Planning

There is a distinction between voter operations planning and overall task re-scheduling. Voter operations planning deal with the framework within which planning takes place. Planning considers each aspect and each phase in broad categories to determine what is required when planning efficient elections. Overall task scheduling breaks down each phase of the planning into detail.

Election Cycle Planning

Voting operations planning methodology will be largely determined by whether electoral management bodies are temporary or permanent and whether elections are at fixed or variable intervals.

Where there are permanent electoral management bodies, it is easier to undertake longer-term voting operations planning, aiming at building up resources and skills in a manner that avoids a last minute rush of preparation following the announcement of the election and which is integrated into the electoral management body's strategic plan.

If planning and acquisition resources are available permanently, this longer-term outlook is the most effective method of voting operations planning.

Election Period Planning

For the election period itself, detailed project and overall operational plans are vital to ensure that:

• all relevant actions have been identified and assigned administrative deadlines so as to meet legal deadlines;

• dependencies and links between actions are in logical time frames;

• responsibilities have been assigned for the many interdependent voting operations tasks to be completed;

• targets for activity progress and monitoring are in place.

These plans could be developed on two levels--an overall schedule of significant tasks  combined with more detailed project planning 

Ideally, project plans should have a flexible format,that shows the overall, integrated project plan for all voting operations projects in a single time line, and also shows data and time lines for each project individually. Such flexibility will make the task of individual project managers easier.

Timing

Advance planning for the election does not need to wait for the announcement of an election date. Actions and interdependencies can be established, and time frames for actions determined and placed within the planning framework in a "days before" and "days after" voting day format.

Such advance planning needs to be developed in a flexible format, to allow later insertion of actual dates and readjustment of time frames and requirements due to procedural changes.

These more detailed project plans will generally be much easier to develop where at least basic computer facilities, if not project planning software, is available. Project planning and monitoring software and ancillary technical skills on how to use it, are among the most effective contributions that technology can make to the voting operations process.

More rudimentary planning styles may employ a checklist format, listing each of the activities to be undertaken in the election period.

Needs Assessments

Detailed planning is required for all voting operations activities if they are to be implemented effectively It is good practice to undertake a needs assessment before the development of work plans for particular aspects of voting operations (see Operational Work Plan).

A needs assessment assists in determining the overall requirements. It also provides the opportunity to identify the gap between resources currently on hand and what additional resources are required and where these resources can be accessed (see Infrastructure).

Operational plans for voting operations cannot be developed in isolation either from planning for other election operations or, most importantly, from financial and budget planning. Active co-ordination, with operations managers, and understanding of voting operations goals is required by financial managers.

(For further discussion of  budget preparation, see Expenditure Planning.

Needs Assessment Role in Planning

A needs assessment that compares the structures and resources currently available with those that are necessary and contributes to the effective implementation of voting operations is the principal starting point A needs assessment deals with the systems and resources required in each local area.

This assessment may be more effectively undertaken at the local level (under central oversight) rather than from a central point.

Timing of a needs assessment is also critical for well-managed voting operations. For integrated and effective planning a needs assessment must take place at the initial phase of the planning process and thus, minimizes the danger of either wasting resources or having inadequate resource levels, distribution, or management which can lead to higher voting operations costs and possibly affect election integrity.

Basic Issues

A needs assessment encompasses two related functions:

• A corporate evaluation of systems, procedures, and management organisation to identify areas requiring additional action for effective delivery of voting operations services; and

• Identification of the overall resource needs for voting operations, and determining what additional resources in locations, materials, equipment, staffing, logistics, and communications will be required for all voting operations tasks.

Corporate Management Issues

The first issue addresses the current corporate structure, skills, and culture of the electoral management body, and any augmentation or change required to deliver effective management of voting operations processes.

Electoral management bodies can grow from a relatively small organization concentrated in a few locations to an organization with numerous and widely dispersed branches that include voting stations and large numbers of employees, i.e., polling officials. Effective augmentation of management frameworks to cope with these changes need to be identified.

In this respect the needs assessments will deal with issues as:

The configuration of voting operation management: Identify changes to existing management frameworks to provide effective management organizational structures, responsibility assignments, physical locations of managers, and chains of command to deal with the dispersed, localized nature of many voting operations tasks.

Control and supervisory mechanisms: Ensure that adequate reporting, monitoring and control structures are in place to cope with the expanded locations, staffing, and other resources. It is also necessary to consider what information is required to manage large numbers of voting stations.

Procedural frameworks for voting operations: Assess adequacy to effectively fulfill, in all envisaged circumstances, the requirements or the legal and regulatory framework for voting operations.

Coupling and complexity of systems: Frameworks for contingency planning and emergency response are required to ensure the ability to isolate failure in one part of voting operations so that it does not cause widespread collapse in related areas.

Corporate skills available: Assess appropriateness of available skills for the tasks to be undertaken and identify any additional training needs.

Communication channels--both formal and informal: Assess what needs to be established to ensure that information and instructions reach their intended recipients in a clearly expressed and timely fashion.

Appropriate management style: Determine the appropriate system for the delegation of decision-making authority to local or voting station level to cope with the expansion of the range of activities and the number of locations managed by the electoral management body.

Culture: Assess the team atmosphere and shared commitment to the principles of voting operations (see Guiding Principles of Voting Operations) present amongst election administrators. Consider and determine how these principles are instilled in additional temporary staff and external suppliers of services to the process.

Assessing the need for additional action to be taken in regard to the above points is as necessary as assessing resource needs. Without an effective management, procedural, communications, and commitment framework, available resources are not likely to be delivered and managed effectively or, at all.

Resource Needs Issues

The second issue addresses the actual resources needed to conduct voting operations effectively. The basic determinant of resource needs is the numbers of voters that need to be serviced in relation to the regulatory and procedural requirements for voting.

Assessments of tentative resource needs must be an early element of election planning, with fine-tuning occurring later as more exact data such as the number of voters and voting site locations becomes known.

Elements of the resource needs assessment include:

• equipment and materials required in electoral management body offices;

• staffing required for voting locations, the ballot count, and for election administration;

• the associated needs for staff recruitment, training, transport, and provisioning (see Recruitment and Training of Of Voting Station Staff);

• staff, materials and other resources needed for voter information programs to inform voters of voting locations and methods (see Voter Information);

• equipment required for voting locations and the ballot count--ballot boxes, voting compartments, furniture, facilities (see Materials and Equipment);

• materials required for voting locations

• any storage required for materials and equipment

• transport and distribution of voting operations equipment, materials, and personnel

• communications systems and equipment to enable effective information flow and to maintain security ;

• on the basis of risk assessments, requirements for security resources

• the locations for voting and counting sites must take into account any special voting facilities to be made available.

Standard Resource Allocation Profiles

It is important to have standard resource allocation procedures in place to allow these resources needs assessments to be conducted on a consistent, cost -effective, and less complex basis, especially with regard to such issues as:

• voting station staffing profiles

• equipment and materials profiles for voting facilities (see Materials and Equipment);

• voting site selection ;

• service levels to be provided.

Once needs have been determined, action can be taken to:

• identify where needs can be met from existing resources, either from within the electoral management body or from elsewhere;

• identify the additional resources to be acquired and the most cost-effective methods for doing this;

• develop work plans to ensure that all required resources are in place at the correct time.

A needs assessment includes an inventory of existing resources such as equipment, materials, staff, systems, and procedures, and their locations. Prepare such an inventory if current records do not already exist.

Use of Historic Data

Having data available from past elections is useful when conducting a needs assessment. Aside from data of electoral management body records of resource acquisitions and distribution, and management actions can be taken:

• evaluations and other reports on past election performance, detailing where changes to management structures, systems, procedures, and resource levels will increase the cost-effectiveness of voting operations

• reports from administration staff and voting station managers on performance at the last election

Operational Work Plan

It is good practice to derive voting operations work plans from the electoral management body's strategic plan. Work plans for voting operations are likely to be highly influenced by the nature of the electoral management body and the predictability of the election cycle.

Temporary Electoral Management Bodies

Without permanent electoral management bodies, all voting operations activities, including the development of work plans, are likely to be compressed within the election period. This requires notice of the election sufficiently in advance to allow management structures to be established and implemented and all processes to be ready by voting day.

The length of this time period is particularly important in transitional elections where electoral management bodies may be newly appointed legal and procedural frameworks may have changed and may be subject to change again during the election period.

In such cases it would be unlikely for an election of acceptable quality to be organized without at least a six month period between finalizations of the election framework, the appointment of the electoral management body and the setting of the voting date.

Permanent Electoral Management Bodies

Permanent Electoral Management Bodies have certain advantages. These include:

• The development of voting operations systems and the acquisition of the resources required to manage the election can progress between elections maintaining a state of improving readiness. Work plans that include the entire cycle from election to election invariably produce more cost-effective and higher quality results.
• Electoral management bodies that maintain only a core central presence between elections allow for election cycle work plans to more easily concentrate on the development of systems and procedures, the planning of supply needs and their acquisition, and voting operations implementation at local levels.
• Electoral management bodies that have some permanent presence at a more local level (which can generally be more cost-effectively maintained on an agency basis using other state resources),are able to develop work plans that include the whole election-to-election cycle.  This can more easily be extended to maintain local readiness, in terms of issues such as:

• identifying potential voting sites and locations;

• preparing preliminary materials and equipment needs schedules;

• identifying potential staffing needs;

• maintaining contact with potential senior voting staff;

• pre-packaging of existing materials for voting stations;

• maintaining local voter information programmes.

Integration of Tasks

Voting operations work plans that integrate the activities of all key participants, provide a layered structure of task definitions, time frames and task responsibilities for individual staff and each electoral management body office within an overall systemic view.

Effective voting operations integrate the activities of large numbers of people from a number of different organizational entities - including contractors for supplies, security forces, and electoral management body staff- and develop work plans based on proven business planning principles that allow the tracking of election readiness.

Essential ingredients of a work plan include:

• Identifying all tasks relevant to the implementation of voting operations;

• Prioritising these tasks by identifying those essential for the proper conduct of voting and those that are “add-ons” that will improve the quality of service, but, in the event of insufficient time for implementation, can be foregone without affecting election integrity;

• Establishing the relationships and dependencies between all these tasks, that is how they fit together and what tasks have to be commenced or completed before work on other tasks can begin;

• Developing integrated time frames for the completion of these tasks that will result in all processes being ready for operation at the time required in the election calendar;

• Responsibilities and accountabilities for the completion of particular tasks and liaison between the various service providers are clearly identified see Assignment of Responsibilities;

• Although reviews of progress are vital in relation to the critical points in the election calendar, continuous monitoring and reporting is also necessary for timely rectification of any deficiencies.

It is good practice to use self-monitoring and supervised checklists to review progress (see Checklists for Planning. To be effective special care must be taken to ensure that voting services that need to be operational before the general voting day, such as early voting in any form, are adequately covered in the work plan time frames. (For further discussion of calendars and time lines for work plans, see Calendars and Time Lines)

Developing Work Plans

When developing work plans for voting operations, the following considerations need to be taken into account:

Work plans that aim at providing realistically achievable level of services. the bottom line for an effective plan is that it must work. There are potentially elegant and sophisticated ways of organizing and implementing voting that are not necessarily effective. Put in place the most effective plan as there is only one chance for it to work. Rather put emphasis on planning for the most practical solutions to provide acceptable levels of election integrity.

The time frames for actions must also be realistic, and sufficient for

• administrators to accomplish the required tasks cost-effectively;

• to allow the participation of voters and political participants;

• to allow the effective integration of services provided by external suppliers, such as; Contractors, other government agencies, and/or international organizations.

Some measure of flexibility is required to allow for adaptations to any changes in the environment whether from failure to achieve intended work objectives or changes to the election framework;

• Contingency measures are an essential part of voting operations work plans, particularly where elections are not at fixed intervals as the early calling of an election may interrupt medium to longer term development strategies, and where elections are being held under new systems;

• Flexibility is important as voting operations work plans may need to cope with adjustments for delays and extensions in other election processes, such as voter registration. In post-conflict situations, particularly, voting operation work plans may have to cope with continuing negotiations on the election framework.

"Readiness" encompasses more than procedures and materials being in place on the day they are required.

Work plan time frames must allow for an assessment of whether all required facilities are actually functioning. For some tasks, such as the development of new systems and procedures, work plans may have to provide for a training period of some weeks. Avoid overloading or taking on too many tasks into the week before the general voting day as during this period staff are under pressure preparing for voting day. Additional pressure can provoke a crisis.

Information Management Plan

An important, and often overlooked, part of voting operations work plans is the development of an internal information management plan for the electoral management body. Voting operations require the transfer of vast amounts of information, from central management through regional and/or local offices, and then to voting stations, regarding procedures and the environment, and then back up the chain, about conditions and occurrences in the field.

Methods of disseminating and acknowledging the receipt of information, and a planned information dissemination timetable are basic issues in ensuring consistency, competency, and flexibility of service. (For information dissemination methods, see Communications Systems)

Calendars and Time Lines

Calendars and time lines incorporate work plans in an easily digestible summary, showing key voting operations activities and their dates, deadlines, and periods for implementation. They are necessary reference and monitoring tools.

Calendars for voting operations need to be relevant for their intended audience. Prepare different calendars and time lines containing different levels of detail where necessary. For example calendars and time lines prepared for internal management use and those for public or political participant information are not always the same. Clearly distinguish between administrative deadlines and legal dates and phases Administrative deadlines may be missed without necessarily affecting the integrity of the election; legal deadlines cannot.

Generic Format

As with work plans, draft time lines can be prepared even if the date of voting day is not known. This can be done on the basis of an administrative assessment of the days required to undertake particular tasks and shown in the form of "days before" and "days after" any points defined in electoral legislation. For example, identifying task deadlines in terms of "voting day minus x number of days."

Draft timetables need to be flexible and amended if necessary, particularly where the legal definition of significant periods is non-existent or variable. Where there are flexible deadlines in the legal framework, political considerations, rather than election administrator’s needs, are likely to be the determinant for government decisions on time periods available.

Deadlines and Periods Defined in Legislation

In its simplest form election and voting operations calendars are an overview of legally defined dates, deadlines and periods for voting operations activities, the basics of implementing voting.

Legally defined issues that may be included in calendars and time lines are likely to include:

• period or deadline for voters to register for the election or change registration details;

• period for official review and finalisation of the national voters register;

• deadline for registration of political parties;

• periods and deadlines for nomination of candidates and groups and for announcement of accepted nominations;

• the campaign period;

• voting day(s);

• deadlines for commencement and completion of vote counting;

• deadlines for announcement of results;

• period for filing challenges to election results.

Depending on the election system, other possible items could include:

• deadline for determination of voting station locations;

• period for nominations checking and challenge of candidates and groups participating in the election;

• deadlines for supply of materials for voting stations;

• any period for early voting;

• deadlines for receipt of completed mail ballots;

• deadlines for certification of election results;

• deadlines for prosecution of election offences;

• deadlines for reporting of election contributions and/or expenses by parties and candidates.

This legal time frame calendar is the basis from which all voting operations planning and implementation activity evolves. It is insufficient on its own as a reference guide for voting operations activity. Each of these legal reference points may involve multiple administrative actions. An effective legal time frame calendar needs to:

• be a combination of these legal time frames with their consequent key administrative action periods and deadlines;

• keep information in the overall voting operations timetable manageable;

• include the key administrative deadlines and time periods are necessary for overall management control and prompting;

• develop detailed time lines for each voting operations activity as lower level documents for use by individual activity project managers and their staff.

Administrative Timetables

While different election systems will have different specific voting operations time line requirements, the key dates, time periods, and deadlines for completion needed for effective management control would include

General administrative issues:

• legal and regulatory frameworks and procedures;

• policies for determining staffing and equipping voting stations;

• needs assessments;

• security plans;

• election systems and procedures tests and simulations;

• budgets and budget review.

Voter information:

• information plan;

• materials production;

• information campaign phase;

• information distribution schedules (via mass media or other means).

Parties and candidates:

• registration of political parties;

• party and candidate briefing completion;

• nomination of candidates and parties;

• objection to nomination of candidates and parties

• announcement of accepted nominations;

• the campaign period;

Voting locations:

• voting and counting centres;

• reviewing and determining voting site equipment and materials needs.

Staffing and training:

• staffing requirements;

• commencement and completion of polling staff recruitment;

• training plan finalisation;

• training of trainers and then of polling staff.

Voters register

• registration of voters or change in registration information;

• official review and finalisation of voter’s register data;

• printing of certified voter’s registers for use in voting stations.

Ballots:

• finalisation of ballot content;

• printing ballots;

• voting machine installations (if applicable);

• voting and count computer programming (if applicable).

Voting operations materials and equipment:

• materials production plans

• materials and equipment specifications and procurement plans

• review of voting location/counting centre and other materials and equipment needs

• placement of orders for materials

• determination of allocations of voting site equipment

• production, review and repair of existing stocks for ballot boxes and voting compartments

• production of general voting operations period materials, early voting materials and voting day materials

Logistics:

• completion of logistical plan;

• finalisation of logistics contracts;

• completion of deliveries of materials/equipment from suppliers;

• packaging materials and equipment for voting stations and counting centres;

• distribution of materials and equipment to voting and counting locations;

• supply, test and distribution of communications equipment;

• return of materials;

• sorting of returned materials for secure storage or destruction;

• disposal of unwanted materials.

Voting period:

• voting day(s);

• periods of early voting;

• deadlines for receipt of mail and absentee votes.

Counting and results:

• commencement and completion of ballot counts;
• validity checking of special votes;
• announcement of results;
• lodging of challenges to election results;
• investigation and prosecution of election offences.

Assignment of Responsibilities

In developing voting operations work plans, it is important that:

• each required task is identified;

• the time frames within which each task must be completed is specified;

• dependencies and relationships among the various tasks are clearly shown;

• specific persons or teams are assigned responsibility for each component task.

A clear assignment of responsibilities allows for effective monitoring of performance and prevents the break down of accountability mechanisms. In the pressured environment of voting operations it is easy for seemingly low level, yet critical, tasks to be forgotten.

Clearly identify individuals responsible for tasks and ensure that they know that they have responsibility for their completion. Many voting operations tasks also have an accompanying legal responsibility for their correct completion.

It is critical that those assigned responsibility for tasks are made fully aware of both their own responsibilities and how these inter-relate with other voting operations activities. Providing staff with the appropriate legislation, regulations, and rules, and manuals and checklists for all activities will assist with this.

Focussing on the personal and positive aspect to responsibility assignment can enhance performance. Identifying and promoting individual accountabilities can raise staff self-fulfilment and lead to enhanced performance.

Task Assignment and Electoral Management Body Structure

The actual pattern of responsibility assignment depends on the electoral management body's administrative structure and any legally defined accountability.

Too many responsibilities assigned to centralised levels of authority wastes available expertise and limits its further development in any local or field offices. There is a need to ensure that staff that should be ensuring overall supply, quality, consistency, and integrity are not overloaded with distracting operational tasks at local levels.

Voting is a localised function. Materials development and production, standards, procedures and quality control are generally more consistent and effective where centrally driven. Local functions--such as voting staff recruitment and training delivery, voting location determination, local logistics--can generally be more effectively conducted if responsibilities for their implementation are at the regional or local level.

Maintain Accountability for Service Provision

Many functions included in voting operations work plans will require contributions from different areas of the electoral management body and/or liaison between the electoral management body and other organisations. Where such liaison is required, work plans must identify the operational staff within the electoral management body with the accountability for task completion and the liaison structures that will be in place.

Even where voting operations functions are contracted to other organisations, it is vital that accountabilities for ensuring these tasks are completed correctly and are still assigned to specific persons within the electoral management body. These accountabilities should carry with them the task of implementing quality control measures  to ensure that the products or services are provided at least to the standard required under contract.

Task Assignment in Voting Stations

At the voting station level developing work plans that assign specific task responsibilities to particular staff can both increase the efficiency of training and assist in voter service, while maintaining some flexibility.

Checklists for Planning

Detailed voting operations work plans can be too unwieldy for everyday use by all staff. Calendars and time lines, as a summary of the key dates and issues in the work plans, will provide the most effective task reminder and monitoring format. Use of checklists provides an intermediate step between these two other necessary planning and monitoring documents.

Checklist Content

Checklists can usefully be developed on a number of levels, tailored to:

• the responsibilities of individual staff members;

• activities at particular locations;

• project-based and overall monitoring of activity.

A hierarchical format provides an effective management tool. A hierarchical format is where checklists for completion of all steps in single activities or functions in each location provide information to overall monitoring checklists.  This tracksactivity completion against election time line requirements.

Such checklists can be computerized and automatically integrated to provide efficiencies in data transfer Completion of steps in a particular task in a particular location automatically updates progress against overall time line checklists.

Checklist Design

When designing a checklist consider the following:

• clearly keep in mind the purpose for which the checklist is used ;

• better designs will include space and directions for the responsible staff member to mark completion of each individual stage on the checklist and sign off the completed activity;

• individual activity or function checklists used as action prompts need to include all key actions, in logical time sequence, for the correct completion of a task;

• tailor the level of detail included on the checklists to the experience and the immediacy of supervision;

• voting station staff checklists may need to be more detailed in their breakdown of actions than those for experienced voting operations administrators;

• keep checklists short and simple, restricted to a single function or activity per checklist to promote their use;

• checklists for monitoring activity completion need not necessarily note all steps in each task, or they may become unwieldy;

Journals and Diaries

Electoral district managers and other voting operations administrators are well advised to keep a journal throughout the election period;

• A journal may be in the form of a basic calendar-style checklist  showing the significant milestones and the dates on which they are scheduled to be and actually were achieved (see Canada Diary of Duties of Returning Officer)

• A journal can be of greater future use if in the form of a combined checklist and diary, any significant occurrences--particularly those which have created to disputes or challenges, or which have implications for the planning of future elections--are formally noted see Australia Returning Officer's Election Journal (1996)

• A journal could also be in straight diary format, with all actions taken and occurrences recorded each day and compared against project planning deadlines see New Zealand Returning Officer's Diary (1996). A plain diary format would be better combined with the use of other specific checklists for task activities.

Infrastructure

An assessment of national and local infrastructure capabilities is required to determine whether the quantities and quality of various resources that will be required to effectively implement policies and procedures for the election and the geographic areas in which they will be required.

A needs assessment also identifies whether these needs can be met from facilities currently available within the country and, if not, whether:

• voting operations needs can be modified to suit infrastructure capabilities;

• infrastructure can be augmented through domestic or international funding;

• any specific voting operations resource needs can be met only from foreign sources.

Electoral management body administrative staff uses a needs assessment of current national and local infrastructure vital for determining capacities in the following key areas.

Distribution and Transportation Facilities

To ensure the successful implementation of voting operations the reliable, secure, and rapid movement of large volumes of materials, equipment, and often staff throughout the whole election area is required. For example voting locations may not be in readily accessible regions and forward planning is necessary.

A detailed analysis of the following conditions is essential before realistic logistical plans for voting operations can be developed:

• the transport base - roads, railways, air routes, waterways, and their condition under various climatic conditions, and warehousing facilities;

• the transport stock- available land vehicles, air, and water transport units and their load and turnaround capabilities, reliability, economy, and maintenance facilities. (For further discussion of transportation infrastructure issues, see Transportation Infrastructure)

Communications Networks

The coverage, reliability, and load capacity of available communication networks, and possible affordable augmentation, must be established before communications strategies for voting operations can be developed and finalized. (For further discussion of communications infrastructure issues, see Communications .The dispersed nature of voting locations, combined with the need to maintain communication with all these location during the voting period, will place a heavy peak demand on available communications networks. In addition to this, there will be requirements for administrative communications, communication with security forces, and, where used, necessary computer links.)

Production Facilities

The following factors are important when determining critical information such as the location of production facilities available and suitable for voting operations materials and equipment, as well as their production capacities:

• the style of materials and equipment design that will need to be adopted;

• realistic time frames for voting operations activities;

• lead times required for placing orders for materials and equipment;

• logistical requirements.

(For a discussion of materials and equipment production infrastructure issues, see Materials Production)

Use of Existing Infrastructure

Cost-effective administration of voting operations will involve using the facilities provided by available national and local infrastructure, to the fullest extent possible, while still meeting stated objectives. Given the interdependence of voting operations activities this may require an iteractive planning process--for example, amending materials design to suit available production facilities, which may affect production lead times and thus administrative timetables and logistical planning.

Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation needs for voting operations are concentrated in three distinct periods:

• the delivery of voting operations materials and equipment from manufacturers to storage for packing and delivery to voting stations;

• the delivery of materials, equipment, and staff to voting stations;

• the return of materials, equipment, and staff from voting stations.

Transport Infrastructure Assessment Issues

Transportation infrastructure should be carefully assessed to see whether it can meet these peak requirements. This will include determination of:

• destinations that can be reached by all-weather roads and any load limits on such roads;

• where roads are not present or suitable, availability of rail transport, fixed wing or helicopter air transport;

• availability of transport vehicles - from private, other government or security forces--their load capacity and reliability;

• availability of warehousing facilities for secure storage of voting operations materials both before and after voting day;

• where materials are being sourced from foreign countries, international transport or shipping schedules, customs clearance requirement times, and if by sea, wharf clearance facilities;

• emergency transport facilities, for re-supply of areas where original supplies were deficient or have been misplaced.

Effects on Supply Decisions

The coverage and condition of transport infrastructure will determine feasible timetables of voting operations logistics and their costs. (For example, if air transport is required, considerable increases in costs may be incurred).

Transport infrastructure may also influence the type of security measures that are required. If transport stock is insufficient, or unreliable, logistical scheduling will need to allow for increased transport time, affecting all functions dependent on delivery of materials. In such cases, modern management practices of just-in-time delivery will not be applicable, leading to increased need for secure warehousing for materials or the procurement of more locally-based warehousing facilities.

Decisions on sourcing materials from locations with poor transport services must take into account delivery prospects. Quality, price, or production time advantages may be illusory where transport infrastructure deficiencies result in uncertain delivery dates.

Available transport infrastructure may also determine the feasibility of service to some potential voting locations. Conversely, where road transport conditions are poor, decisions on locating voting stations, even at the increased cost of air supply, will be guided by accessibility considerations for voters in the surrounding area.

Election-Specific Transport Infrastructure Investment

Generally, there will be little justification for investment in transport networks purely for voting operations purposes. Use of existing transportation networks and vehicles will usually be more cost-effective.

However, international election assistance in the form of transport stock that can later be used for other development purposes may be justified as a sustainable contribution in some less developed countries.

This is provided so that controls on the management of such transport equipment during the election period are sufficient to ensure that it remains in public or other authorized use after the election. In the intense activity of the voting period, such controls may be difficult to maintain where significant quantities of transport equipment are involved.

Special Voting Facilities

Some special voting facilities will require additional analysis of available transport infrastructure. Where it is planned to use mobile voting stations  particularly for remote areas, examination of feasible transport routes needs to be undertaken prior to determining the operations of such teams.

Where all-weather roads or suitable vehicles for lesser quality roads are not available, the availability of air transport (regular service or charter) and landing, facilities or water access will need to be assessed.

Costs or unavailability of all-weather infrastructure may require a re-assessment of the viability of planned mobile voting locations.

Where voting stations in foreign locations are used, it is essential that voting materials can be quickly forwarded to these locations for issue to voters, and that completed ballots can be returned quickly to the home country for verification and/or count within any legislative deadlines for return of material. Without regular and reliable air transport services, a foreign country location for voting would generally not be feasible.

Communications

Voting operations communications require reliable and secure information networks that provide access throughout all areas of the elections. Potential communications facilities are major determinants in devising voting operations systems, procedures, and reliable administrative structures.

A country’s communications infrastructure is subjected to intensive testing during times of peak load for a national election, on and around voting day. Careful consideration and examination of a communications infrastructure needs to be given as it will not be possible to run a full simulation of all voting day communication in advance.

Communications Needs

There are two broad needs for consideration when assessing communications infrastructure capabilities:

• internal communications, i.e., between the different components of voting operations administration, such as administration offices and facilities, voting stations, counting centres, mobile field staff, technical advisers, security providers, suppliers  and

• external communications, i.e., between voting operations administrators and voters.

Internal Communications

The massive peak load on voting day is the major focus in assessing the capacities of a current communication infrastructure. Relevant considerations will include:

• existing telecommunications networks--fixed line, mobile phone, and radio--and their coverage;

• reliability of telecommunications networks--load capacities, switching quality, service and maintenance capacities, including any reliance on foreign components or expertise;

• reliability of electricity supply in maintaining telecommunications;

• existence and coverage of radio communications networks;

• availability of telephone and radio equipment for office, voting station and personal use;

• existence, coverage, load capacity, and reliability of data or document communications networks by computer or facsimile transmission;

• levels, reliability, and maintenance support available for data and document transfer equipment;

• security of telecommunications networks, particularly where emergency or security communications and data transfer is involved;

• the skills base available for operation of voice, data, and document telecommunication facilities or radio;

• ability to extend existing communications networks--costs, component availability, and lag times on construction;

• the coverage and reliability of postal and other direct mail services.

Effects of Communications Infrastructure

Available communications infrastructure will not only determine communications strategies but may also influence issues such as:

• the location of voting sites, election administration offices at the local level, and counting centres;

• result deadlines and calculation methods.

For example:

• direct communication links with all voting stations on voting day are highly desirable. It is generally unwise to place voting stations in locations with no fixed line communications or satisfactory radio or mobile phone reception;

• where counting systems rely on speedy document or data transfer to central locations for amalgamation of results, the use of special counting centres may be required where all voting stations do not have access to or equipment for the required communications systems.

Consistency in Communications Methods

Consideration of the following can assist in consistent communication methods:

• use of consistent communication facilities within the area of the election is preferable to enable greater consistency of procedures and training;

• government sponsored networks will often have the greatest coverage and reliability, and voting operations communications strategies would generally seek to maximize use of these;

• in many countries, not only developing ones, military and security force communications networks are the most extensive, reliable, and most capable of quick supplementation to meet voting station needs. Before aligning networks with existing power or government structures take care to ensure that no perceptions of lack of integrity arise.

Use of a variety of local existing communications facilities may be feasible, particularly if there is a stable, locally-based administrative structure for voting operations where there is no national communications network. However, this may provide inefficient and in particular where security issues are involved, dangerously degraded information transfer.

• consider additional fixed lines, upgrading existing load capacities, additional telecommunications towers for radio or mobile phones where communications infrastructure in particular areas is poor.

Given the lead times generally required for installation and testing of upgraded telecommunications facilities and their costs, this should be implemented only when it is certain that these additional facilities can be installed in time and it provides a cost-effective solution. Cost efficiencies will include situations where substantial public benefit will be derived from continuing use of the additional facilities after the election.

External Communications

Communications infrastructure considerations for external communications will relate to:

• providing information on voting operations to voters and the general public;

• the ability to offer some special voting facilities that are dependent on reliable and speedy communication.

Infrastructural considerations for voter and public information campaigns will have a different focus than internal communication considerations. In this context, mass media infrastructure and penetration is a major consideration, along with more targeted systems relying on telecommunications and mail infrastructure and personal contact, in developing effective communications strategies. (For detailed discussion of external communication issues in relation to voter information, see Voter Information)

Special Voting Facilities

Communications infrastructure will determine the viability of using mail or telecommunications for the conduct of voting. Postal voting is not only a form of absentee voting but conducting elections using solely mail voting has been recently demonstrated, in some highly developed societies to be a highly cost effective method of conducting an election.

When considering voting by mail a number of infrastructural issues need to be considered, including:

• standardisation of nomenclature of individual addresses to ensure that mail ballots are delivered to the correct voter.

• an effective and reliable mail system with quick pick-up and delivery turnaround times is necessary to ensure certainty of mail ballot delivery into the right hands.

• even if correctly delivered, especially in remote areas, the minimum possible elapsed time between despatch of ballots to voters by the electoral management body and return receipt of completed ballots from voters may exceed the deadline for return of mail ballots.

With regard to the use of telecommunications in voting, some jurisdictions now accept ballots received by fax transmission or radio telephone. Where the necessary infrastructure is available, such means may provide the most effective access for voters in small remote communities or for voting from foreign countries.

Technological advances are beginning to tap the potential of home-based voting using telecommunications systems for voting by telephone or by using the internet. Before such voting methods are considered for implementation, the election system and the communications infrastructure must be secure, reliable, and accessible to voters.

Materials Production

The wide range of materials and equipment needed for voting operations allows a considerable diversity of materials usage and production methods, from the simple typeset or photocopied form to production of integrated materials of considerable complexity. The design and production capacities of domestic infrastructure are a major determinant when planning materials and equipment requirements. (For a discussion of the various types of materials required for voting operations, see Materials and Equipment)

Capacity Assessments

In assessing materials production infrastructure capabilities, the following issues need consideration:

• the production processes available;

• the reliability of and maintenance facilities for production plants;

• the volume capacities of production facilities, allowing for other contracts that may be in progress at the time voting operations material is required, plant down-time, and start-up and testing periods for production runs;

• the locations of production plants in relation to transport infrastructure (see Transportation Infrastructure).

Effects on Materials Design

Materials production infrastructure capabilities will affect design of election materials. Often it will influence the basic procedures that are feasible to implement for voting operations. For example:

• ballot paper security and authenticity procedures will be influenced by the ability to produce or obtain watermarked or security print paper.

• if full colour presses with sufficient capacity are not available, design of voter information materials or ballot papers with full-colour print will be an expensive import, if not an impossible method.

Similarly, production infrastructure will govern the ability to take advantage of possible cost savings, such as the use of disposable or semi-permanent lightweight voting station ballot boxes and equipment.

Effects on Supply Schedules

The amount of voting operations material required is dependent on the numbers of voters and is not easily manipulated. Production output capacities are thus a major consideration in materials design and supply scheduling. Low volume capacities will mean that:

• supply of equipment has to be planned earlier.

• production has to begin earlier.

• where facilities are not available for emergency re-supply of forms, initial order quantities must be set high enough to accommodate all contingencies.

• some warehousing facilities will be required for a longer period.

Production volume capacities need to be carefully considered when determining the election timetable and procedures, such as:

• allowing amendments to voter registration data until close to voting day may increase accessibility but is not feasible if there is not the capacity to print revised or supplementary voters lists in time for distribution to voting stations.

• timing of the close of nominations for the election has to be aligned with the ability to thoroughly verify, print and distribute ballot papers prior to the commencement of voting.

Printed Materials

Voting operations generate a large quantity and range of printed materials, e.g., forms, ballot papers, voters’ lists, information leaflets, posters, and signs. Many of these print materials have very short time frames between availability of information and end-use distribution of the material.

Sufficient print capacity is essential for voting operations to be conducted successfully. Where print infrastructure is limited, rigorous print scheduling to allow progressive supply according to need becomes vital.

Sourcing

Tailoring materials design and supply timetables to production facilities available domestically can provide advantages with regard to control over supply and service, costs, and time frames for re-supply. Particularly in developing countries, reliance on foreign production, while possibly enhancing in the short-term the sophistication of materials, can add considerably to costs, diminish control over supply and service, and induce reliance on unsustainable systems and less flexible arrangements.

Apart from materials actually used in the voting process, consistent conduct and monitoring of voting operations will require the production of manuals and other reference materials for voting operations staff.

Storage and Distribution

Voting operations supplies will require secure storage before distribution to voting stations. Material returned from voting stations, especially accountable voting material, will be required to be stored under security, at least until any time period in which the election can be challenged has elapsed. It will also need to be stored under security in systems where recounts of votes may later be necessary, until the term of office of the representative body elected has expired. 

Effective distribution and return of supplies to voting stations requires both effective transport planning  and efficient methods of determining and packaging voting station supply needs.

In most circumstances, centralized or regionalized packing of standard supply kits for voting stations, with direct distribution to voting stations from these packaging centers, will prove the most effective method.

Communications

Voting operations requires an extensive network of effective communication facilities between electoral management body staff, to and from voting stations, and with other participants in the election process such as security and emergency forces, political parties and candidates, and executive government.

It is recommended that given the geographic distribution of voting stations, maintaining the necessary communications with them on voting day and, if relevant, during the ballot count can be one of the greater challenges of voting operations management, particularly in countries with less developed communications infrastructures. Appropriate and effective use of radio, mobile phone, fixed telecommunication lines, and back-up facilities requires careful and early planning.

Considerations for Observer Groups

Election managers, observer groups, whether national or international, carefully need to plan their materials equipment, transport, and communications requirements.

Voter Information

Need for Voter Information

Voter information is necessary to ensure that electorate is adequately informed and provided with the correct information to enable them to cast their vote in a confident manner. Effective voter information on voting operations issues provides:

• voters participating in the election with information to make informed voting choices;

• a reduction in additional workloads on voting operations staff in assisting or re-directing voters in voting stations. Before entering into a discussion on voter information it is important to note the difference between voter information and voter education.

While the distinction between voter information and voter education is in an artificial one generally voter information as indicated above, refers to information that voters need regarding when, where and how to vote.

Voter education provides prospective voters with information on the context in which elections take place within the overall democratic process, voters' rights and responsibilities, basic principles of the vote, indicators of free, fair and credible elections, and citizen participation through the democratic electoral process.

Some voter information issues, particularly on voting methods and procedures, are obviously also a part of voter education.

Unlike voter education, which is more effective as a continuous process, voter information's impact is going to be greatest when carefully timed to appear when voting interest is greatest, i.e., immediately before and during voting. Voter information needs do not cease at the close of voting. For confidence in the integrity of the election, open and mass availability of election results is a necessity, through such measures as:

• media broadcast and publication;

• availability of ballot count documents for public inspection;

• publication of result information documents by the electoral management body.

Standard Information Issues

Voter information contains some standard issues about which all voters will need to be informed, in order for them to participate in voting. In broad categories, these concern:

• who is eligible to vote;

• the range of methods of voting available;

• the location of voting sites and the hours of voting;

• basic voting station procedures, such as any documents a voter must bring to the voting station;

• how to cast a valid vote;

• the integrity of the voting and counting processes, including the conduct standards expected of political participants and election officials;

• parties and candidates contesting the election;

• the election results.

Voter information campaign should aim at providing all potential voters with accurate information on these issues. 

Additional Issues in Specific Cases

Particularly for referenda and special format ballot, such as elections undertaken wholly by mail, the electoral management body is best placed to provide authorized statements to inform voters of:

• in the case of a referendum, the yes and no cases for propositions;

• candidates' platform statements.

In some jurisdictions, the electoral management body is required by law to provide such information to all voters at their registered addresses.

Reaching the Audience

The most cost-effective mix of means to reach the maximum voter audience with information needs to be carefully analyzed when determining voter information strategies. It would be very unusual for a single-track approach to providing information will be effective. Basic methods of imparting voter information include:

• general media - through mass or specific market media outlets, public signage and posters, information displays (see General Media);

• direct to individual voters - through delivery by mail, stocks of information leaflets in public places, meetings or briefings, telephone information services, inquiry offices, use of direct electronic means (see Information Direct to Voters);

• reinforcement of voter information at voting sites through use of posters, pamphlets, and assistance from staff.

• where appropriate technology is in place, by placing information on the electoral management body or relevant electoral supervising authority website.

• mixes of voter information delivery methods will be environment or context specific. Amongst other things, they will need to take into account:

• general literacy levels;

• language groups;

• levels of penetration and affordability of mass and electronic media;

• cultural and gender differences;

• use of and access to information communication technology;

• geographic terrain;

• patterns of transport and assembly of crowds.

Information formats should also be carefully considered for their effectiveness in imparting information to both voters as whole and specific target groups of voters.

Additional or modified voter information systems and materials for specific audience groups will be required to maintain equity and accessibility in the information provided for different groups, such as:

• women;

• different language groups;

• voters age groups, e.g. youth

• voters of lower literacy;

• the visually or aurally impaired;

• physically challenged;

• voters outside the country at the time of the election.

Research Based Strategies

Strategies accounting for these requirements can only be efficiently devised if based on thorough research. Evaluations of voter education programmes and information from voter educators are a significant source of useful data.

Further information to guide information targeting and appropriate methodology can come from both electoral management body sources, such as sectoral analyses of past data on voter turnout, invalid votes cast, redirections to different voting stations, or data from other sources, such as media penetration statistics, passenger transport data, mail reliability data. 

Timing of Voter Information Campaigns

Voter information campaign timing will depend on the length of the election period and the timetable for specific activities occurring within this period.

Information on voting operations would generally be concentrated in the month before voting day. To maximize information retention, information campaigns should be planned so that broader and more general information is gradually refined to specific data in the few days before voter action is required.

This is important in the use of mass media. There may be many peaks for this, particularly where alternative methods of voting allow voting in advance of voting day. Where voter registration deadlines are within the voting operations period, information on these will form another peak for information.

Effective information targeting can only be achieved with advance planning. Effective campaign strategies, scheduling of media placements, design of effective materials require both research and testing. 

Aiding Informed Media Comment

The media is an important channel of conveying information to voters. This includes:

• development of media information kits 

• official briefing sessions for journalists and regular press releases during the voting operations period which can assist in developing accuracy in media reports of voting administration issues.

• the use of news stories (where accurate) resulting from media briefings can have a significant additional cost-effective impact in voter information campaigns.

Uncontrolled contact with the media, however, may do more harm than good. electoral management bodies should have a media strategy designed to ensure accuracy of media reporting and extract maximum benefit from the timing and content of news stories. (For further discussion of the elements of a media relations strategy, see General Media.)

• On voting day and during the count, the use of a media centre to act as a hub for information on voting progress and the count will concentrate media information demands in a single, manageable site. To gain maximum effectiveness, this should be the only site through which media briefings and information are provided.

This will free other voting operations staff from media demands during their busiest period and enable a broader perspective to be placed on information releases. In more developed environments, such centers could also contain facilities such as direct feeds to media organizations of computerized progress figures on the count.

• Producing guides for journalists and commentators by electoral management bodies reduces the chances of misinformation or misinterpretation of procedures being widely broadcast through the media.

• Handbooks for journalists similar to those produced for candidates may be considered.

• Where complex technical operations are involved, such as for computer-based voting or counting systems, special media handbooks to assist with informed comment may need to be produced.

Partisan Media

In societies where media or the major media outlets are controlled by the government or other political participants particular issues arise such as access to media for impartial news stories providing voter information without any political slant may be difficult. Post-edited stories for audio-visual media need to be approached with particular care where voting operations officials' participation is requested.

Official voter information will be the only unimpeachable information available where media are controlled by such political participants. It is important that media placements are controlled carefully so that they appear in an unamended form. Monitoring of media coverage of voter information is particularly important in such environments.

General Media

Focused Media Use

Before using news and other communications media for voting information purposes, intensive research is required so that this relatively expensive form of voter information, especially where mass media is involved, is used cost-effectively. Unfocussed media use for voter information wastes money by over saturating sectors of voters that are easily reached and missing access to particular categories of voters, be they:

• age-based (e.g., the young, the aged);

• experience-based (e.g., first-time voters);

• culture-based (e.g., language and minority groups, non-working voters);

• knowledge or skill-based (e.g., voters of lower literacy levels).

Effective public media advertising tends to concentrate on short, sharp messages. Include contact details for official services providing more detailed voter information in all media placements.

Legislative Basis

Legislation often specifies that minimum levels of media information advertising are undertaken by the electoral management body to ensure that voter information is accessible.

Such minimum specifications can usefully apply to announcement of voting methods available, listings of voting sites to be used in each electoral district, the geographic voter registration area each covers, and listings of candidates running in the election in each electoral district.

Advertising Strategy

Media use should be based on a formal advertising strategy and plan, setting objectives, target audiences, information outcomes required and available financial resources, and determining the best media mix to use on the basis of this strategy.

Mass Media

Although it is accepted that high penetration print, radio and television media provides instantaneous coverage to large numbers of voters. Production costs and space and time costs for mass media advertising are not cheap. Use of mass media may be:

• limited by funding constraints or through cost-effectiveness considerations.

• can be a fragmented approach, if detailed readership, listening and viewing audience data is not available.

Where mass media is used, evaluation of information penetration and recall by voters is necessary, both to assess if target audiences are being reached and the effectiveness of information transmission. Different types of mass media will be more effective for different voter information messages. For example:

• listings of all voting stations, while useful in print media, are not suitable for audio-visual mass media. At the same time, audio-visual media of geographically limited coverage could be used for providing this information for a limited area (see "Specific Sector Media" below).

• visual representations of how to complete a voting paper correctly are generally more effective. Using radio for this purpose, accessibility factors being equal, would be less preferable than using print or television media.

Appropriate Media Mix

Selection of the appropriate media mix to achieve coverage targets and information outcomes is important. Factors to be considered include:

Literacy levels: Even where print media has high penetration, it may not be understood clearly by some sectors of the populations. Depending on the information conveyed, the use of illustrations for example can assist in providing voters with the required information.

Penetration: What different population sectors,--broken down by age, past voting participation and cultural group are reached by the various media outlets, and how do these fit information campaign targets needs to be considered.

Reinforcement: Use of different media for the same message can reinforce the message. However, where the same sectors are being targeted by the media, there is the possibility of over saturation, where funds could more effectively be used targeting other sectors.

Coordination with Critical Dates

Scheduling and content of the different components of mass media voter information campaigns needs to be coordinated with critical points in the voting operations timetable to ensure maximum information retention by voters. Avoid confusing voters by attempting to transfer too many information messages or too much information at high rotation at one time. Rather use a staged voter information process.

For example information issues covered could progress from voter eligibility to general information on voting services available, to correct ballot paper completion, to voting station locations, to reminders to vote and bring necessary documents to the voting station.

Specific Sector Media

Where research or field information shows likely under-participation or lack of knowledge amongst specific age or cultural sectors of the population, addressing them through minor media popular in those specific markets will increase voter information coverage, in addressing:

• youth-through information in music, video, student publications, and alternative radio stations;

• the aged-through pensioner or other association publications;

• the military-through armed forces publications and other in-house media;

• regional audiences-though regional media;

• minority language groups-through print or audio-visual media broadcast in minority languages.

Use of community organization radio, publications, and newspapers, particularly those whose language is different from those used by mass media. Community media is an effective tool for providing low-cost voter information accessibility to voters who otherwise may not be informed.

Other Public Media

Static public media may also be used effectively, especially where displays or posters are used in high-traffic areas such as:

• transport hubs such as bus, rail, and air terminals;
• market or shopping areas with high pedestrian traffic;
• billboards and signs on roads.

Selection of appropriate sites requires research on pedestrian and vehicle traffic flows, consider that:

• posters in such areas are best used for short, sharp messages for the date of voting day and voting hours, examples of correct ballot marking, rather than attempting to fully explain procedures.

• posters can also act as a lead-in to satisfying more detailed voter information needs by providing information on locations and times where further information can be accessed.

• messages can also be tailored to the particular public environment in which they are placed. Major transport hubs, for instance, would be an effective place to inform the public on the availability of services for early and absentee voting.

Other more interactive solutions to public information display have been developed with low-cost computer technology.

• secure, user-friendly touch-screen information systems placed in public places can provide information on a large range of voter information issues in response to standard questions.

• audio prompts for voter interest can be included and pictorial and audio representation of both questions and answers is easily achievable. While more expensive than poster or other public display methods, it has some advantages.

• voter information queries can be monitored, thus allowing analysis of the amount of information disseminated and issues of interest. The equipment can also have a continuing use after elections for government or non-government-sponsored information campaigns on many other public issues, such as health, education and welfare.

Using unpaid media space and time to assist in voter information is discussed in Voter Information

News Coverage and Press Release Strategies

Before implementing effective enhancement of voter information messages a strategy for dealing with media relations needs to be implemented, The objectives of the strategy should be to ensure accuracy, authenticity, maximum content, and impact of voting operations news items. Elements of such a strategy include:

• designation of authorised spokespersons who should be the sole conduits through which information is released to the media;
• training of voting operations spokespersons in media skills - particularly important if less predictable and less structured media such as talk radio and television interviews are to be used for voter information purposes;
• a news information release plan, which can only be an intended plan, i.e., timing and subjects of media briefings are often generated by unforeseen questions about the voting operations processes and are out of the control of the electoral management body, with a basic plan for press release, media briefing content, and scheduling also prepared;
• planned media access to voting operations materials production, training and administration facilities negotiated with media, to allow combined information on voting procedures and progress in election preparations to be reported;
• guidelines for authorisation of media to enter, and particularly film, inside voting stations and counting centres;
• monitoring of all media throughout the election period, both to evaluate success of the strategy with regard to penetration of voting operations news and to enable quick response to inaccurate or biased reporting.

Working with media assists in informing voters, and also promotes the transparency and professionalism of voting operations. Where extensive media contact is envisaged, the employment of public relations professionals to guide the election management body's information release strategy can be effective. Development of media information kits is always useful.

Use of Internet Technology

Internet technology provides a very cost-effective means for providing public voter information and voter education material for increasing numbers of the population in developed countries and certain sectors of the population in developing countries, usually those who are based in urban centers.

Internet sites can cover the full range of voter information material and news releases, either as reproductions of printed material or specially designed pages. They can also increase voter service by allowing on-line access to such facilities as applications for mail or absentee ballots, applications for voting official employment, and other public voting operations forms.

Information Direct to Voters

Direct Contact Methods

Direct contact methods of informing voters on voting issues vary in complexity and costs, from the simple method of meetings to sophisticated electronic systems.

It is important to recognize the advantages that direct contact methods have in accessing cost-effectiveness i.e., there is a guarantee that information is going to its intended target. The reliability and target population coverage that can be achieved by delivery systems for direct contact methods needs to be carefully considered when assessing appropriateness.

Personal Contact

• simple direct personal contact through meetings or information centers may be a highly appropriate voter information focus in areas or societies with poor media penetration and particularly of lower literacy.

• use of personal contact is generally the single most dependable method by which voter information can be imparted to all levels of society in areas where literacy levels are low;

• in other environments, direct contact methods in general are a useful complement to broader media use;

• provision of some personal contact facility will allow explanation of more complex issues and interactive response to voter questions and concerns;

• when using direct personal contact methods provide staff with standard question-and-answer sheets for common voter information questions and concerns to assist consistency of information imparted.

Meetings

• mass or targeted meetings of voters can be used to provide some basic information concepts, such as how and when to vote, but may be less successful in providing information on where to vote, unless targeted to distinct geographic communities.

• meetings can be a most effective front-line information tool where mass media accessibility is poor.

• use of civic and voter educators in this information role provides a skilled staffing base.

• targeted meetings can be a more effective means than other media for reaching small groups of voters with specific information needs such as small minorities using different languages and the visually or aurally impaired.

In environments where voting, or the system of voting to be used, may be an unfamiliar experience, informing voters of the correct procedures for voting may best be achieved through a simulated activity of the voting process.

Although such an activity is better place in a voter education exercise if you consider using it for voter information considers the following:

• civic educators and voting operations staff trainers may be appropriate persons to conduct such activities.

• a simulated exercise is effective but when undertaken on a comprehensive scale requires considerable organizational and management skill and the availability and training of a large pool of skilled educators.

• ensure that there can be no perception of political bias in the manner in which people are shown how to vote, nor any involvement of political parties or candidates in this official information process.

Use of Inquiry Centers

Use of voting operations administration offices at the local and regional levels or specially designated inquiry centers for in-person voting information inquiries provides a facility more responsive to individual voting information needs.

While less pro-active and cost-effective than organizing meetings, and often of using printed information, their strength lies in the breadth and detail of information that can be provided and their effectiveness in media-deficient and less literate areas. Staffing such facilities can be a considerable drain on trained resources where voter information personnel are in short supply. If this method is being considered for use, the ability to effectively staff such centers needs to be carefully examined.

Locations for inquiry centers are better targeted to mass population movement centers, such as transport hubs, shopping or market areas, or special events. Staff used in such centers should receive training both in voting procedures and effective interviewing skills.

Telephone Information Services

Telephone information services can be used before and during voting day to provide specific answers to voters’ questions. Their effectiveness will depend on the penetration and reliability of telephone services. Costs of hiring and training additional staff for such services and whether additional premises and telephone equipment is required for reasonable service will determine if they are cost-effective.

Advice on Correct Voting Station

Providing print information directly to voters on the location of their voting stations can be useful in more literate societies. Where voter identification cards are provided to all voters for an election as further verification, these could contain information on:

• the correct voting station to attend and day and hours of voting;

• how to correctly complete the ballot.

Ability to provide information in this way will depend on the timing of the printing of voter identification cards in relation to the determination of voting sites.

Other suggested methods include:

• how to contact voting operations administrators for further information;

• the location of voting stations (including maps);

• any special voting facilities and how to access them;

• how to complete a ballot;

• contesting candidate and party information.

Situations where some voters attend the wrong voting station to vote will occur, therefore it is necessary to have facilities for redirecting such voters in place at voting stations. However, a carefully designed information program will minimize this number.

General Voting Guides

Comprehensive voting guides, pitched to the general literacy levels of the society, provided directly to voters' home addresses and/or made available in public institutions or places can provide useful, relatively cheap (compared to media buying) and comprehensive basic information on issues such as:

• how to contact voting operations administrators for further information;

• the location of voting stations (including maps);

• any special voting facilities and how to access them;

• how to complete a ballot;

• contesting candidate and party information.

These general guides can also be used to promote more specific voter information services, such as office or telephone inquiry services locations, times, and telephone numbers.

Where reliable mail services are in place delivering these guides by mail direct to voters assures access to the complete target audience. Where mail services are not reliable (or relatively expensive), using temporary election staff or other contractors for house-to-house delivery may be feasible.

Specific voter information guides are also useful to provide information on facilities available for minority groups (and any special arrangements being taken for their security, where these are necessary), the physically impaired, and groups such as security forces for whom special voting arrangements are available. Distribution of these materials through relevant community, language, medical, or support groups effectively targets the intended audience.

Voting by Mail

Provide voter information directly to voters with the mailed-out allot is essential when voting by mail. This material should, at the minimum, provide clear instructions to voters on:

• how to complete the ballot paper;

• how to complete accompanying forms containing personal information required for checking voter eligibility and/or validity of the vote;

• how to correctly seal the ballot in its envelope(s);

• the specified location to which and date by which the ballot must be returned by mail.

This information may also be required by law to include authorized statements of platforms by the candidates where the entire election is by mail.

Use of Electronic Communications

The internet is effective in directly delivering voter guides and similar information wherever possible by electronic mail (email) to registered voters has been found to be extremely useful as a communication method in highly developed societies because:

• transmission costs are negligible;

• reaching the target voter is nominally assured;

• there are no print costs to the electoral management body;

• existing infrastructure can be used.

Usage of Telephone Information Services

Appropriate Use

Experience with telephone inquiry services has shown that:

They are most efficiently organized on a central or regional basis with toll-free dialing: A local structure can work if automatic call-redirect services or single, toll-free number access for all locations can be provided. However, while this is efficient, in many environments provision of such services on a local level may be more effective.

This requires less sophistication and only localized reliability of telecommunication services. Unless more centralized services have well trained staff and are well equipped with information retrieval facilities, locally-based services may also be better suited to answer local questions on such issues as voting station locations.

They are a useful supplement to print and general media information: One area where they can be of particular use is in providing cost-effective information in minority languages. Instead of printing all voter information in languages only used by small minorities, print information in all relevant languages on the one sheet can refer voters to a language specific information service phone number.

Staffs for such services require training in their duties and voting operations procedures.

Telephone staff should be provided with question and answer scripts to ensure consistency in answering frequently asked questions, as well as access to voters lists and voting site location lists (when prepared).

Senior supervisory staff should be available for more difficult inquiries.

Such services are only worth pursuing if reliable, and sufficient lines are available for the expected load. Constantly engaged phone lines will annoy voters and impede the flow of information.

Monitoring of questions asked of telephone voter information services also provides a useful analytical guide to voter information issues that need further emphasis in media or other public formats.

Operation on Voting Day

In a few countries telephone information services have been used on voting day as a resource for voting operations officials to determine the correct voting station for voters who are not on the voters list at the voting station where they have turned out to vote. The telephone traffic created by this service is generally not sustainable and it can also tie up voting station communications equipment to prevent it from being used for other purposes. It is suggested that that this course of action is only undertaken if:

• There is complete confidence in the load capacity of the system;
• Complete voter’s register data can be reliably and speedily accessed;
• Alternative communication systems have been provided in voting stations;
• Information service staffs are very well trained. 

Voter Information Requirements

Information Campaign Focus: While there are standard issues that need to be covered in all voter information campaigns, the information emphases will vary according to the particular voting environment.

Specific geographic areas or cultural groups with a history of low participation may require a greater emphasis on all information issues. Any changes to election systems or procedures should be given high profiles in information campaigns. For example:

• Where there have been changes to electoral district boundaries, greater emphasis on advertising voters' appropriate voting stations will be needed.

• Where there are significant new participants in the election process, or where voter registration levels are low, considerable emphasis may need to be given to information on voter eligibility issues;

• Where there have been changes in voting systems, intensive information on how to mark and cast a valid ballot will be needed.

• In areas assessed as being at high risk of voter fraud or manipulation, intensive information on voting operations integrity controls may assist in deterrence.

(For further discussion of the management of voter information campaigns, see Voter Information)

Voter Information Content

Information provided to voters should promote the awareness of:

• The voting facilities that are available to voters and who is eligible to use them, including special voting facilities such as early voting, absentee voting, mobile voting stations, assistance for disabled voters or voters of low literacy

• The locations of voting sites, the geographic areas serviced by them, and the hours they will be open

• What is expected of the voter at the voting station, e.g., documents to bring, forms to be completed, services provided by polling officials

• How to mark and cast a vote correctly

• The overall integrity of the election process

• Under some election systems, and particularly for referendums, there may also be a requirement for the election management body to provide voters with information on the candidates contesting an election, or on the positive and negative arguments regarding propositions being put to the voters in a referendum.

In some systems the information content that must be provided to all voters and the manner in which it must be provided is specified in the legal framework for the election to ensure that equity is promoted and there is accessibility to voter information. These minimum standards are reference points from which effective voter information programs can be developed.

While it may be important that information materials refer to or cite references to the legal framework, effective methods of information transfer need more than a statement of the law. Creativity in devising messages and formats, attuned to the cultural environment, that will maximise the transfer of information to voters is essential. 

Information to Political Parties and Candidates

It is in the interests of election administrators that political parties and candidates are provided with accurate information on all the processes pertaining to voting. Political parties will be used as a source of advice on issues such as voting procedures and methods, locations and hours for voting by many voters.

It is preferable that they are provided with relevant official voter information materials, rather than being left to their own, possibly inaccurate, understanding of processes as the basis for information they provide to voters. Briefing sessions for parties and candidates.

Information at Voting Locations

However effective the pre-voting day voter information campaigns, access to voter information at the voting station itself will be a necessity. Voter information provided at voting locations should be geared to assisting voters in understanding the voting procedures and also to promoting effective accessibility to and crowd control within the voting station.

This section looks at information at voting locations

General Information

To ensure easy accessibility and visibility of voting stations the following methods are useful:

Outside the voting station:

• using prominent signage -Voter accessibility and passage through the voting station is enhanced if prominent signage is used.

• start outside the voting station itself, with the use of a prominent sign identifying the voting station location.

• directional signs to the voting station in the surrounding area or streets will assist accessibility.

• posters or signs advising that a location is going to be used as a voting station can be placed at the location a few days before voting day. This would also apply to institutions being covered by mobile voting facilities, where posters advertising the day and time of visits by mobile voting stations should be placed at relevant points within the institutions a few days before the scheduled visits.

Inside the voting station:

• within the voting station, prominent signage and directional arrow signs can be effectively used for crowd control, identifying any areas with specific functions, such as entrances, exits, ballot issue area, voter information points, special voting facilities areas, queuing points, and restrooms. While provision of this signage is at additional costs, it can greatly enhance the effectiveness of voter traffic flow and reduce the general inquiry load on polling officials.

• display simple posters reinforcing required conduct such as voting secrecy, smoking or no-smoking areas, prohibitions on political campaigning within the voting station area, littering prohibition

In developing materials design, production and supply plans, the types and quantities of voting station general signage required need to be considered.

Information on Rights and Procedures

Displaying printed information on voting rights and procedures reduces the time spent by staff on dealing with voter information needs. Formats could be:

• a pamphlet or booklet giving full information, available at an information point by the voting station entrance;

• wall posters prominently displayed around the voting station.

Posters are effective as they may be less expensive and tend to be less disruptive to voter flow, as they provide constant information to all voters in the voting station. Using simple bold realistic illustrations of the actions required from a voter, rather than textual explanations, will ensure wider and faster comprehension will be achieved.

Complex voting procedures or where multiple language groups have to be accommodated in the one voting station, may require that you provide back up the basic information on posters with a more comprehensive booklet.  There are a number of specific subjects that these information materials could cover to assist in voter service, including:

• maps of the electoral area covered by the voting station, and information on other voting locations or facilities placed at the entrance to the voting station;

•posters advising voters to have their identification documents ready for inspection and showing the identification documents required to be produced;

• information on the rights of voters to vote and any challenge mechanisms;

• information on how to correctly mark a ballot and place it in the ballot box, or use the voting computer or machine correctly;

• information on facilities for physically impaired voters or other voters needing assistance or special facilities;

• information on contesting candidates or parties.

Where election systems of representation are complex (e.g., where voters must mark a number of preferences in a specified fashion on the ballot, or where simultaneous elections using different voting method are being held, and especially where they are being used for the first time) material explaining the representation system may also be useful information within the voting station.

Role of Voting Operations Officials

Information on display needs to be backed up by trained officials capable of answering voter queries. Apart from those voters who may need assistance in understanding the common voting procedures, there are many voter information issues that can only be handled personally, such as redirections to the correct voting station and eligibility for special methods of voting. The role of voting operations officials as service providers should be considered most important.

They are the public face of the election machine. Their ability to provide information and their attitude towards voters in need of assistance are a large factor in determining public perceptions of the professionalism of electoral management.

Whether staff should be specifically allocated to information assistance roles will depend on factors such as the size of the voter turnout expected and the general levels of understanding of the voting system by voters.

Senior polling officials may be able to cope with information duties in addition to their management roles where voting stations are catering to small numbers of voters and the voting system is stable and well known.

Preferably employ additional officials with a specific voter information in situations where:

• there are larger numbers of voting stations,

• any environment where new voting procedures have been introduced,

• there are large numbers of new participants in voting processes,

• or more complex computer or machine-based voting methods are used,

There duties would include redirection of any voters who have arrived to vote at a voting station at which they are not eligible to vote.

To ensure the sufficient provision of staff in situations indicated above it is necessary to provide for their inclusion in the planning for recruitment programs and in developing training packages. Staff in voter information roles will need a broader understanding of voting processes than staff engaged in more routine functions, and their training will need to be commensurate with this.

Voter Information Requirements

Information Campaign Focus

While there are standard issues that need to be covered in all voter information campaigns, the information emphases will vary according to the particular voting environment.

Specific geographic areas or cultural groups with a history of low participation may require a greater emphasis on all information issues. Any changes to election systems or procedures should be given high profiles in information campaigns. For example:

• where there have been changes to electoral district boundaries, greater emphasis on advertising voters' appropriate voting stations will be needed.

• where there are significant new participants in the election process, or where voter registration levels are low, considerable emphasis may need to be given to information on voter eligibility issues;

• where there have been changes in voting systems, intensive information on how to mark and cast a valid ballot will be needed.

• in areas assessed as being at high risk of voter fraud or manipulation, intensive information on voting operations integrity controls may assist in deterrence.

Voter Information Content

Information provided to voters should promote the awareness of:

• the voting facilities that are available to voters and who is eligible to use them, including special voting facilities such as early voting, absentee voting, mobile voting stations, assistance for disabled voters or voters of low literacy

• the locations of voting sites, the geographic areas serviced by them, and the hours they will be open

• what is expected of the voter at the voting station, e.g., documents to bring, forms to be completed, services provided by polling officials

• how to mark and cast a vote correctly

• the overall integrity of the election process

• under some election systems, and particularly for referendums, there may also be a requirement for the election management body to provide voters with information on the candidates contesting an election, or on the positive and negative arguments regarding propositions being put to the voters in a referendum.

In some systems the information content that must be provided to all voters and the manner in which it must be provided is specified in the legal framework for the election to ensure that equity is promoted and there is accessibility to voter information. These minimum standards are reference points from which effective voter information programs can be developed.

While it may be important that information materials refer to or cite references to the legal framework, effective methods of information transfer need more than a statement of the law. Creativity in devising messages and formats, attuned to the cultural environment, that will maximize the transfer of information to voters is essential. (For further information on the content of voter information see Voter Information )

Information to Political Parties and Candidates

It is in the interests of election administrators that political parties and candidates are provided with accurate information on all the processes pertaining to voting. Political parties will be used as a source of advice on issues such as voting procedures and methods, locations and hours for voting by many voters.

It is preferable that they are provided with relevant official voter information materials, rather than being left to their own, possibly inaccurate, understanding of processes as the basis for information they provide to voters. Briefing sessions for parties and candidates will also be useful in this regard.

Information on Eligibility and Methods

Voter Registration and Eligibility to Vote

A basic concern of voter information campaigns for voting operations is to ensure:

• that people are aware if they are eligible to register to vote; and

• that all those who are eligible to vote are encouraged to be registered to vote.

The manner and timing of this will be dependent on the registration philosophy and systems used, as well as the deadline for voter registration for an election.

Since this message is also a basic concern of voter education campaigns, information and education strategies in this regard require close integration. Information campaigns regarding voter registration and eligibility to vote involve the following stages:

• Information on registration qualifications, methods and facilities, and the need to register to vote to have a voice in choosing political representatives (in this latter message overlapping with voter education campaigns) during the voter registration period;

• Information on availability of voter’s registers for inspection to ensure details on the register are correct, and on methods of amendment or challenge of any incorrect details entered in the register;

• Where additions to and amendment of voters registers is allowed up to a cut-off point close to voting day, a further intensive information campaign promoting correct voter registration aimed at those who become interested in registering only when an election is imminent, or who have moved to a new address or become eligible to vote since registers were last compiled;

• After the closing of voter registration and on voting day, information on voting day registration where this is allowed under the election system.

The relatively simple, self-contained messages required (e.g., not only to register but to verify registration information is correct), supported by information on where to get further information, or obtain registration forms, lend themselves to a wide range of print, aural and video media. They are also usefully reinforced by increasing the intensity of voter information meetings and activities at the critical points in the registration process, particularly immediately before the registration deadline for an election.

Where there are legal requirements that voters register inspection periods and locations be publicly advertised, this is better implemented in a prominent way, rather than by barely fulfilling legal notice requirements. The benefit of correct voters’ lists to election integrity is greater than the costs of encouraging voters to check that register details are correct and of processing resulting amendments.

Even in voter registration systems where it is held that the onus is on the individual to maintain correct registration, rather than on the Electoral Management Body, public information campaigns encouraging correct registration are necessary to gain this same net benefit.

Targeting Information

Specific targeting of voter registration and eligibility information campaigns, through analyzing progressive data during the voter registration period, will increase coverage and cost-effectiveness. The following factors can assist when planning how to target information:

• Correlations between age and gender splits in population and voter registration data will provide information on age/gender groups under-represented in registered voters, and allow targeting of media and locations effective for reaching high proportions of these.

• Correlations between population and registered voters on a locality basis will provide data on geographic areas that are under-represented in registered voters, and allow targeting of these geographic areas, through meetings, local media, and distribution of posters and pamphlets.

• Population mobility statistics will allow identification of areas of greater or more frequent population movement, and similar targeting of information campaigns encouraging checking of voters registers and provision of amended registration details.

Relationship to Voter Registration Systems

The timing, emphasis and intensity of information campaigns on this issue will be different according to whether a continuous registration system, a census-style registration well before voting day, or a civil registry base is used to compile voters lists.

There will also be a greater need to provide intensive information on voter registration facilities and methods in systems where voters are required to register to vote.

Continuous Voter Registration Systems

Where a continuous registration system is used, information on the advantages of retaining correct voter registration is also useful on a continuous basis, even if relatively low key or provided as part of voter education activities. Simple print messages and registration forms can be targeted at relevant locations, such as property agencies and other utilities (electricity, gas, telephone, postal services and the like) likely to be used or contacted by voters when changing address, schools where senior students are likely to attain voting age, or combined with applications, information and accounts produced by these agencies and utilities.

Continuous information campaigns encouraging voters to maintain correct voter registration assists in achieving one of the major benefits of continuous registration systems--the elimination of an overwhelming number of new registrations and amendments to be verified and processed at the deadline for registration for an election.

This will not negate the need to implement an intensive information campaign leading up to the deadline for registration for an election. Even in continuous systems, many voters will not bother to apply for or amend registration details until an election is imminent. 

Census-Style Registration Systems

Where census-style registration systems are used, the focus of registration information messages will be within the census period and in any later period for review and amendment of registration details. Where these periods are well before voting day, the voter information campaigns can focus solely on the registration issue.

However, in spite of this, they may require a higher intensity level, as they are not feeding off other election information and publicity.

Civil Registry Systems

Where voters’ lists are extracted from civil registry records, a different approach may be needed. The initial information needs to be more generally directed at persons ensuring that they change civil registration details when required by law to do so. The voter information emphasis will generally be more useful if it concentrates on encouraging voters to check, during any period for verification, that the extract of civil registry records to form voters’ lists contains correct data, and the processes for amendment of outdated or incorrect data.

Voting Methods

Where voters can vote only in voting stations in their own electoral district on voting day, information on voting methods can be contained in voter information campaigns on voting procedures  and voting locations.

Special Voting Facilities

Where additional methods of voting are provided for voters who cannot attend their normal voting station on voting day, information needs to be provided during the voting operations period on what additional facilities are available and qualifications required for using them.

As information on special voting facilities can be complex, it is generally better organised on two levels--general coverage through media, meetings, posters, public displays to create awareness of the types of facilities available and basic qualifications required, with specific information then available on contact with inquiry offices or telephone inquiry services. Targeting of particular geographic areas, institutions and relevant public facilities with print information is an effective back-up to mass communication.

General information showing the types of special voting facilities available, a simple description of qualifications required for using them, and contact details for more detailed information can also be provided:

• at voter registration offices;

• at register revision facilities;

• by the people conducting census-style voter registration;

• in voters guides delivered to electors

Early and Absentee Voting

The start of the information campaigns for early voting preferably begin at the start of the elections period, and builds in intensity until the start of early voting. Specific focus of the information will vary according to the early and absentee voting systems used.

The information will need to cover:

• methods of early and absentee voting available (e.g., in person or by mail) and the period within which various facilities are available;

• qualifications that voters must satisfy to be eligible for early or absentee voting (e.g., absence from electoral district on voting day, illness, military service);

• when and where voting materials are available for absentee and early voting;

• as voting day approaches, reminders to return voting material;

• where absentee voting also occurs on voting day, the voting stations with absentee voting facilities and any special requirements for absentee voters on voting day.

It is helpful that, in addition to general information campaigns, placement of printed information pamphlets in locations such as major rail, bus, air, sea terminals, travel agencies, and military bases (if armed forces qualify for absentee voting) can effectively reach potential early and absentee voters.

Mobile Voting Stations

Where mobile voting stations are operating in institutions:

• advance notice of the times at which voting is being conducted should be publicly displayed in the institution.

• provide a wider public display of information on such facilities, though this will need to be balanced against the possibility of this resulting in voters not eligible to use these facilities attempting to use them to vote.

• arrangements for special provision of material on voting procedures to institutions to be covered by mobile voting stations may also need to be made.

Where mobile voting stations are operating in remote areas, liaison with the relevant communities is required to announce the date and hours for voting. There may be difficulty in providing voter information to such remote communities before voting day. Mobile voting station staff may need to provide much of the voter information, from materials and by personal explanation, during the hours of voting.  Their training should be at an appropriate level for this.

Voting Abroad

Information on eligibility and how to vote in a foreign country is made continuously available through the Election Management Body, where foreign country voting is available. Specific campaigns throughout the election period will generally be required as reinforcement. Various options for locations for placing material for this include travel agencies, foreign missions of the home country, airports and similar points of departure, and in media abroad. 

Other Special Voting Facilities

Where special voting arrangements are made for prisoners or other relatively small, specialized categories of voters, information on the methods and time of voting is better specifically targeted to the individual voters and the institutions in which they are resident. Armed forces may also fall into this category. Before making these arrangements there is a need to consider the risks in sending this information only to institutional management for distribution as depending on the level of understanding of the principles of rights to vote, it may not reach the affected voters.

Completion of Ballots

Voters using special voting facilities may also require additional information on how to complete specialised voting material.

Information on Voting Location and Hours

Information Required before Voting Day

Voters turning out at a voting station at which they are not permitted to vote is a common problem and a major source of disruption. It takes time for polling officials to redirect voters and may even lead to altercations. It may also lead to voters being denied an opportunity to vote, if they are unable to travel to the correct voting station by the time of closing of the poll. Pro-active information to voters on their correct voting station will enhance accessibility and service levels to voters. (See Information at Voting Locations for additional information) The information about voting locations that is useful to convey to voters is:

The voting location or locations at which the voter is eligible to vote: If more than one location is used, identification of the closest location, in order to aid voting station resource planning, is useful.

The address of the relevant location or locations and the geographic area which it services.

The hours during which the voting location will be open for voting for:

• normal voting stations, it is important to emphasize the time of closing.

• early voting facilities, dates and voting hours are required.

• mail voting, the closing hour and date for receipt of returned ballots requires heavy emphasis, with wide publicity also being given to locations for personal return of mail ballots.

• voters serviced by mobile voting stations, - it is important that these voters are aware of the scheduled time and date the mobile voting station will be at their location. The date needs particular emphasis if mobile voting stations are conducting voting in advance of voting day.

If transport to and from voting stations is being provided by election authorities, the departure time and locations as well as return times of this transport will need to be announced. If this is occurring in a high security risk environment, assurances of security need also to be provided.

Information before Voting Day

Information on voting locations can be issued in general fashion, targeted specifically at each individual voter, or a combination of methods used. The appropriate information method will be partially dependent on the flexibility voters have in determining where they will vote. Possible methods are:

Publish a list of voting locations and hours of operation, accompanied by a map of the relevant electoral districts, in the print media. This could be preceded by a series of teaser advertisements in a variety of media announcing when and where this list will be available. Local media could be targeted for local electoral district information, with consolidated information published in national media.

Distribute information to each household on the location and voting hours of the appropriate voting station for that address. Support for this by media advertising, advising voters that they should have received this information and giving a contact number or address for arrangement of supply if a voter has not received this printed information, is useful both to raise awareness and to correct delivery errors. This information could be combined with other information on voting procedures, in a general voting guide. This can be cost-effective. Care needs to be taken that the delivery of this information is undertaken accurately, particularly at the borders of electoral districts, and that all recipients are encouraged to check their eligibility to vote.

Include voting location information on a personal voter identification card for all registered voters. This can be an effective means where voters are assigned to a single voting station. It could entail significant additional costs depending on the style of the voter identification card. In addition to the voter's personal details the reverse of the card can contain the address, location map, and hours of operation of the assigned voting station. The card could be provided as part of the voter registration process, by mail where mail services are reliable, required to be collected from government offices, or they distributed at community meetings.

Hold community meetings, particularly where media and delivery resources lack penetration, or in areas where awareness of voting is low.

Provide inquiry offices and/or telephone services as a resource for voters' questions on the location of their appropriate voting station.

Use and publicize the actual voting station premises as information centers for voters.

Mobile Voting Station Information

Additional methods of information before voting day may be required where mobile stations are being used. This could include:

• posters announcing time of team visits in prominent locations in institutions

• information direct to the voter if home visits are to be made.

• direct communication with the community, or its individual members, by radio or other means, to announce voting hours and dates may be necessary for mobile voting stations servicing remote areas.

Information on Voting Day

Various methods can be used to provide information on the voting day.

General publicity on voting day through the media can emphasize the hours of operation of voting stations and contact details for information offices where more detailed information can be provided. It may also be useful to publish, in generally circulated print media on voting day, a listing of the addresses of voting stations and the localities which they serve.

Use of centralized telephone inquiry systems on voting day for redirection of voters has not always proved successful and, therefore, should be subject to very careful load capacity and effectiveness analysis before implementation.

In voting stations display prominent maps at the entrance showing the geographic area in which voters must be registered to be eligible to vote at that voting station will assist in early warning to voters that they may be at the wrong voting station.

Providing systems to allow staff to redirect voters to their correct voting station, if they have turned out at one where they are unable to vote. The complexity of these systems will depend on the flexibility of rules regarding where a voter may vote.

An information officer able to provide voters with a contact number or address at which they may check their correct voting station. where voters are allowed no choice in voting station or method.

Provide information officers in voting stations with voters’ lists for surrounding voting station areas if certified voters lists for use in voting stations are produced in sufficient time.

Local registry offices should also be open on voting day to help redirect voters where voters’ lists are based on civil registers.

Use of tendered or provisional ballots may assist voters who attend the wrong voting station where systems are more flexible, and account for the fact that voter registration processes are often incomplete, and rarely fully accurate.

Specific Information for Absentee Voting on Voting Day

In countries spanning more than one time zone where absentee voting is allowed on voting day, information to absentee voters should make clear any specific rules as to the closing time for voters voting in a different time zone from the area in which they are registered. This will be particularly necessary in jurisdictions where absentee voting must close no later than the equivalent closing time in the voter's own electoral district.

Information on Voting Station Procedures

Specific Focus on Procedures Required

Conducting an information campaign specifically addressing voting station procedures will assist in ensuring that voters are prepared for voting when they arrive at the voting station.

While much of this information is more a long-term voter education issue, there are some specific messages that will need reinforcement if voter service and voter traffic flow is to be effective., Voting procedures information is not something that voters can be expected to fully retain from election to election, even if procedures remain unchanged and they need to be reminded about it for each election.

Targets and Issues

It is helpful to consider the following questions when assessing what should be included in voter information (apart from education), campaigns on voting procedures, cost-effectiveness, and potential information overload effects:

• What procedural information is vital for voters to understand before they arrive at the voting station, i.e., which issues might seriously prejudice the exercise of the right to vote or voter service if not fully understood?

• How much intensive information can voters absorb in a short period before voting day?

• What procedural information can be more cost-effectively reinforced in the voting station than by media or other information campaigns before voting day?

Vital pre-election knowledge of voting procedures would include issues such as:

• any identity or other documents that voters must bring with them to the voting station;

• entitlements and procedures for assisted voting;

• how to mark and cast a vote correctly

• voting station locations and voting hours, and in certain circumstances, transport

• provided to voting stations

• voting secrecy

• eligibility to vote in general or to use special voting facilities

Documents to Be Shown by Voters

Voters may be required to bring specific documents to the voting station to establish their identity or eligibility to vote, such as national identity cards or voter identification cards.  If they arrive without these, they may not be able to collect these in time to return to vote. Excluding these voters from the voting station may cause altercations that can severely disrupt the election process. Intensive information prior to voting day on the specified documents voters that voters need to bring with them will minimize these occurrences.

It is a simple message that can be closely linked with or form part of information messages on voting days and hours and voting locations. Both mass coverage and targeting of particular voter groups who may not have access to normal mass communications will be needed.

Assisted Voting

Information on assisted voting may be more specifically targeted to particular geographic areas or through institutions and community groups dealing with physical impairment and lower literacy.

Information Content

There are advantages in producing communications media, public display or direct delivery information materials on voting procedures that can be broadly outlined in a message which emphasizes these steps.

This is particularly advantageous where voting procedures have changed or there are significant numbers of registered voters with no or little experience in voting. These materials create the background message from which other more specific parts of the information campaign are developed.

The key consideration is to keep these materials simple, since this is information and not formal education, and to leave more detailed information to personal contact methods and polling official advice. Visual and aural media messages should be based on a series of simple statements that explain:

• date of voting day;

• hours voting stations are open;

• voting station locations;

• registration requirements;

• identity documents required to vote;

• eligibility verification procedures;

• voting procedures;

• voting secrecy.

This style of information message is useful as a general reinforcement that can assist in tying together information in the voters' minds. Effective information communication will generally require specific separate messages on the vital issues, such as voting locations  and correct marking or casting of ballots.

Information Methods

Print media is generally more effective for this broader information format. Care must be taken to ensure that posters or print advertisements produced accommodate the literacy levels of the society.

A high pictorial content can generally be more effective in explaining more complex procedures.  Television can also be used effectively. E.g. A simple video script used against a visual background of a voting station in operation.  The number of different steps in voting procedures messages being delivered may make radio use less than ideal.

Community meetings, simulations, and displays are also an effective means of delivering this more complex message. Text messages on cellular telephones can be used to provide voting information.

Voters Guides

The publication of a voters guide delivered to voters' registered address or available from public locations can provide full information on all voting procedures to an assured target audience.

Consider personal addressing of such guides, rather than household drops as this may, assist in ensuring that all voters have access to the information, although they are more expensive. This may be particularly relevant in reaching groups such as women in households where they have been traditionally excluded from decision-making processes. Support for this by media advertising advising voters that they should have received this information, and giving a contact number to arrange re-supply if necessary, is useful to raise readership of the guide and to correct delivery errors.

On Voting Day

Voters continue to need information even on voting day. Suggestions as to how best this can be achieved include:

Requirements for prescribed documents - The requirement of bringing the prescribed identity documents to the voting station is a message that needs to be reinforced, This can be done through the media on voting day itself and can be combined with messages reinforcing that it is voting day and the hours of operation of voting stations.

Voting processes information - It is preferable on voting day to provide information on the steps in voting processes to voting station officials, or personal contact through information centers, rather than complicating the media message. Information services offices and any telephone inquiry services should also be operating at least throughout the hours of voting.

Procedural queries - Specific voting operations officials can usefully be assigned to answering procedural queries from voters  in voting stations, supported by visual materials in key areas of the voting station, particularly around areas where voters queue to vote. Subject matter can address both what is expected of voters and the services provided in the voting station.

Special Voting Facilities

For a discussion of voter information programs on procedures for special voting faciliites, see Information on How to ensure a Vote is Valid and Information on Voting Eligibility and Methods.

Information on How to Ensure a Vote is Valid

Basic Issues

The act of voting, either manually or by using a voting machine or computer, is the fundamental purpose of an election. If a voter incorrectly marks (or in envelope-based systems, incorrectly envelopes) a ballot, or incorrectly casts a ballot so it is excluded from vote counts, the voter's participation in choosing a political representative is invalidated. Once the ballot is deposited in the ballot box or accepted by a machine, it is not a recoverable error. All election expenditure relating to that vote, in essence, has been wasted.

Underlying Factors

Information on how to vote correctly is of sufficient significance to justify its being a separate and a resource-intensive focus of voter information programs. The extent of its emphasis will depend on factors such as:

• proportion of votes completed incorrectly in past elections;

• the complexity of actions required to correctly mark, and/or envelope, and cast a ballot - ranging from simply depositing a token in the ballot box to having to allocate a different preference number to each of a long list of candidates on a ballot to correctly using a machine or computer for voting;

• the numbers of ballots to be completed (where simultaneous elections are being held);

• stability or change in procedural requirements for completing a ballot;

• she experience of voters in completing ballots.

There are certain conditions under which more intensive and comprehensive information campaigns on how to vote correctly will be a vital necessity. These include:

• where there has been a change to the election system. For example, a change from a first–past-the-post to a proportional representation system;

• where the franchise has been significantly extended or there are significant numbers of new voters;

• where the method of marking a ballot has changed. For example from a negative vote (deleting the candidates the voter doesn't want to vote for) to a positive vote (marking the candidate the voter wants to vote for); from an enveloped ballot system in which the voter chooses from amongst a number of possible ballot papers, to a "mark choice" system where the voter has to mark preferences on the ballot; or from optional preferential marking to full preferential marking of all candidates;

• where there has been a change from paper ballots to voting machines or computers for voting, or where machine-based systems have changed;

• where the design or format of the ballot has changed. For example in the use of symbols and names for candidates, or in order or style of appearance of candidates on the ballot.

• where new methods of voter identity eligibility have been introduced.

Audience Groups

For all elections, information on correct completion of ballots is an essential ingredient of voter information campaigns. Elections are held too infrequently to expect full retention of this information from election to election, even in the most elementary voting systems. Additionally, there will always be new voters who have reached voting age or gained voting rights through fulfillment of other qualifications such as citizenship.

Cost-effective targeting of campaigns to maximize the number of voters who complete their ballot correctly will depend on thorough research. While there is a need for maximum coverage on this issue, there may be pockets of voters requiring special attention, which will include:

• first-time voters;

• the young;

• voters from minority cultures or language groups;

• the elderly;

• newly acquired citizenship.

Many societies require, special attention to be paid to information specifically targeted at women voters, particularly where they have not had a history of participation in public activity.

Research into invalid ballots from past elections will assist greatly in targeting this aspect of the voter information campaign. This research can highlight areas with higher proportions of invalid ballots where more intensive information campaigns can be of greater effect and/or the most common errors made in marking and/or casting ballots, on which information campaigns should concentrate.

Once the period for challenge to election results has elapsed, powers to examine ballots or other records for such research purposes are useful legislative or regulatory provisions for Electoral Management Bodies. Legislative requirements or administrative schedules for destruction of ballot material must also allow sufficient time for such analysis.

Significant Information Issues

Common issues that need to be addressed in informing voters about completing their ballots correctly will include:

• using a valid preference mark (permissibility of numbers, cross, tick, strikethrough of candidate's name, etc) to indicate the preferred candidate(s);

• the number of preference marks allowable or required, and if more than one, the order of sequence required;

• where voting machines or computers are used, the method of operating the machine;

• not placing any mark on the ballot that would identify the voter, i.e., signature, thumb mark, or the like;

• in enveloped ballot systems, following the French model, the correct method of choosing and enveloping ballots.

In areas of lower literacy, official information campaigns may also have to stress the symbols or images being used by different political participants or any official numbers used to identify candidates on ballots. This needs to be done equitably and very carefully, so as not to give rise to any perceptions of bias towards any political participants.

In some environments it may be possible to use a mock-up of the ballot, with political parties and candidates listed as they will appear on the ballot. However, caution needs to be exercised in using such "mock" material, so that there can be no perception of political bias in the information provided by officials.

In systems where more than one mark has to be placed on a ballot i.e.-where all or some candidates have to be numbered according to the voter's preferences or all but one candidate have to be deleted from the ballot, the added complexity of the voting system  may require a series of separate ballot completion information messages. These messages could relate, for example, to:

• a requirement to use numbers rather than any other style of mark;

• a requirement to indicate a preference rank for all or a specified number of candidates.

Simultaneous Elections under Different Systems

Additional complications will arise when more than one ballot is being used for the same or simultaneous elections, especially if these have to be marked by the voter in different ways. Simultaneous elections for bicameral parliaments where an election for one house requires a voter to place a mark or number against the name of more than one party or candidate, while for the other house only a single preference mark may be made on the ballot, will present a special challenge for voter information. In such a case, information campaigns would generally deal with each ballot method in separate messages, rather than trying to combine correct completion instructions for both in one message.

Similarly, there will be a need for enhanced, specialized local information campaigns where voters in different electoral districts have different ballot marking requirements. This will occur, for example, where:

• different voting equipment is used in different electoral administration areas - an issue particularly where local electoral administrations independently determine voting procedures for elections at state, province or national level;

• different electoral districts elect different numbers of representatives under multi-member district systems.

Information Methods

Information methods vary depending on the information that is being imparted as indicated below:

• Providing a separate distinctive public message on correct ballot marking and/or casting will clarify the issue in the minds of voters. This is information that is better represented visually, and pictorially (rather than by long textual explanations), through print media, posters, television or simulations. Audio information is better used as reinforcement or to assist those not accessible by visual media, through language, distance, affordability or literacy differences.

• In areas where voting participation is a new phenomenon, or of lower literacy, or of poor media penetration, simulations of voting or mock elections are an important component of voter education campaigns. Such simulations can also be used to good effect close to voting day for voter information purposes, guiding voters through the act of marking and/or casting a ballot.

• Materials used in information campaigns on this issue are most effective when based on the actual ballot appearance i.e., color, layout, and shape,-and by showing a correctly marked and/or cast ballot. In preparing materials in this way, great care must be taken so that if imaginary candidates or party groups are depicted on these simulated ballots, they could in no way be associated with any political participant in the election. This applies to names, symbols, pictures, abbreviations used and needs to take into account public perceptions of political participant nicknames and images. In addition, complete, rather than partial, representations of ballots should be shown. It is important that no perceptions of apparent bias can be drawn from this information material.

To maximize the impact of this information, use of mass media is better concentrated in the week before voting day.  Where comprehensive voter information guides are produced for general distribution, ballot marking and/or casting instructions should form a prominent section of the guide.

Voting Day Assistance

On voting day, provision of posters in the voting station showing how to mark and/or cast a ballot correctly will provide a reminder to voters at the time of voting. Placement of posters in each voting compartment, either facing the voter, or as a placemat on the writing surface used, or as an integral part of voting machine booths (where used), will maximize effectiveness.

If cardboard voting booths are used, this information could be printed directly onto the booth itself.  Most importantly, where paper or card ballots are used, each ballot itself should contain succinct, clear instructions to the voter on the correct way in which to mark a ballot. For example: "Place a cross (X) in the box next to the candidate of your choice."

Information from Voting Operations Officials

Voting operations officials can also actively promote valid completion of ballots. For instance, where any slogan has been used to promote correct ballot marking information, this could be used as reinforcement by voting officials involved in controlling voter queues.

Officials should also be ready to explain correct ballot marking following any voter requests for information. Officials should be careful not to actually assist voters to complete ballots unless allowable under rules governing such voter assistance.

Use of Computers

Where voters have to use computer terminals to vote, whether by touch-screen or keyboard methods, intensive assistance will be required in the voting station to ensure that voters know how to use the machines correctly. In general, each voter should be allowed a trial run on a simulation computer (with imaginary candidates) under the guidance of a well-trained polling official, who should be satisfied that the voter is capable of using the computer to cast an actual vote.

Special Voting Facilities

Special voting facilitities - Voters using special voting facilities such as absentee or mail ballots will need particular instructions on how to complete both their ballots, and any forms or envelopes that accompany their ballots to establish their eligibility to vote. While these instructions may be available in separate formats, or promoted in specifically targeted voter information campaigns, they must also be on or with the ballot materials that have to be completed.

Enveloping system - If an enveloping system is used, instructions on how to correctly insert ballots into envelopes will also be required and, for mail voters, instructions on return post, including a clear statement of the deadline for the receipt of returned mail ballots.

Since such voters are likely to be unable to make contact easily with the Election Management Body for further clarifications, it is extremely important that these instructions are comprehensive and clearly understood.

Information on the Integrity of the Voting Process

Information Issues

There are two key aspects to providing voter information on voting operations integrity.

1. The ongoing promotion of the integrity of election processes, which is governed as much by public awareness and judgments of the election management body's performance as any specific voter information, education or image building initiatives.
2. Publicizing the measures that will be applied during voting in the period before voting commences to ensure that voting processes are open and transparent, and free of fraud, manipulation or intimidation.

Information Focus

There are some integrity issues that may be reinforced during the period prior to voting day, particularly in environments where there are significant numbers of new participants in voting processes or where open and fair methods of voting have only recently been introduced

Secrecy of the vote is an issue that may require emphasis, particularly in emerging democracies, but also in more traditional societies where male heads of households or traditional leaders are accustomed to an unchallenged decision-making role. In the latter case, reinforcement of the notion of voters marking their own ballot, in a compartment or booth out of view of anyone else, will assist voting officials in their attempts to prevent group or unauthorized proxy voting.

These messages can be combined with voter information on how to complete the ballot correctly, or, where cultural history shows the need for more intensive emphasis, as a separate component of voter information campaigns. (Voter education should also reinforce voting secrecy) Reinforcement by use of posters around the voting booth area in voting stations will also be useful in these environments. Voting station officials may need to emphasize that there are no secret or hidden recording equipment in the voting compartment that will record how the voter has voted.

Voter fraud prevention methods to be applied are another issue that may require specific focus in voter information campaigns related to the integrity of the process.

Where these are administrative controls, publicizing them widely through information campaigns may act as a deterrent. Where they require the active participation of each voter, such as having fingers marked with indelible ink, they can be used both to prepare voters for the process and allay any fears of fraud or reprisal.

For example, inclusion in voting procedures information campaigns that the ink used is invisible to normal sight, or only remains active for a limited period of time, can calm fears that persons who vote are later easily publicly recognizable.

Use of News Media

In more experienced and media-rich democracies, use of news releases and media coverage may be more cost-effective in reinforcing voting integrity issues than producing information material for distribution.

News releases and arrangements with media for stories on issues of public interest in reporting election preparation progress -such as ballot production, voting processes, issue of voter cards, and systems for preventing multiple voting--can all be focused to provide an emphasis on integrity issues.

Special Voting Facilities

For special voting facilities that require enveloped ballots and personal information from voters which can be used to check their eligibility to vote (such as in some systems of absentee or mail voting or for tendered or provisional ballots), voters may fear that this information will be used to determine how they voted.

Voting materials used for these methods of voting would preferably indicate the steps taken to separate voter information from ballot material before ballots are examined. Information material on the availability of such special voting facilities would also indicate how voting secrecy is to be preserved.

Expenditure Planning

Effective and efficient management of expenditure planning is crucial in any election there fore financial arrangements for voting operations must ensure that:

• sufficient funds are available for the required activities;

• there are adequate controls on their effective and proper use;

• funds are available at the time that they are needed.

There are further issues regarding financial management of voting operations that extend beyond budget and costing issues.

Authorization of Expenditure

During the election period there are times when a need may arise for staff expenditure and urgent purchases in field locations.

Procedures for expenditure authorization need to account for this through a strictly-controlled system of delegating limited expenditure powers up to the limit of their budget allocations to local offices. Monitoring systems for all expenditure are vital to ensure:

• that budget limits for local administration areas are being adhered to,

• to shift funds between areas where necessary, and to ensure that funds are not being misappropriated.

In well-controlled environments the issue of official credit cards for use by election administrators in purchasing election supplies may be appropriate. It is recommended however that this is only instituted where there are effective controls.

Probity in Purchasing

Generally electoral management bodies have applicable state purchasing procedures that govern the usual purchasing activities.

However, the time frames needed to apply these procedures fully in the use of standard tender processes, and possibly approval of major purchasing requests by infrequently meeting state tender boards-may make these impracticable during the compressed time frames of an election period. It is important, for timely supplies of material and equipment, that accelerated purchasing procedures are available that also maintain accountability and probity in purchasing.

These should still require:

• comparison of potential suppliers product quality, suitability and prices so that value is achieved;

• protection against illegal commissions or collusion;

• controls against fraud by staff.

Staffing

Generally the most significant cost component of voting operations are staffing costs, except in those jurisdictions where voting staff are legally obliged to provide their services free. How well these costs are managed, to a large extent, determines the cost-effectiveness of the whole election process. The following points can assist in ensuring efficient, cost effective staff:

Payment levels for staff need to be carefully considered. Except in societies where voting officials' duties are regarded as a civic responsibility, payment rates will need to be sufficient to attract and retain staff of acceptable quality. Retention is important as it reduces long terms costs as a body of skilled staff is built.

If payments are regarded as too low, voting officials may not be willing to accept employment offers for future elections, thus leading to loss of experience.

Acceptable payment rates for voting officials could be derived by aligning their payments with those of staff with similar levels of responsibility in public sector agencies. Where different voting station officials have different responsibility levels, e.g., for voting station managers as against a ballot box guard, some pay scale differentiation would be required. However, pay scales should be kept to as few gradations as possible, to enable simplicity and accuracy of processing.

Simplicity can be enhanced by paying voting officials a lump sum payment at the applicable rate for their voting day duties, training sessions and similar standard responsibilities.

Temporary administrative staff assisting in electoral management body offices would generally be more cost-effectively hired and paid on an hourly basis, in line with workload peaks and troughs. (For further discussion of voting operations staffing, see Recruitment and Training of Voting Station Staff)

Staff Payment Systems

There must be a workable system in place to pay all polling officials accurately and promptly. The large numbers of staff employed as voting officials will often put pressure on systems for payment of staff and control of validity of payments. It is good practice to inform staff of payment methods and dates during training to avoid problems at a later stage.

Ensure that payment systems are capable of performing to a standard that allows these commitments to be met as late or missing payments will discourage staff to accept future voting official appointments.

It is useful to pursue opportunities for using existing wage payment systems in large government agencies or private payroll contractor.

For national elections, especially, the large numbers of staff to be paid may make it difficult to receive satisfactory service levels from external contractors (and staff not receiving payments within two weeks of voting day would be an unsatisfactory service level).

The more expensive route of developing an in-house system may need to be considered where there are no reliable existing systems of sufficient capacities available.

Staff Payment Methods

The actual method of payment varies according to the environment. These include:

• payment to staff on voting day itself. This method may require providing additional security problems on a day when election material security is the paramount objective. It also requires strict financial accountability controls on each voting station manager.

• mail payment cheques to officials following receipt and processing of attendance and performance records following voting day. This is a commonly used method. However, payment immediately following conclusion of duties or by personal receipt from the electoral management body may be the only practicable method in some societies.

Where payment is made after voting day, special arrangements need to be made to forward payments to officials in areas where mail services are unreliable or in remote communities. Direct credit to bank accounts or personal receipt from electoral management body offices may be possible.

Where payment is made after voting day, special arrangements need to be made to forward payments to officials in areas where mail services are unreliable or in remote communities. Direct credit to bank accounts or personal receipt from electoral management body offices may be possible.

The distributed nature of staffing in large numbers of widely dispersed voting stations can present opportunities for "ghosting", i.e., the payment of fictitious staff, and making unwarranted additional payments to polling officials.

Systems for staff appointment and payment control have to be sufficiently robust to prevent these misappropriations, yet simple enough to allow expeditious processing of a large number of payments.

Accountability and Audit

As voting operations involve large numbers of staff and valuable, and often highly portable, equipment distributed over many locations, systems for financial accountability need to be very robust.

Particular care needs to be taken in maintaining controls over highly disposable small items, such as mobile phones and personal radios, and in ensuring that only authentic, officially appointed voting staffs are paid. Official financial control procedures should be in place sufficient to ensure that:

• records are maintained of materials and equipment acquisitions and transfers, including assets registers, supply and receipting procedures and records, asset and materials disposal procedures and records;

• auditing systems for and records of voting staff payments are fully maintained;

• staff are made accountable for funds and materials/equipment in their possession;

• controls on finance disbursements and materials/equipment disposition are sufficient to prevent illegal or fraudulent appropriation of election assets.

There is a need to ensure that election officials are made aware of these procedures, as well as any penalties for breaches of financial probity standards during their training.

It is good practice that all financial transactions and acquisitions or transfers of materials and equipment for voting operations are subject to thorough auditing to ensure that accountability processes are enforced. Where the electoral management body does not have its own auditing capability, there will be a need to engage outside auditing specialists.

International Assistance

International financial assistance for voting operations purposes is often provided on the basis of brief assessment missions. A drawback is that they lack the time and opportunity to become fully acquainted with local issues of timing requirements for funds availability.

There is a particular danger that late decisions from examination and approval processes in donor countries will lead to inefficient use of or unused assistance. It is more effective if financial arrangements are better planned in relation to the election timetable and properly targeted, rather than indiscriminately provided or provided too late for effective use for their intended purpose.

An important financial management issue: Accountability for international funding, particularly where it has been provided late and funds remain unspent at the close of the election period. Donor involvement, through involvement in steering groups for funds use, or retention of some powers to approve funds use, may often be appropriate.