Apart from activities prohibited by the Criminal Code and other regulations governing election
processes, there is a set of activities in practice that are not prohibited and are often
interpreted in public as illegal due to the circumstances under which they are taking place. This
primarily implies the so-called safe vote databases (capillary votes), namely the databases of
supporters/members that participants in the elections make to contact them more often and
motivate them to go to the polls. This is closely linked to contacting supporters and
members by telephone or in some other way and the door-to-door campaign – as basic
and direct ways of contacting voters and supporters to promote policies, programs and ideas
and to attract voters to vote for these programs. However, it is particularly important to point
out here that there are many indications that these activities often cross the limit of
what is allowed and become illegal. This mostly involves the following cases:
1) Data collection and contacting voters based on copies of voter lists, i. e. on the basis
of parallel voter records. the legislative framework prohibits the possession of
copies of voter lists, as the legally binding Instructions for implementing the Law on the
Single Electoral Register104 stipulate that the electoral register and voter lists are used
exclusively for the purpose of conducting elections or a referendum. In addition to this
provision, possession of parts of the electoral register is contrary to regulations
governing personal data protection.
2) Unlawful or unauthorized collection of personal data without the express consent
of the citizens, contrary to regulations governing personal data protection. This data
collection may be the result of purchasing databases from companies or legal entities
that have collected personal data for other purposes but may also be a result of misuse
of administrative resources.
3) Re-contacting voters who requested that their data be deleted from the
database, or those voters who have not given their consent to be contacted;
4) The collection of safe votes in public enterprises and the misuse of other
administrative resources or positions.
Given the different forms and scope of the activities described in this and previous chapters,
we examined to what extent have citizens been exposed to authorized and unauthorized
activities of political parties and movements during the June 2020 elections, or how they
perceived the pressures and abuses of voting rights. In addition to perception and exposure
to pressures, we also investigated the citizens' relationship to bodies responsible for the
administration of justice.
4.3.10.1.
Citizens' exposure to party activities during the June 2020 elections
Firstly, we measured the citizens’ exposure to (1) telephone calls from a political party; (2)
telephone calls during election day, insisting that they go to the polls; (3) visits by party activists in their
home; (4) visits by party activists in their workplace and (5) stopping by party activists in the
Instructions for the implementation of the Law on the Single Electoral Register, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No.
15/2012, 88/2018 and 67/2020, Chapter III: The manner of using the electoral register, excerpts from the electoral register (voter
lists) and insight into the voter register.
104
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