Apart from EMB networks, several networks exist around the world which are generally known as election support networks, and which include civil society organisations, such as churches, media organisations, human rights organisations, women’s organisations, and other community-based organisations. Election support networks have emerged to provide coordination and support services to non-state actors working in the arena of supporting democracy and electoral processes. Some domestic networks may consist of tens or even hundreds of individual organisations based regionally or nationally. The key electoral-related activities undertaken by electoral support networks include election observation and monitoring, civic and voter education, and electoral reform.

A good example of a national election support network is the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network (ZESN), which is a coalition of NGOs operating in the field of good governance, democracy, and elections. A similar network had earlier been formed in Kenya, where the National Election Monitoring Unit, a network of various local professional and commercial bodies, came together to press for electoral reform and then organised thousands of monitors to monitor the first multiparty elections of 1992.

The post-military regime transitional elections of 1998-99 in Nigeria spawned a number of civil society organisations, which formed various networks to further their participation in electoral reform and election observation. There were regional networks aimed at furthering the cause of women’s participation in the elections as candidates and as voters. Other networks were primarily interested in constitutional and legal reforms relating to elections; while other networks were interested in civic and voter education. These networks, the largest of which was the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), did a creditable job assisting with civic education and monitoring the election preparations and polling. The TMG (and many other domestic networks) survived the election and post-election period, and was active in preparations for the 2003 elections, during which time the TMG network grew to more than 100 NGOs.

At the SADC regional level, there is the SADC Electoral Support Network, which comprises civil society organisations in the region which are working in the democracy and electoral fields.

The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), formed in 1997, has 21 member organisations from 11 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. ANFREL undertakes election observation activities as well as research, advocacy, information dissemination, and training activities on issues related to elections, democratisation, and good governance. It has observed elections in 15 Asian countries. The general goals of NGO networks are to involve the member organisations in pre-election activities, as well as implementing voting day programs.

It is often recognised that the required degree of specialisation resides in individual organisations and not necessarily in the network itself. The network itself usually takes on the more generalised tasks such as training assistance, standardization of procedures, and technical support to member organisations. Many NGO networks devote significant time and resources to supporting the national EMB programs of training and voter education. Many specialise in election monitoring or observation; and there are some NGO networks that contribute to the resolution of election disputes.

The contribution of domestic networks involved in election improvement has been considerable in new and emerging democratic States. The development of domestic networks of this type is often encouraged and provided with resources by international donors, who see them as an instrument of positive influence on the acceptability or otherwise of the election results, and an easier managed target for assistance than multiple individual organisations. Networks and their member organisations may be required to be accredited by the national EMB to operate in particular election activities and to conform to the goals and standards set by the EMB. There have been cases where individual member organisations of networks are refused accreditation for election observation on the grounds that they have a political agenda. There was at least one reported case in Nigeria in 1998-99 elections of an individual member organisation of a prominent network behaving in a partisan manner during election observation.

A trend is emerging in some regions whereby faith-based NGOs are joining secular NGOs in networks to participate in civic and voter education, as well as election observation. One such network is the Peoples Voter Education Network (JPPR) in Indonesia. JPPR is an Indonesia–wide coalition, primarily comprising Islamic mass-based organisations but also including Christian mass-based organisations and religious and secular NGOs. For the 2004 legislative and presidential elections in Indonesia, JPPR undertook voter education and election observation activities, fielding over 100,000 observers for the July presidential election.