While the EMB has a key role to play in all electoral reform, it may not be in a position to implement reform without the support of its key stakeholders – particularly the government, the legislature, and political parties. This is a significant reason for EMBs maintaining a strong relationship with their stakeholders.

An EMB can only implement legal reform within the framework agreed by the government and legislature. However, the EMB may have a key research, review, and advocacy role in promoting electoral legal reform, which can be guided by the standards detailed in "International IDEA’s publication International Electoral Standards: Guidelines for reviewing the legal framework of elections" (see right hand bar). Electoral legal reform can be assisted by establishing an appropriate permanent body of the legislature to monitor electoral activities and recommend electoral reforms to the government. Effective legal electoral reform depends on a multi-partisan approach within the legislature that subordinates political advantage to electoral ethical principles and good practice.

The EMB has more control over the implementation of administrative reforms, and can implement them more effectively if it formally adopts a continuous review and reform process within its management policies. However, legal and administrative reforms often need to be synchronized to optimize their effectiveness. In India, for example, while the EMB has modernized its election procedures extensively, reform of the election machinery has not kept pace.

Political and legal reform issues in relation to electoral processes are often strongly associated. As with legal reform, the EMB does not control political reform, though it again can play a research and advocacy role, and cultivate support among key stakeholders. Unless an EMB maintains a process for review of its administrative strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, its effectiveness will diminish, as it has no mechanism to deal with change in its legal, stakeholder, technological, financial, and social environments.

Key steps for an EMB to consider in proposing and implementing electoral reforms include:

1. assigning responsibilities to specific members/staff for the development, advocacy and implementation of electoral reforms;
2. implementing effective processes, including post-electoral audits and evaluations, for review of the electoral framework and the implementation of electoral processes;
3. consulting with stakeholders to ascertain their views on required reforms and to enlist their support for the EMB’s reform program;
4. making submissions to the government and the legislature on desired electoral reforms;
5. publicising, through media and use of stakeholder networks, the desired electoral reforms;
6. developing an electoral reform implementation strategy;
7. evaluating effects of electoral reforms.