This
section discusses how the electoral system and chosen ballot type might affect
vote counting procedures.
What Vote Counting Means
It is
necessary to carefully distinguish between counting the votes and determining
a winner (See Transforming Votes to Seats).
Counting
the votes consists of opening the ballot boxes, sorting their contents,
determining the validity of ballot papers, and counting ballot papers counted.
With the exception of countries using voting machines, vote counting is a
concrete operation, based on actual objects (ballot papers and, if applicable
envelopes), and is often done manually. It is a labour intensive operation. In
some countries mechanical or electronic devices are used to facilitate the
counting process.
Counting
votes requires clear procedures, concentration, literacy, and honesty. Those
who count votes are not highly paid and in some countries the literacy
requirement excludes many applicants. Given the delicate nature of this
process, the EMB management is advised to pay close attention to this activity.
Is important to introduce a set of checks and balances reducing the risk of
electoral malpractices or fraud.
Vote
counting involves the preliminary operation of checking the validity of ballot
papers. Electoral legislation normally outlines detailed grounds for rejecting
ballot papers. Election officials must be fully familiar with those provisions.
This
operation requires a higher skill level than simply counting the votes.
Decisions on the validity of ballot papers may be made collectively (for
example, by a majority decision of all election officials present) or
hierarchically (by the presiding officer). The decision may also be
"referred to higher officials". Decisions of this nature must be
subject to judicial review to prevent abuses.
Vote
counting results normally produce the following information for each counting
unit:
- The number of voters who have voted.
- The number of spoiled ballot papers.
- The number of rejected ballot papers.
- The number of valid ballot papers.
- The number of votes that went to each party and/or candidate, and in the case of a
referendum the number of votes that went to each option.
Counting votes can be accomplished by counting officials, usually at the voting
station level, but also at the electoral district level, or on a national
level.
Counting officials can count the votes, usually, at
the voting station level, but they can also do it at the electoral district
level, or on a national level.
The final stage of vote counting is
the aggregation of figures for electoral districts. Electoral districts are the
territorial units for which representatives, in a first-past-the-post system,
are elected and where votes are added before the electoral formula is to be
applied to determine who is elected. If the counting centre is smaller than the
electoral district, the figures included in the statements of votes for each
counting unit must be aggregated for all the counting units in the electoral
district. It is fundamental that observers, party agents, and accredited
journalists can witness this process. Transparent tabulation enables
stakeholders to verify individual polling station results in the aggregated
result.
This operation involves gathering the results from
each counting centre, checking whether all statements are in, and aggregating
the figures included in each statement. Once the totals are available for the
electoral district, the vote counting is over. The next step is applying the
electoral formula to determine who is elected.
Electoral Systems
An electoral system determines how parties and
candidates are elected to a body as representatives. Depending on the electoral
system used, the electoral formula – the actual mathematical formula
translating votes into seats - may vary.
For
legislative elections, the electoral system is the rule whereby members of a
legislative house are elected and votes transformed into seats. For
presidential elections, the electoral system is the benchmark a candidate must
reach to be declared elected: e.g. a plurality or a majority of the popular
vote.
Electoral
systems and formulas are outlined in Transforming Votes to Seats. The
electoral system chosen will affect many other variables of the election
process. In particular, it has some effect on the ballot type and on the
counting procedure.
Influence of Electoral System over Ballot Type
The
variables of ballot type are outlined in greater detail in file Ballot Type Counting
Requirements.
Ordinal
or Categorical Ballots: The main effect of the electoral system on the ballot
type is whether a categorical or an ordinal choice will be required from
voters.
A
categorical ballot is one where the voter makes a straight choice, either for a
candidate or for a party list, or for a party and a candidate at the same time.
An ordinal ballot is one where the voter indicates his or her preferences among
the various candidates or parties by numbering their respective names, in
declining order (1, 2, 3) or by cumulating votes on certain candidates. On an ordinal
ballot a voter is able to alter his or her vote between the first and second
round of an election.
Most
electoral systems require voters to make a categorical choice, which means that
categorical type ballots are the most common occurrence. Ordinal ballots only
account for one-quarter of the world total of ballots. They can be required for
four electoral systems:
- The
Alternative Vote,
- The
Single Transferable Vote,
- The
Block Vote, and
- The
Two-Round System.
Ballot Structure: The Australian Ballot, the "Ballot and Envelope
System," and the French Ballot
Another important dimension of the ballot paper is its
structure. Two broad options exist: an "Australian ballot" (named
after its country of origin) and "the ballot and envelope" system.
The Australian ballot is a ballot on which the names of all competing parties
and candidates are grouped on a single sheet of paper, to be marked by the
voter.
The "ballot and envelope" system, requires
printing a distinct ballot paper for each of the competing parties or
candidates, and inviting voters to insert one single paper into an envelope,
which is to be dropped into the ballot box.
Between those two types exists an intermediary
solution: the French ballot, which lists the candidates to be marked by the
voter. This type of ballot is used in some jurisdictions where proportional
representation (PR) is combined with the right for voters to express preferences
for individual candidates within the party list. Most electoral systems are
fully compatible with either ballot structure option (see "group 1"
in the appendix). However, some electoral systems (First Past the Post,
Two-Round, or PR) in multi-member electoral districts with panachage or
preferential voting within a list are compatible with both.
The Australian ballot system is sometimes the preferred
option as it is a simpler format of ballot paper and for the cost factor of
producing less ballot papers, especially if the number of members to be elected
is high: (see "group 2" in the appendix.) Finally, some electoral
systems are only compatible with Australian ballots, and cannot be operated
with the ballot and envelope system. This is the case for the alternative
voting and STV (see "group 3" in the appendix), because both require
an ordinal choice, which cannot be expressed with sufficient clarity under the
ballot and envelope system.
Influence of Electoral System over Vote Counting
The
most important influence of the electoral formula over vote counting is to
determine what must be counted. Some electoral systems simply require counting
the votes for candidates or parties. Other electoral systems require counting
the votes both for parties and for candidates within each party list.
If the
electoral system requires voters to express an ordinal choice, then vote
counting is performed in a very different way.
Another
influence of the electoral system is the determination of which territorial
level (the voting station, the electoral district, or the nation as a whole)
votes must be counted and aggregated.
Appendix
This is a
discussion of the compatibility of various electoral systems with the
Australian ballot paper and the ballot and envelope system.
Group 1 -
The following electoral systems are compatible with both the Australian ballot
and the ballot and envelope system:
- First-past-the-post
(FPTP) in single-member electoral districts;
- FPTP
in multi-member electoral districts, with no panachage allowed (akin to
the Party Block Vote;
- FPTP
in multi-member electoral districts, with panachage allowed, and with
distinct individual competitions for each seat (the Block Vote);
- Single
Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV);
- Two-Round
System in single-member electoral districts;
- Two-Round
System in multi-member electoral districts, with closed lists no panachage
allowed
- Two-Round
system in multi-member electoral districts, with panachage allowed, and
with distinct individual competitions for each seat;
- PR
with closed lists.
Group 2 -
The following electoral systems are compatible in theory with both the
Australian ballot and the ballot and envelope system. However, in practical
terms, it is advisable to use Australian ballots, especially if the number of
votes to be cast in the district is high.
- The
Block Vote;
- Limited
Vote;
- Two-Round
system in multi-member electoral districts, with panachage allowed, but no
distinct competition for each seat;
- PR
list with panachage allowed.
Group 3 -
The following electoral systems are compatible only with Australian ballots:
- Alternative
voting in single-member electoral districts;
- Alternative
voting in multi-member electoral districts;
- Single
Transferable Vote (STV).
