Electoral law and public pressure are increasingly requiring EMBs to provide services to ensure that all eligible electors have genuine access to the electoral process. For example, the 2002 International Bill of Electoral Rights for People With Disabilities promotes equal rights of access to all electoral processes for people with disabilities. All access-extending services are costly, and need to be considered by the EMB and legislators in relation to its budgetary constraints.

Voters' special access needs may include:

• mobile registration and voting facilities for those in hospital, confined to the home or in prison;
• out of country voting;
• provision of voter registration and voting facilities for internally displaced persons, and in locations outside the country for significant refugee populations (as has been implemented for elections in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia and Sierra Leone);
• facilities for voting by post or before election day;
• ensuring that registration, polling stations, and equipment are accessible to voters with disabilities;
• providing electoral information materials suitable for those with visual or aural disabilities and providing registration or voting assistance to them where needed; and
• providing voting equipment such as ballot paper templates for the visually impaired (as in Canada).

EMB processes may also adopt preferential treatment for pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly, and people living with disability, especially during voter registration and polling.

Partnerships with civil society organisations or relevant government instrumentalities will assist the EMB in identifying the precise needs and may even help defray costs of providing access to marginalized groups.

The legal framework or EMB’s policies on electoral access may be informed or constrained by customary rules or traditions. These may relate to issues such as who may nominate candidates for particular offices, or the need to establish separate voting queues or locations for men and women. Other issues where custom or tradition may impinge on access (and electoral integrity) include the photographing of women for electoral ID cards, voting methods, and the use of visible indelible ink to mark voters. Where customary laws are deeply entrenched, the EMB can enhance its acceptance throughout society if its structures, policies, and procedures demonstrate respect for such customary practices, especially if this will not contradict EMB laws and policies or hinder its activities.