we celebrate 100 years since the first parliamentary elections in Sweden where women had the right to vote. However, voting rights in Sweden and other Western countries have been expanded gradually and over many decisions and it is not obvious at which point of expansion democracy resulted. The groups that have been enfranchised subsequently—citizens in need of social and financial support in 1945, and citizens with mental disabilities in 1989—as well as the largest disenfranchised groups within Sweden—children and resident non-citizens—are all groups of relevance for social (welfare) law. Underneath the gradual expansion of voting rights and the fact that large groups are not allowed to vote hides a more principal issue; what is it that gives a person the right to vote and how could and should it be regulated? In this contribution, we aim to study the question of who is and should be entitled to vote from normative, political and legal perspectives. Possible voting rights-regulation is related to alternative principles derived from normative democratic theory, including a discussion of popular support for the principles. We show how these complex issues gain in clarity when different disciplines interact and reflect upon each other’s perspectives and also outline how future multidisciplinary collaboration can be designed.