To perform well on the criteria of currency, accuracy and completeness, a registration system must be simple and user-friendly. Voter registration should not be a literacy test. As far as possible it should not impose direct financial burdens, such as fees, on voters. If it does, its legitimacy will be questioned and it will perform less well on the three criteria.

Following are some of the ways of encouraging registration:

• Use a simple registration form and/or procedure.
• Plan special campaigns to target some difficult-to-register groups.
• If the system is based on voter registration centres, consider setting up mobile registration units to reach people in remote areas.
• Involve other groups in registration initiatives – for example, women’s groups, minority organizations and youth representatives.
• If appropriate, consider allowing electronic voter registration (e registration).
• Schedule registration relatively late in the election campaign, when interest is likely to be higher.
• Consider allowing registration on election day at the polls.
• Negotiate data-sharing arrangements with other civic authorities for help in tracking changes in the electorate.
• Consider establishing a provisional register of young people who will reach voting age within one or two years. Also consider making this the focus of a voter education campaign in high schools.
• Develop and implement effective voter education campaigns.

If citizens have no formal or legal obligation to register, the voter registration system is voluntary. In these circumstances, election authorities may choose from two approaches to registration:

• They may establish a level playing field by ensuring that the registration process is simple, clear and transparent, with an equal opportunity for all citizens to register. However, they do not take special measures to encourage registration by individuals or groups of people who are eligible but less likely to register and vote – for example, youth, poor or homeless people, and members of ethnic or linguistic minorities. This is essentially a passive approach to registration.
• They may facilitate registration and voting for groups who historically are under-represented in the electoral process, through campaigns targeting those groups. This is a far more active approach based on the view that the election authority has a responsibility to ensure that all groups of citizens can exercise their right to vote.

While both approaches have adherents among electoral administrators, active voter registration initiatives may raise thorny questions. The election authority must be non-partisan and independent of both government and opposition parties. If historically under-represented groups tend to support one party over the others, efforts encouraging them to register and vote may favour that party. Election authorities must expect such issues to be raised and be prepared to defend the active approach.