When a
decision is taken to publish interim results, it is desirable to do so as
quickly as possible. A few hours to a day after the close of voting is considered
a reasonable amount of time to release the first interim results, depending on
the local political, logistical circumstances and the electoral system.
However, in some countries, three-five days will often pass before early
partial results are released. In more extreme cases a full week can also be
deemed acceptable, given the local conditions in the country in question.
Irrespective of time required, the EMB must manage stakeholders’ expectations
by clearly explain and widely distribute the release of results scheme.
Where
counting takes place over several days, updates are often published at the end
of each day's counting, as a minimum. Often EMBs are updating the results more
often, either at press conferences, by issuing press releases, or updating
their web-based results site.
Where
votes are counted progressively, or are recounted several times, and partial
and interim results are published before the final result is determined, these
results could be misleading. For example, interim results could indicate that a
candidate or party was winning a seat, or a particular number of seats, but the
final result might be different. Consequently, special precautions are needed
to ensure that confusion or civil strife may occur.
The
release of interim results should include cautionary language. The authority
responsible for releasing results should explain that those are not final
results, and that changes and corrections may be necessary in the process of
determining the final counts.
The
electoral management body does not necessarily have to release the interim
results. In some jurisdictions it is seen as more appropriate for the media,
exit poll organisations or non- governmental organizations to release and
announce preliminary indications of the vote. However, in the interests of
demonstrating transparency and accountability, it is desirable that the
electoral management body take responsibility for publishing partial and
interim results.
If a
political situation is unstable, the electoral management body could consider
not announcing interim results, but only final results, in order to avoid any
confusion and to prevent the exacerbation of conflict. This option has its
risks, as any delay in publishing final results may itself cause instability.
This option
is not very practicable where party or candidate representatives are present at
the counts, as these counts are effectively in the public domain. Attempting to
suppress information from the counts until the announcement of final results in
this case is generally not a realistic option.
Depending
on the local situation, it may be desirable to include all types of ballots
(such as absentee, mail, advance vote, and mobile voting station) used in the
election when interim results are released, to avoid discrepancies between
interim and final results. Whatever decision is taken on the ways of releasing
interim results, the conditions must be clearly explained. For example, are all
votes included? Are the votes subject to recounts?
In
other cases, it may not be possible to wait for these figures to be available
without unduly delaying publication of interim figures. In this case it is
important to qualify the interim results by pointing out that the results do
not yet include these other types of ballots.
In some
jurisdictions it may be possible to count absentee, mail ballots, advance vote,
or mobile voting station results before election day, to enable these results
to be included in interim results published on election day.
If
these special ballots are counted a few days prior to Election Day, these
results should be kept very secure, and access to them should be prohibited
until the close of voting on lection day.
This
approach has advantages and disadvantages. While it allows more complete
interim figures to be published, it may also seriously compromise the
integrity, turnout, or outcome of the vote if any results are publicly released
before the close of voting. As it is usual for candidate and party
representatives to be present when any votes are counted, this is a real risk.
Publication
of interim results in countries with multiple time zones before the close of
voting in some areas may have an undesirable impact on voting behaviour.
For
countries with multiple time zones, staggered voting hours or a blackout on
releasing results may be considered, to allow all voters to vote before knowing
the election outcome or trends in other parts of the country. In some
circumstances, these measures may not be seen as appropriate or necessary.
Staggered opening and closing times might be seen as discriminatory in some
countries. In addition, it could significantly complicate the public
information campaign, as the messaging on opening hours will vary
from time-zone to time-zone and thereby risk confusing voters, as well as
increase costs.
