Voter education is a responsibility which is increasingly being added to EMB functions. Some EMB legal frameworks have clearly provided for the EMB to conduct voter education, while others have not. It is preferable that an **EMB’s legal framework includes a voter education function**, as this is indispensable for democratic consolidation especially in emerging democracies where both the art and the essence of voting are yet to be mastered and internalized. However, it would be harmful for the EMB or any other body to be given exclusive voter education rights or powers to restrict who may conduct voter education.

One cogent reason why the legal framework should empower the EMB to conduct voter education as a way of consolidating democracy is that otherwise, the government will be reluctant to fund voter education, citing as the reason that this function is not part of the EMB’s official mandate.

Voter education is too important, and its implementation too complex, to leave to the EMB alone

• political parties,
• civil society,
• corporations, and
• government agencies such as education systems

may all have an important complementary role to play to help ensure that voters have all the information they need to make informed choices.

An EMB’s voter education responsibilities could be partially or wholly delegated to other institutions, including civil society. In Ghana, for example, there is a sister commission to the EMB which is responsible for civic and voter education, and in Thailand, the EMB is empowered to outsource voter education to private organisations