Technology for Reaching Voters
Technology can be a very effective tool for reaching and informing voters of issues related to elections. A wide range of different technologies can be used by election management bodies (EMBs) to communicate with voters.
The different applications of technology that can be used to reach voters include:
- informing voters about technology by using demonstrations and simulation exercises, onsite training and websites
- audio visual applications, including radio, television, film, audio tapes, video tapes, DVD, cinema, laser/hologram and multimedia
- telephone communications, including telephone information services, call centres and interpreter services
- Internet, including email publication, web publishing and interactivity
- technology for special needs groups, including the ones used by language services, hearing assistance and visual assistance
Technology can also be used as a means to inform voters about electoral technology used for voter registering and voting. This can address two important issues: the need to educate voters on how to use technology during the voting process, and the need to gain the voters’ acceptance of and trust in the technology.
Voter education is often approached as a voter training exercise, but given the number of voters, it may be sometimes more effective to reach the voters and inform them using the communication technology available rather than using more typical training techniques.
Since new electoral technology may affect the public, it is also important to include the public as stakeholders in the process and to gain their trust in the new system. This may entail a large-scale communication campaign to inform the voting population of the proposed changes.
Voter education
Before attempting any large-scale communication campaign, it may be desirable to use market research methods to test the proposals and its efficiency. Voter education needs are very different from staff training needs, and therefore the training opportunities can be also very different.
On the other hand, as with staff training, the complexity of the education depends on the complexity of the technology being used. As voters cannot be expected to master complex technology, it is very important that the technology used by voters is simple and easy to use in order to facilitate voters’ education.
There are several ways to educate voters about voting technology. Before voters reach the polling place, they can be reached by mass communication techniques, such as television, radio, newspapers, mail, posters and technology demonstrations. An intensified voter education effort may be especially useful where a new or unusual technology is being introduced, such as a new electronic voting system, for example.
Nevertheless, while mass communication can be used to inform voters about a new technology that is being introduced and to make known what to expect at the polling stations, it may not be sufficient for training people on how to operate technology.
This means that additional technology training may have to be provided right where it is being used by the voters in which case there may be different training options to consider.
The best option remains to provide technology that is as simple and self-explanatory as possible. Where the technology is screen-based, the screens can walk the voters through the process with simple on-screen instructions that capitalize on knowledge that many users already have, such as the use of the “enter” and “cancel” buttons, for example.
Where on-screen instructions are used, facilities need to be in place for people who might have difficulty reading them. Some people may not be able to read well or at all; others may not be able to read the national language well or at all, while others may be sight impaired or blind. Some options to consider include:
- using audio instructions (perhaps via headphones)
- using keypads with touch-readable keys
- providing instructions in a range of languages
- keeping instructions clear and simple
- providing the facility to increase the size of printed instructions
- providing staff in the polling place who can assist voters having difficulty
Other options for training voters in polling places include explanatory posters and demonstration opportunities. For example, a demonstration system could be set up at the entrance of a polling place to allow voters to try out an electronic voting system, with staff available to explain the system, before the voters proceed to complete the real thing. Audio-visual presentations could also be used at polling places to provide instructions on using technology.
No matter what primary method of voter training is used, it is advisable to provide staff in the polling place that can assist any voters who need help. There will always be some people uncomfortable with or unfamiliar with technology who will appreciate the help of a person.
Another way to reach voters is via the Internet. Information can be delivered about a wide variety of election-related topics, including elections and technology. In addition, demonstration sites can be set up to let voters try out new technology interactively, if the new technology lends itself to Internet training. However, this is unlikely to replace other mass communication techniques since, on one hand, it requires the user to be motivated enough to visit the Internet site, and on the other hand, most Internet users are likely to have relatively good technology skills and thus not need the training.
These considerations not withstanding, it may be useful to provide training or assistance to voters by Internet whenever they are able to vote from home and avoid voting places all together.
Beyond the Internet, voter education can be made available through a telephone "help desk" or call centre facility, where voters can talk one-on-one with a trained operator about using voting technology or other voting concerns.
Audio Visual Applications
Audio visual applications are widely used by election management bodies (EMBs) to reach voters.
Common audio visual applications include radio and television programs, publications using audio tapes, video tapes, compact disks (CDs) and digital video disks (DVDs), cinema, lasers/holograms and multimedia activities.
Preparing audio video material for public distribution is a difficult task. Skilled, professional advertising companies, audio-visual companies and/or broadcasters are often the best choice for preparing audio visual material for broadcasting or distribution. While these services may be expensive, the difference in quality between professional and amateur audio visual material can make a big difference in the effectiveness of the material.
When using audio visual technology to reach voters, it is advisable to use a mix of different methods. No one audio visual technology can be considered the only effective media to be used and there is a need to maximise the impact of an EMB's information campaign.
Television and radio are traditionally the most used and most effective audio visual technologies for informing voters. The relative weight given to television and radio broadcasting depends on the local patterns of use of these media. In some countries, television has a greater impact than radio in reaching audiences. In other countries, radio has a greater reach. Advertising agencies can advise on the market reach of the various broadcasting alternatives available, so that an EMB can judge where best to spend its resources.
Radio
Public broadcast radio is extensively used in many countries for electoral advertising. It is relatively inexpensive and it has the potential to reach a wide audience. Radio advertising is particularly useful for audiences who have difficulty with printed material for literacy or disability reasons.
Public radio is also particularly effective in culturally diverse countries where several different languages may be spoken. Alternative radio stations are also a way to offer a wide range of broadcasts in various languages that can appeal to people from a variety of cultures. Radio is also increasingly being broadcast on the Internet, expanding its reach around the world for those with access to the Internet.
The wide range and reach of public radio broadcasting makes it a very important tool for communicating electoral matters.
Television
Publicly broadcast television is widely used by many electoral authorities for electoral advertising. Like radio, it has the potential to reach a wide audience and is useful for audiences who have difficulty with printed material for literacy or disability reasons. It also has the added benefit of using images as well as sound, making it a very powerful medium. However, television advertising tends to be expensive.
Audio tapes/compact disks
Recordings of electoral material on audio tapes and/or compact disks (CDs) are a relatively inexpensive way of reaching voters who have special needs or who do not have access to public broadcast radio or television. Tape and CD players are relatively cheap and widely available in many societies.
Material recorded on tapes and CDs could simply be copies of material designed for broadcast on radio. However, unlike radio which is generally restricted to short messages of a minute or two maximum, tapes and CDs can include additional information for little extra expense.
Material recorded on tape and CD can also be tailored to special audiences, in a way that would not be practicable for radio broadcasting. For example, readings of detailed electoral information contained in printed material can be recorded on tape and CD for voters who are unable to read the printed material for disability or literacy reasons.
Video tape
Electoral material recorded on video tape has similar virtues to material recorded on audio tape or CD but with the added advantage of providing visual information. This means electoral messages can be conveyed using images as well as sound. Analysis of the effectiveness of communication methods indicates that many people learn better by seeing information compared with only hearing it, making video recordings a powerful learning tool.
Video recordings can include the same material used for broadcast television, but, as with radio versus tape and CD recordings, the lower price of video production and distribution means that much more information can be included on a video.
Video is particularly useful in countries with poor television facilities, where videos tend to be more widely accessible. The challenge for EMBs in these situations is to distribute videos effectively so that target audiences are reached.
Video is also a very useful tool for electoral education taking place in schools and other community groups. Videos can be used in electoral education facilities, if they exist, or for electoral education sessions held in schools, community centres and the like, either presented by EMB staff or by local teachers.
Digital video disk
DVD technology is relatively new, and the reach of people with DVD players at the beginning of the 21st century is still relatively limited compared to people with access to audio tape, CD, and video players.
DVD recordings can combine the virtues of audio, video and multimedia presentations in a portable format similar to CD recordings.
Cinema
Cinemas can be used for communicating electoral information to voters in a similar fashion to television advertising. The effectiveness of cinema advertising compared to television depends on the local audience reach of cinema compared to alternative media.
Lasers/holograms
Lasers and holograms are comparatively specialised uses of technology for communicating electoral information. Lasers and holograms can be used for dramatic effect in presentations and displays in electoral education facilities. For example, lasers and holograms can be used as part of pre-recorded multimedia presentations for school groups. In Canberra, Australia, lasers and holograms are used by the Australian Electoral Commission at its electoral education centre to give the appearance of live miniature presenters talking and interacting with props in presentations for school groups.
Multimedia
Multimedia material can be distributed on CD-ROM, DVD and the Internet to give a more interactive, non-linear form of information presentation compared to radio, recorded audio, television or video material. Multimedia material, which generally has to be run on a computer equipped with speakers, combines audio, still images and moving video images with the flexibility of a computerised presentation to present users with an informative, entertaining medium.
Multimedia material can give the user the option of viewing material in an order chosen by the viewer, rather than a specified linear order, as is the case with television or video material.
Multimedia material is well suited to convey complex material and is particularly useful for school students’ electoral education. However, it is relatively expensive to produce, and an EMB needs to decide whether the expected return on using such material is worth the cost.
Telephone
The telephone can be an important part of an election management body's (EMB's) strategy for reaching voters.
Telephone call centres
During an electoral event, teams of people in telephone call centres can be employed to handle large numbers of calls from the public. Database inquiry systems can be used by call centres to enable casual staff to handle relatively complex inquiries and to keep records of the number and type of calls.
Special national toll-free or low cost telephone numbers can be used and advertised widely. These generally easy to remember numbers enable the public to telephone a call centre from anywhere in the country for no or minimal cost—the cost of the calls are covered by the electoral authority.
Pre-recorded touch-tone services
Telephone information lines can also be automated (sometimes called touch-tone services), so that callers can listen to pre-recorded information. Menus of information can be presented to callers, who can select items from the menu by pressing numbers on their telephone number pad. This system reduces the number of staff needed to take phone calls and ensures that information is provided in a consistent form. An option is usually given to allow a caller to speak to an operator if the caller is not satisfied by the recorded messages. This method is particularly useful when large volumes of calls are received and when callers tend to have a predictable range of enquiries.
Usage of pre-recorded telephone information lines by government and commercial organisations increased significantly in many countries in the 1990s, often in an attempt to lower costs by reducing the number of telephone operators. However, they have tended to attract a considerable amount of criticism from users who would prefer to deal with "real people" rather than pre-recorded messages. This criticism can be well deserved where users are forced to navigate a confusing array of menus and sub-menus before they are able to access the information they want or are given the option of speaking to an operator. To avoid this kind of criticism, an EMB considering the use of pre-recorded messages can strive to keep menus simple and straightforward and provide an option to speak to an operator early in the menu structure.
Telephone services outside election periods
Outside an electoral event period, when the number of callers to an EMB is likely to drop significantly, there may be no need for a dedicated call centre or pre-recorded information line. However, the telephone may still remain an important source of contact between an EMB and the public. An EMB may need to ensure that it maintains a telephone information service capable of responding to the expected number of calls, which may simply involve assigning telephone duty to relevant permanent staff.
"Smart" telephone technology
Both in and out of an electoral event period, telephone inquiry services can benefit from various "smart" functions now available in telephone technology. Automatic call diversion technology can be used to ensure that a caller never receives a "busy" signal. Instead, incoming calls can be directed to the next available operator. In the case of an EMB with several different offices that likely spread across several regions, automatic call diversion technology can be used to divert the call to an operator in any office where an operator is free. This enables workloads to be spread across different offices and can relieve the pressure on a particularly busy office while ensuring that clients' calls are promptly answered.
Other "smart" telephone functions that could be used by an EMB include answering machines, call forwarding and call waiting functions. The local telephone service provider can advise on the availability telephone service functions.
The range of new services that are becoming available on mobile phone networks such as Internet access and email services are substantially improving communications in otherwise very isolated places.
Telephone interpreter services
The telephone can be used to provide interpreter services in some countries. Such a service allows a person to call a designated number and ask to speak to a person in a particular language. The interpreter service will connect the caller to an interpreter who speaks that language. The interpreter may be able to answer the call himself or herself (and may be provided with information for that purpose by an agency employing that service), or may set up a three-way conference call involving the caller, the interpreter, and a person at the agency that is able to answer the inquiry.
An EMB can make use of telephone interpreter services to complement its telephone information line. The telephone number of the interpreter service can be included on material published by the EMB, accompanied by instructions to call the number for further information in a number of languages.
Automated Direct Mail
Automated direct mail is another way in which an election management body (EMB) can use technology to reach voters.
Automated direct mail is made possible by the electronic storing of name and address data in databases and/or spreadsheets. Word processing or database software can then be used to print personalised mail to those listed in an electronic mailing list.
By sorting the data according to specified fields, direct mail can be personalised and targeted for each recipient. For example, where electoral boundaries have been redrawn, an EMB could use its voter registration database to write personalised letters to all registered voters whose electoral district has been changed and inform them of their new district.
The content of automated direct mail can be altered according to criteria specified by the user. In the above example, the direct mail was personalised to indicate each voter's own district. In other cases, the text of letters can be changed to take in account particular circumstances by using data contained in the mailing list database. For example, details of special electoral registration criteria applicable to individual cases can be varied in each letter according to each voter's enrolment registration category specified in the database.
It is usually practicable for an EMB to print small quantities of direct mail letters in-house. However, where many hundreds or thousands of letters are to be printed, it is often preferable to have the letters printed by a commercial mailing house. In this case, it is generally possible to supply the mailing house with the relevant database and master mail merge documents on disk or by email with instructions for how the mail merge is to be conducted. The mailing house should then be able to print the letters using the EMB's digital data. In this case, it is a good EMB practice to check proofs of the merged data before the print run and the mailing takes place to ensure that everything is correct.
Some commercial mailing houses are able to add value to automated direct mail by including several attachments or enclosures with mail merged letters. This can include simply a standard enclosure with a letter or, in the case of more complex routines, particular letters can be coded to receive particular enclosures. For example, where an EMB has different enclosures targeted at voters registered in specific electoral districts, a mailing house can use a computerised insertion process to include the enclosure specific to each voter's electoral district.
Internet
Internet web sites are excellent means of conveying large amounts of information to voters compared with traditional communication methods such as printed media, brochures, radio and television, which are able to carry only a limited amount of electoral information. In an ever growing number of countries where Internet facilities are widely available, election management bodies (EMBs) can greatly expand their information delivery capabilities by including references to their web sites in their paid advertising. Web sites can be structured to deliver as little or as much information as the user desires.
In addition to delivering information, electoral web sites can also be interactive. Users can complete transactions on-line, such as applying for voter registration or voting away of voting places. Forms can also be completed on-line, such as campaign finance disclosure returns, or they can be downloaded for printing on the user's printer and returned by mail (particularly where a user's hardcopy signature is required).
EMBs need to be careful that provision of information and services on their Internet web sites does not discriminate against or unfairly disadvantage clients who do not have Internet access. Wherever possible, alternative forms of access to information and services available on the Internet should be available by other means for clients without Internet access.
Computer Kiosks
Computer kiosks are another method an election management body (EMB) can use to reach voters. Computer kiosks are typically video display screens placed in public locations, such as shopping centres, government information centres or tourist facilities. Any citizen can use a publicly displayed computer kiosk.
Users can usually access information and services through a computer kiosk by using a so called touch-screen or by using a screen and touching buttons on a key pad. Computer kiosk displays, in general, function like an interactive multimedia web site and they can include recorded audio, text, still pictures, moving video and animation.
Computer kiosks can deliver a vast amount of information, in much the same way as an Internet web site, although they are usually not connected to the Internet. Computer kiosks provided by government agencies often include information related to many different areas of government, in which the electoral process is included. Although it is feasible to have a computer kiosk dedicated to the electoral process, it may help to spread the considerable set up and maintenance costs involved in computer kiosks.
By including a key pad in a computer kiosk application, it may be possible to include some interactive services, such as filling up forms and/or paying bills and paying fines using credit cards or other available banking facilities. They can also be used for checking whether personal information and address stored in the voters’ register, for instance, is up-to-date.
Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing is another technology that can be used by election management bodies (EMBs) to reach voters.
Using specialised computer software, it is possible to combine text, numerical data, photographs, charts and other visual graphic elements to produce attractive publication-ready information material.
Depending on the complexity of the material to be produced, an EMB can use a staff member or an outside consultant to prepare it.
In general, a desktop publishing project entails writing and editing text as well as creating graphics and converting photographs and/or drawings into digital images to be inserted in the text. Formatting functions available on desktop publishing software are usually similar to the ones available on word processing software.
Materials produced with desktop publishing technology can include training manuals, voter information booklets and newsletters. This material, complete with artwork and graphics, can be created on the screen exactly as it will appear in print and transmitted directly for production to the printers using a CD or the Internet.
Desktop publishing technology can enable an EMB to produce a relatively attractive and cheap voter information publication in a relatively short time, if needed.
Special Needs Groups
Technology can be used by election management bodies (EMBs) to reach voters in special needs groups. Such special needs groups include people with physical disabilities or mental disabilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people in remote areas and people with poor literacy skills.
Audio visual applications
Radio, television, audio and video tapes, as well as some of the more specialised communication devices used by language services, hearing assistance and visual assistance, can be used to reach voters with special needs. In particular, methods that use audio and/or visual recordings meet many of the needs of people who have difficulty reading or understanding printed material. Some of these technologies, particularly audio tapes and video tapes, may be used to directly target special needs groups.
Language interpretation and translation services
Technology can also be used to communicate with voters in a wide variety of different languages. While several software packages exist that can automatically translate material into a variety of languages, EMBs need to exercise extreme caution if they opt to use these programs because the output needs extended correction, editing and proof reading. The relative complexity and specialized nature of electoral communication can often add to the translation difficulty, but it is very important to ensure that the messages are communicated correctly.
Electoral material in a range of languages can be made available in printed media, in audio visual form, through an automated phone service and electronically on a web site or directly in an electronic voting system. Public broadcast radio in a variety of languages is another effective form of communication, where such services are popular. This ability to reach voters in several languages is particularly useful in a society where significantly large numbers of people speak one or more languages other than the dominant official language.
Automated telephone information systems can also provide information in a range of languages.
Interpreter services in some countries can also be provided by telephone, including three-way conference calls involving the caller, the interpreter, and a person able to answer the inquiry.
An EMB can make use of these telephone interpreter services to complement the telephone information service provided and include the telephone number of the interpreter service with relevant instructions for its use on the EMB public information publication material.
Hearing assistance
Technology can also be used to assist people with hearing disabilities. In addition to personal hearing aid devices, telephones can be fitted with hearing assistance features that amplify sounds for persons using the telephone to access information inquiry lines.
Visual assistance
Technology can be used to assist people with impaired vision. Some countries provide magnification devices in voting places for use by vision impaired people when marking their ballot papers. An example is the plastic or glass magnifying screen fixed above the writing surface in use at Western Australian State voting sites.
Where electoral information is available to voters on computer screens, the software can be programmed to magnify or zoom in on text and images to make them easier to read by vision impaired people. Similarly, printed material can be created using large point sizes for vision impaired people.
As a general rule, whenever printed material is made available in hardcopy or electronic form, an EMB needs to consider the people who have difficulty reading small print. Adopted fonts and standard point sizes should maximise the number of people able to read them. The same care should also be taken when choosing fonts for printing or displaying text since some fonts are much easier to read than others.
Considerable research has been conducted on font readability, and it is good practice to consult experts in this field when choosing fonts for publications targeting large groups of people, including ones with special needs.
