Primary Uses of the Voters List

The primary purpose of the electoral register, or voters list, is to confirm individuals’ eligibility to vote in national or local elections. A voters list enables the election authority to separate the function of verifying eligibility from the function of controlling the legitimacy of the balloting process. A registration effort determines eligibility in advance of election day; as a result, the election authority can administer the election efficiently, while minimizing waiting times for voters. Procedures that reduce the effort voters must make to cast a ballot are important given the steadily decreasing turnout rates in many democracies.

Extended Uses of the Voters List

Voters lists have other uses that help justify the investment in time, personnel and money that they entail. Among the extended uses are the following:

• The lists may be employed for referendums and plebiscites.
• They are useful for initiative and recall petitions. Officials may refer to the lists to assess whether a petition has secured the number of voters’ signatures required to force a vote.
• Lists are provided to political parties to assist them and their candidates in campaigning. By assessing the quality of the lists, parties help ensure the legitimacy of the electoral process.
• In countries that set per-voter limits on campaign spending, the lists may be used to calculate the allowed expenditures of political parties and candidates.
• Some form of voter registration is also needed for party leadership or nomination contests. Often a party uses lists of its members and perhaps of affiliated unions. Sometimes the electoral register may include information about individuals’ party affiliation, enabling voters to participate in party primaries. In fact, listing party affiliation on a voters list is uncommon since it may compromise the secrecy of the vote.
• Lists may be used to compile jury pools (lists of persons eligible to serve on a jury), or to help track down “deadbeat dads” and student loan defaulters. These uses go far beyond a strictly electoral function.

While voters lists may lend themselves to many purposes, there often are strict limits on their use and the extent to which they may be distributed. The limits may be specified in the electoral code, with the intent of protecting the privacy of people on the list. Some voters may request their information to be kept strictly confidential and not included on the list provided to political parties. Known as “silent electors” or anonymous voters, they may make such a request because they are concerned about possible spousal abuse or other forms of domestic violence, or have other justifiable reasons. The election authority may develop and maintain a completely separate voters list for silent electors.

Responsiveness to Local Conditions

To help make voter registration comprehensive and inclusive, the mechanisms used should be adapted to local political, social and economic conditions. In the design of a registration system, factors to be considered include:

• literacy
• climate
• administrative infrastructure
• political environment

Literacy

Literacy rates directly affect the ability to communicate with potential voters. Where rates are high, communications with voters will be relatively efficient and economical, facilitating registration. In a country with high literacy rates and a continuous list of voters, for example, election officers may mail each voter a card showing his or her current registration information. The voter reads the card to review the accuracy of the information printed on it and, if necessary, sends amended information by return mail. This way of communication, of course, requires a dependable postal system with delivery to each household.

But not every country with a high literacy rate will have the necessary infrastructure. And where literacy rates are low, communication by mail is still less appropriate. Instead, election officers must personally contact voters to complete the registration process, and community leaders must step in to provide information about registration. Even if the literacy rate is high and personal contact is not essential, it is important to ensure that registration forms are easy to understand and free of legal jargon that could confuse the average citizen. In other words, a voter registration form should not be a literacy test for registration. If the literacy rate is low, it may be best for election officers to fill out the forms for the people they are registering, either in door-to-door interviews or at registration centres.

Climate

In economically advanced countries, climate may have little effect on registration and voting. Much of the registration process may be handled through electronic means and be highly computerized. These countries often have well-developed administrative infrastructure, facilitating registration despite adverse climate conditions. But even such societies may customarily avoid holding elections at certain times of the year – for example, during the winter in countries with cold climates. This practice will in turn affect the scheduling of registration. No formal rule may prohibit calling an election during certain seasons but the preference of avoiding those seasons will influence election planning.

In less developed countries, climate conditions may have a greater impact on the scheduling of registration and elections. Drought, rainy season, planting or harvest all could affect citizens’ ability to register and the likelihood that they will do so. Registration may have to be rescheduled accordingly.

Administrative Infrastructure

The success of registration efforts depends largely on whether the necessary administrative infrastructure is in place. This includes capacity for overall administrative and logistical planning or data collection; procurement policies and procedures; physical infrastructure; worker selection and training procedures; and the staffing necessary for all these aspects of the process. Establishing and maintaining the administrative infrastructure is costly and time-consuming. Without it, however, the electoral process may lack legitimacy and integrity. The administrative infrastructure should be maintained on a continuing basis, not created anew for each election.

Political Environment

A country’s overall political climate can obviously have an impact on voter registration and elections. The political environment may be completely peaceful, with all parties accepting the legitimacy of the electoral process; or the atmosphere may be tense because of domestic or international conflict. Between these two extremes are endless possibilities. The ideal is for registration and voting to be conducted in a harmonious political climate, but this is not always available. When it is not, questions of fairness or legitimacy are almost certain to arise. The most useful response to a less than ideal political environment is to do the utmost to ensure that election administration is, and is perceived to be, fair and impartial. Also useful is to ensure transparency by providing all political parties with opportunities to observe the administration of the election.

Special challenges confront the election authority in a post-conflict situation. It may be necessary to develop or administer policies on such matters as out-of-country voting, the identification of voters who have no documents, voter registration in refugee camps, and sometimes the actions of political parties or other groups seeking to disrupt the election.