臺灣實施不在籍投票的政治影響

The Political Influence of Absentee Voting in Taiwan

選舉不但是公民參政權的一部分，也是人權的核心內涵。理論而言，「不在籍投票」制度的實施，有助於此一權利的落實。台灣已成功地從威權體制轉型為民主國家，若能進一步實施此一制度，應是一個深化、鞏固民主發展的重要里程碑。國民黨政府已表示，未來將逐步實施「不在籍投票」，而民進黨則視之為國民黨為2012 年總統大選鋪路的策略而持反對態度。由於「不在籍投票」將擴大人民的政治參與，而台灣的不在籍選民超過兩百萬，一旦實施此一制度，對未來的政治系統、政黨、候選人勢將帶來重大的影響。本文旨在探討「不在籍投票」之意義，以及未來實施後對台灣民主發展的影響。

The right of election is not only part of citizens’ political right, but is also the core of human rights. Theoretically, the implementation of absentee voting will help the fulfillment of this right. Taiwan has transformed from an authoritarian regime to a democratic country. Adopting this system would be a significant milestone in the democratic development of Taiwan. The KMT government has declared to gradually carry out this system in the future, while the DPP considers it as an electoral strategy for the KMT to win the 2012 presidential election and oppose it. As absentee voting would improve citizens’ political participation, and there are about two million potential absentee ballots in Taiwan, once this system is implemented, it would have significant impact on the existing political system, political parties and candidates. This paper aims to explain the meaning of absentee voting, and to explore this system’s possible influences upon Taiwan’s democratic development in the future.