Voting operations is understood in this section as the procedures that have to be put in place to ensure that all qualified citizens can exercise their right to vote within established schedules. Different technologies can be used to assist all tasks needed to successfully organize the voting operations.
With the evolution of electoral systems and the increase of the number of voters, most democracies are experiencing pressure to use appropriate technologies as they become available. This is not only to make sure that all voters, regardless of possible disabilities, can exercise their right to vote but also to ensure that election results are known quickly.
At the same time, while some of these technologies have resulted in greater efficiency, they have proven to be controversial since there are opportunities for fraud that might be difficult to trace.
In addition, technology evolves very rapidly, so what is discussed today might be obsolete tomorrow. The ACE project tries to introduce technologies as they appear or at least to provide links to information about new technologies for those who are interested.
The main groups of voting operation technologies refer to:
- logistics of voting operations
- consolidating results regionally and nationally
It is also necessary to take into account that the different technologies adopted for voting operations can have an impact on voting arrangements, on planning of the voting procedures, on acquisition, storage, transportation and distribution of materials and equipment, logistics of the operations and the staffing and training of the polling workers.
In addition, any technology can fail, but in the case of voting operations the impact on the democratic process can be considerable, depending on the level of mistrust among the stakeholders and the political groups. The failure of a voting machine can be considered in a country as a malfunctioning, but in another country it can be suspected as an act of sabotage or even fraud.
As an election management body (EMB) considers appropriate technology for voting operations, it has to evaluate the technology itself and how it guarantees that every vote is counted. It also needs to scan the socio-political environment to ensure that the technology can indeed contribute to the implementation of a free, fair and transparent democratic process.
