Column: Robinson On Absentee Voting & More
[Opinion column written by MP Dwayne Robinson]
On September 26, I tabled the Absentee Voting Act 2025 for the consideration of the House of Assembly and Bermuda. This bill enshrines in law that all eligible voters living in Bermuda should be able to vote in an election, even if they can’t be present on Election Day [or any other early voting day].
For example, this means that students, people overseas on medical treatment, or on work trips will be able to vote remotely.
Once again thank you to those who volunteered their time to draft this legislation.
It is crucial to underscore that unlike the governing party, the Opposition does not have a team of legislative drafters. People gave up time in between their regular responsibilities to put this together and for that I am extremely grateful.
I want to ensure the community is clear on the Act and the One Bermuda Alliance’s intentions with this legislation, so our hard work is not in vain.
The Progressive Labour Party, in its response to the tabling, raised some concerns about consultation, which is the pot calling the kettle black. The PLP being consultative is not one of its strongest attributes.
However, I will remind the public that the desire to table this Act was inspired by the consistent advocacy by a number of outspoken youth associations, activists, and political candidates.
Names like Bermuda Youth Connect, Bermuda is Love, Taj-Donville Outerbridge, Jahdia Spencer, and others, have been very vocal and we wanted them to know that their plight was not falling on deaf ears.
The community is clear—it wants a more inclusive democracy.
My colleagues and I have been fiercely lobbied, which led to then Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson re-emphasising our platform pledge during the 2025 general election campaign, if elected Government, the OBA would pass absentee voting.
For the PLP to say there was no consultation is simply false, as this is literally a grassroots demand of all political entities, with very little recorded opposition.
Let’s not pretend this was conjured up by the OBA with no input from the community; that is a falsehood.
We tabled the bill on the date we did to give the government and the community enough time to consider the legislation. If only we were afforded such luxury from the PLP on a regular basis.
Our intention with the Absentee Voting Act 2025 is simple. We are putting the terms “absentee voting” and “absentee voter” into law, allowing the creation of a method of absentee voting led by the Parliamentary Registrar.
It uses the term “ordinarily resident” directly from section two of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1978. The bill focuses primarily on Bermudians overseas due to education, employment, medical treatment, government service, and pre-arranged travel.
The bill does not cover Bermudians who live overseas permanently. As via our consultation we found that was the red line for many and will require much more community discussion.
We did not lay out the method of absentee voting as we want that to be led by the Parliamentary Registrar to ensure the best method for Bermuda independently selected by an expert, with support from all political entities, and the voters.
The Opposition is limited by what we can propose in legislation. We cannot put forward any bills that require money from the Consolidated Fund. The reality is that we will need collaboration from the Progressive Labour Party to get this passed.
I once again extend the invitation to the PLP to bring forth amendments to our bill if it has any concerns and a budget to get this done.
Showcasing our bi-partisan support for absentee voting that we all pledged to do in the 2025 election campaign, I am happy talks between the parties have begun, and hopefully it will lead to a fruitful outcome for Bermudians who feel left out of their own democracy.
- Dwayne Robinson, One Bermuda Alliance MP for Constituency 30, Southampton East Central
This act tabled by the OBA is a half-baked, rushed attempt to get it tabled before the government as if it’s a race. What we have gotten is something that does not lay out any particulars or specifics on how this will actually work. Nothing about who is eligible. Nothing about where they will be registered. Nothing about anything except a race to the finish line. Haste makes waste. There was no consultation with youth organizations or parliamentary groups.
It needs to be withdrawn and a proper bill tabled.
“This act tabled by the OBA is a half-baked, rushed attempt …”
Really? On what basis do you say that? It appears to me to be a perfectly proper Bill.
Seems you took the half-baked, “haste is waste” approach yourself and must not have read the article before formulating your opinion.
It clearly states who would be considered eligible (even if, in my opinion, their eligibility criteria are flawed).
If you stopped, read, and thought for a moment, you would also have come to the conclusion that registration and implementation parts of this would be the responsibility of the Parliamentary Registrar, just like it is for voting in person. That’s also mentioned in the article, by the way.
“There was no consultation with youth organizations or parliamentary groups.”
So, they’re acting like the plp, and it upsets you. That makes you a hypocrite.
“The bill does not cover Bermudians who live overseas permanently. As via our consultation we found that was the red line for many and will require much more community discussion.”
Why not? I fail to see what the issue is with this when jurisdictions allow absentee voting for citizens that are ordinarily resident in another country. Both the UK and the US, for example, allow citizens that are registered voters to vote in general or federal elections via postal or proxy vote ballots. That is a huge flaw in this proposed bill.
As long as you are a registered voter, you should have the ability to vote. Point blank. Bermudians living abroad should still have a say in the affairs of their country even if they live abroad. It’s not like they cease to have a vested interest in Bermuda the second they board a plane to another country.
Sorry, but a vested interest requires something more than a birth certificate proving that you were born here.
If you pull stumps, sell your Bermuda assests and take up residence overseas, you might still have Bermuda citizenship, but you have given up all vested interests in Bermuda and therefore give up your rights to vote, since you are no longer normaly resident and therefore stand to lose nothing from bad government.
I could be wrong but to register to vote one needs to have a Bermuda home address.
What’s hilarious about you hypocrites, is that you feel you have the right to dictate who marries who.
You’re a very immature and inconsiderate society.
I beg to disagree. Having the vote is not a permanent thing. If you cash in and move abroad you should lose your vote.
The remote voting problem is for people who maintain a residence in Bermuda as their normal place of residence but spend large amounts of time, for whatever reason, off the island. These are the people are denied the vote.
These are people who have a vested interest in the Governance of the island. Those who have moved elsewhere have no vested interest in the island, and probably don’t care much anyway.
You state:
“…but you have given up all vested interests in Bermuda and therefore give up your rights to vote, since you are no longer normally resident and therefore stand to lose nothing from bad government.”
And
“These are people who have a vested interest in the Governance of the island. Those who have moved elsewhere have no vested interest in the island, and probably don’t care much anyway.”
These are just pure assumptions without any substantiation and in many cases would be categorically incorrect. Sweeping generalisations like these leave huge margins for error.
A Bermudian may move abroad for whatever reason, but doing so does not mean they do not have a vested interest in the governance of the country, since in most cases, they will have family and friends who remain and are directly impacted by poor governance.
A Bermudian can still own land / assets in Bermuda without physically being present in the country for long periods of time as well, which makes them impacted by governance of the island directly.
With respect, reality is in fact more complicated and nuanced than the very simplistic view you personally hold.
“Those who have moved elsewhere have no vested interest in the island, and probably don’t care much anyway.”
I am not sure that is correct. A Bermudian might move abroad but retain property or investments in Bermuda. That person will still have a “vested interest in the island” but no vote, because voting is limited to Bermudian residents of Bermuda.
This clearly makes sense, to suggest otherwise is undemocratic and entirely self serving. Which of course is why it won’t pass because the PLP is all about self preservation rather than national interest.
Sorry, but a vested interest requires something more than a birth certificate proving that you were born here.
If you pull stumps, sell your Bermuda assests and take up residence overseas, you might still have Bermuda citizenship, but you have given up all vested interests in Bermuda and therefore give up your rights to vote, since you are no longer normaly resident and therefore stand to lose nothing from bad government.
I could be wrong but to register to vote one needs to have a Bermuda home address.
Why are you so vested in other peoples relationships?
The “nosey Bermudian” is true.