Excluding candidates from standing in elections may be a legally sound option to protect democracy from anti-democratic forces. But it is an insufficient solution on its own. Romania and France have recently banned candidates from running in forthcoming elections, causing uproar domestically and internationally. While the circumstances and the reasons behind the bans are very different, the barring of candidates raises similar questions in both countries: are bans justified and, even if they are, do they harm democracy? When are election bans justified? Banning political parties or politicians on the basis of their politics is seen as a measure of...