Information for Current Elections

As noted at the beginning of this section, the term voter information is typically used to refer to the fundamentals of the elections, ie. where to vote, when, and how. Disillusionment about the efficacy of more substantive voter education programmes or suspicion that voter education somehow suggests partisan campaigning have resulted in a number of election authorities deciding that their job is primarily that of voter information.

Information is the Role of the Election Authority

Despite the fact that neither of the caveats need be true--voter education can be both effective and nonpartisan--there is something to commend the view that election authorities themselves should concentrate on voter information and leave more voter education tasks in particular, and civic education activities in general, to a wider range of organisations.

First, election authorities are the only ones who have the necessary information. They are most familiar with election laws, regulations, and practices. And it up to them to disseminate the information required both by contestants and the electorate. Educational interventions, on the other hand, require many more resources and a concentration of effort that may go beyond an election authority's administrative responsibilities. The extent to which an election authority moves beyond basic voter information into the realm of education may be determined by their legal mandate. If an election authority must or otherwise opts to limit is activities to voter information, it would still have a role to pay in developing a mechanism for encouraging voter education initiatives by others in a society. As for the information that is required, it too has to come from a thorough understanding of the needs of voters and from good and regular feedback.

Understanding Local Needs

Because information is often local--polling site locations, lists of contestants, and so on--voter information programmes have to develop ways in which they can be responsive to local needs and local knowledge. In some cases, this is done by appointing information officers. In others, presiding officers have the role of providing local information.

Important Role of the Media

Whichever route is taken, such people need to develop good relations with the press. This media is often the only available route for getting information out to a large number of people in a short period of time. Press statements, press briefings, and press releases combined with the provision of documentation and materials to the press may be one of the most important tools of a local information programme (See General Media).

Timing of Information

Just in Time

It is not always possible to manage an information programme so carefully that people get the information they need just in time to act on it. In fluid electoral environments, where the legal or regulatory framework or important election deadines and procedures are still in flux in the midst of an election and where the communications infrastructure may be lacking, this will present a major challenge.

Where there are modern broadcasting and newspaper networks reinforced by a sophisticated advertising industry and solid communications infrastructure it may be possible to prepare messages at very short notice and to place these at precisely the right time.

Where this same network operates in an environment where the large majority of people are reading and listening to or watching broadcasting media, then this information is efficacious. A lot is left to chance, however, that can actually only be dealt with by information systems that are repetitive and have built in storage and redundancy.

Reaching People In Time and Accurately

In poor societies, ownership of television and radio sets is limited. Electricity may also be a problem. In modern and affluent societies, audiences have become very segmented. In both these situations single channel information is risky.

On the other hand, information that has storage utility--pamphlets and other printed materials, recorded messages, and so on that can be distributed and kept for reference--must remain timely and accurate. And there is no guarantee that the information will be looked at when it is actually needed.

So there will always be a balancing act between getting accurate information to people just in time and getting information to the broadest possible audience.

Prepare a Detailed Programme

In a general sense, voter information programmes have to manage timing quite carefully and a full and detailed programme will be necessary. If the voter information is novel, because of significant changes in election procedures or because it is a founding election, then there will need to be a reality check on all aspects of the programme. This reality check can be done by making sure there is good feedback from organizations and educators working out in the field; or from an information and complaints hotline. Surprisingly, election authorities often assume people have the information in an accurate form just because it has been made public.

Even Just in Time Programmes Take Time to Plan

Finally, in addition to the general difficulties expressed above about getting information to people just in time, production and distribution of materials does itself take time. And some formats will require more time than others. The production and airing of a radio spot may be accomplished more quickly, for example,than the preparation, printing, folding, packing, delivery, and distribution of a leaflet. While there are possibilities for super-human effort, one should not expect miracles. And the only way to achieve super-human efforts and meet unrealistic deadlines is to spend money. The more complex the information programme and the more tight the deadlines, the more likely it is that costs will increase.

Voter Education Messages

There are no standard messages that have to be communicated in a voter information programme. All of them have to be specific to the particular election. There are, however, a set of categories that should be covered.

Time and Date of Elections

A standard piece of information that can appear in any published material will be the hours of voting and the dates on which voting takes place. While this may be standard across the country, it may not be in larger countries. So the information may need to be regionalised.

While the information may begin on a low key basis, as the date approaches it is likely that it will attain greater prominence in communications both from the election authority and from candidates.

Times and Dates of Voter Registration

More complex, because of the many potential variations across regions and jurisdictions, will be information about the times and dates for the registration of voters. In particular, there may well be a temptation to provide all information regarding registration in one source. This should be avoided, and voters should receive only the information they need while the more detailed information on inspections, challenges, review of the lists, and so on, should appear in separate more technical publications.

It should not be assumed with any information campaign, and especially not with voter registration, that a legal notice as required by many laws will be sufficient. Information needs to be available where people are, in a format that attracts their attention, and in terms that they can understand.

Location to Register

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of voter registration, unless it is possible to do it entirely by mail or through some other telecommunication, is to find out where to register. Unless the authorities have chosen to identify specially established centres that may later double as polling sites, it is likely that registration will take place in a wide variety of venues. As a result, a standard banner that can be displayed publicly should be available to indicate the place. Such banners also alert the public to the fact that registration is taking place. In addition to this, other forms of mass communication should be used. Perhaps the least reliable means of communication of messages in this particular category are by mail and telephone, because there may be a lack of confirmation that the message is received by the voter. Registration drives are designed precisely to deal with the fact that people move.

Location to Vote

Polling sites are usually identifiable, once a voter gets within eyesight. But the one in eye's view may not necessarily be the polling site for that particular voter. In towns where there are many polling sites, and the nearest may not be the correct one, this can cause considerable confusion. Confusion may also arise when numerous polling sites are located in one place.

Where elections have been conducted regularly in the same venue; and where registration has taken place in the venue where the person is required to vote, such information may be less important. Where polling site locations are still being established after registration has taken place, such information is imperative. Yet information is not so easy to communicate, because it is different for each set of voters. A variety of methods is used to deal with this, such as:

• mailing postcards that confirm registration and noting the polling site venue
• putting up Posters and Banners in neighbourhoods
• giving the information to political parties
• using community radio stations (see Community Impact Media)
• publishing the information in local newspapers, either directly or through the use of inserts
• advertising local and regional information centres and hotlines, where the details can be made available over the telephone

In each of these cases, some form of personal communication is essential, and there are strategies for providing information upon request and unsolicited.

General voter information programmes will want to advertise at an early stage that people must ascertain where they are to vote, and must provide them with information as to how to do this.

Special Voting Services

Depending upon legal allowances, there may be a variety of special voting services offered to voters. These might include absentee voting, early voting, or voting by a mobile ballot box on Election Day. In order to use any of these services, it is likely that voters will have to make either a verbal or written (an in some cases an application) request. And, there will likely be a specific timeframe in which this request or application must be made. For this reason, it will be important for educators to inform voters about the existence of special voting services, to identify which voters are eligible to use these services, and to convey the timetable and means by which such services can be requested.

Documents Required

Once people know where to vote, they have to get to polling sites with the necessary documents that will prove their identity and qualification to vote. Different administrations make use of different documents, and the selection of documents suitable for proving identity in order to register may be different from that required on election day.

In both cases, there needs to be a concerted communication campaign well in advance of election day so that potential voters are able to get their affairs in order. Those countries that have national identity document requirements, or introduce voter identity cards, may need some time in order to produce these. While this may not affect the majority, it is likely to affect the young who have still not obtained such documents, immigrants and refugees, and other marginal groups who may not have a full set of necessary documentation.

Correctly Marking One's Ballot

When voters enter the polling site, they will also need to know how to correctly mark their ballot so that it will be counted at the end of the day. In countries where there is a consistent method for marking the ballot that has been used over some period of time and where there have been no significant modifications to ballot design, such efforts will likely be most necessary for first time voters.

In countries where there are inconsistent methods for making ballots for different types of elections, where a new method for making ballots has been introduced, where there have been major changes to ballot design, where some governing structures are being elected for the first time, or where the introduction of new technologies has impacted the procedure marking and casting one's ballot, there will need to be an education program directed at the entire electorate.

And, if there are provisions for dealing with spoilt ballots, the means by which voters can turn in an improperly marked ballot in exchange for a need one will also need to be explained.

Ballot Security Measures

For some elections, there may be a need to introduce novel ballot security measures to ensure the integrity of the voting process and the outcome of the elections. There are a number of reasons why voters need to be informed about ballot security measures. The first is that some of these measures will directly impact how they are processed once they enter a polling site. One example of this would be the use of indelible ink and optical scanners to identify voters who have cast their ballots. Since this type of activity may be new to a culture, some negative perceptions or even fears may also need to be overcome to ensure that the ballot security measures do not have the result of keeping people from the polls.

At the same time, other ballot security measures - such as the use of special paper, seals, counterfoils, or halograms - may appear to be only the concern of poll workers. However, the whole point of ballot security measures is to increase the level of integrity of the electoral process and voter's confidence that their vote will count (just once!) and that the result will accurately reflect the will of the people. So, in order to raise public confidence levels, a concerted effort will need to be made to inform people about the ballot security measures being undertaken. And, this must be done prior to election day as a means of encouraging people to turn out to vote.

Candidates

The election authorities will have to communicate the list of those candidates who are legitimately nominated or registered to run for election. Such a list may only be posted on a notice board outside a magistrate's office or that of the returning officer. But it is likely that it should be published more widely through the press.

Some election administrations issue a publication that gives basic information about contesting parties, normally submitted by the parties themselves, and this information serves to inure voters to the propaganda wars and "mud-slinging" that parties may wage. This may also be done through the use of posters in polling sites on election day. This is a particularly important aspect of any election conducted in countries where sectarian or ethnic conflict has led to geographic separation of parties and "no-fly" zones.

Level of Government for Election

Voters who do not understand the rationale behind an election, and the intended consequences of the result are at a serious disadvantage. It's hard for them to make informed decisions and easy for them to be misinformed. So suitable information about the body or office being elected and its roles and responsibilities, the manner in which votes will count and in some cases trasnalte into seats, and the system of government that will result are all essential in a voter information programme. While a voter education programme may go further in assisting citizens to understand these systems, an information programme may just give some basic information sourced from other government departments.

Codes of Conduct

Finally, elections are contests for power. Many election laws, therefore, establish codes of conduct for political parties. Or they might list possible ways in which the election law can be broken and the penalties involved. Citizens are the best watch dogs against candidate abuse, but only if they know what to expect from parties. Widespread circulation of codes of conduct will assist in reducing conflict.

In like manner, elections are a service provided by the state, or on behalf of the state, by an independent body. Citizens have a right to know what type of service they can expect; and the publishing of such information also guards against administrative mismanagement and possible malfeasance or fraud.