Targeted registration is a registration initiative trying to reach an identifiable group of voters, usually because that group has lower registration rates than the general population or because such group of people live in very remote rural areas. Among the groups that may be targeted are young voters, members of ethnic communities, poor and homeless people, women, voters living abroad, high-mobility urban voters and displaced persons. Mexico and Peru deploy mobile registration units to rural areas. South Africa resorts to door-to door registration officers to areas with low registration rates as well as to prisons to register or update personal details of incarcerated voters. In Australia, Australian election officials target students by visiting college campuses.
Young Voters
Since voting levels have historically been lowest among young people, the election management authority may launch an initiative to increase registration of young voters. As part of the initiative, it may develop a voter education program focusing on youth; this could also be used as a component of high school civic education programs. To interest young people and involve them in the voting process, the election management authority may organise public performances, such as the “Rock the Vote” events held recently in some countries. The election management authority may also develop a provisional register of young people who will reach voting age within one or two years; once they do, they can automatically be transferred to the general voters’ list.
Members of Ethnic Communities
Members of ethnic communities may face significant language barriers to electoral participation. They may also have little or no understanding of the democratic process or their right to register and vote. To deal with such challenges, the election management authority may make election information available in multiple languages. Registration forms, information and outreach materials for voter registration should preferably be made available in the languages of ethnic groups, especially in areas where such languages are broadly used. Dialogue with leaders of an ethnic community can help to identify strategies for actively involving that community in the election process.
Poor and Homeless People
Poorer members of society are less likely to register or participate in political life. Sometimes registration rules require voters to have a fixed address; people who cannot meet the requirement may effectively be prevented from registering. A solution may be to allow these people to use the address of a homeless shelter in their community. In a city with more than one electoral district, homeless people may be assigned addresses at shelters throughout the city; the result will be that they are registered in roughly proportionate numbers in each electoral district, equalising the effect of registering this group of voters.
Women
Some societies still maintain social and cultural, if not legal, barriers to women’s political participation. A registration campaign targeting women may try to give them access to voter education materials encouraging them to register and vote, the materials are placed in locations where women are likely to see them. Many election management authorities work with women’s organisations to get the message out effectively. Campaign initiatives of this nature were undertaken in Zambia in preparation of the 2011 Tripartite elections;
Voters Living Abroad
Increasing numbers of people travel far from their home in search of employment, in many cases going to foreign countries. Some people leave spouse and children behind while they work abroad for lengthy periods. Despite their absence, they maintain close ties to their home country and identify with it, with many sending regular financial contributions to their country of origin. Targeted registration efforts for such people may include special visits by the election management authority to foreign jurisdictions to register voters, or a voter education programme advising them of their right to register and vote as well as how to do so or collaboration between the election management authority and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Electoral management authorities can also post information on how to register or where external voting locations are and requirements for voting on their website.
High-Mobility Urban Voters
In large urban centres in economically advanced democracies, up to 20 percent of people change their address each year. In a country with a continuous list, the election management authority must make considerable effort to track such changes in the time between elections. As an election approaches, many such voters (who may disproportionately be young) are bound to be registered inaccurately. A targeted registration initiative for this group may involve a voter education campaign combined with highly focused door-to-door registration as well as information on the electoral management authority website. Some electoral authorities, such as South Africa, hold specific election registration weekends a few months before the election to reach out to voters to encourage them to register.
Displaced persons
People could be forced to leave their usual place of residence by moving to new residential areas (camps or temporary shelters) within their own country (Internally Displaced Persons) or by leaving their home country (refugees) as a result of social upheavals, civil wars, armed conflicts and natural disasters. The election management authority, in collaboration with the IOM and the UNHCR, would formulate strategies and put in place measures for special targeted registration initiatives for these groups provided that out-of-country voting is permitted by law in the afflicted countries in the case of refugees, or make special arrangements for IDPs should voter registration and voting be directly linked to voters’ usual place of residence.
People with a disability
Potential and already registered voters with a disability may find it challenged to access voter registration centres. Electoral management authorities need to ensure that all efforts are made to accommodate the needs of people with a disability when reaching out to voters to encourage them to register
