When planning for voter registration, it is essential to identify what kind of information is needed. Usually a country’s constitution or electoral law specifies the information to be collected. This always includes each voter’s name, residential address if any and citizenship status, as well as age or date of birth (partly to ensure that the voter has reached voting age). Normally the voter’s gender is also recorded, although privacy concerns may make this information difficult to collect.
Information on date of birth and gender often helps to verify the accuracy of the data gathered in the registration process and detect duplicate registrations.
A signature might be required, depending on the literacy rate. If the plan is to issue voter identification cards, the cards’ requirements could affect the type of information collected. In particular, the authorities must decide whether to include identifying features on the card, such as a photograph or the voter’s fingerprint.
Action Plan
After determining the information to be gathered, election administrators can proceed with developing a detailed action plan, taking into consideration factors such as:
- the number of citizens eligible for registration
- geographic and demographic characteristics of the country or electoral division
- the length of time likely to be required for the completion of each registration
- whether computers, or other technology,will be used and, if so, for which aspects of registration
- logistics for various aspects of registration
- the number of registration officers or other information-gathering personnel
- the number and location of data entry personnel if computers are to be used
- the number and location of recording personnel if manual records are used
- data storage, storage for equipment and manual records if used
- the number and location of supervisory personnel
- adequate security for data and equipments
- method of informing voters about the registration process
While developing the action plan, the central election administration can also give attention to the training sessions required for successful implementation of the plan, as well as the materials to be produced for personnel training. And of course the plan must cover producing materials needed for registration itself, such as registration forms, reminder cards, mail-in cards and data entry record forms.
Data Gathering with a Periodic List
In a system using a periodic list, there are various options for collecting and handling registration data. The action plan must be designed according to the options selected. Will the data be gathered through door-to-door visits by registration officers, for example, or will registration centres be established where voters must present themselves to register? Will registration be possible by mail, either as the sole option or as a back-up to registration centres? Will the registration take place through a face-to-face meeting between the registration officer and the voter? If not, how will the election management authority be able to confirm that the information collected is accurate and valid? What kind of identification will be required to confirm voter identity? Will voter identification cards be issued and, if so, what will appear on the card? Will it include a photograph? Will it be laminated and, if so, will a hot or cold lamination process be used?
Data Gathering with a Continuous Register
In a system with a continuous list or register, the methods used to collect data for initial construction of the voters’ register differ from the methods used for ongoing updating. Initial construction may involve data-gathering methods very similar to those used for a periodic list – that is, door-to-door registration, registration at centres established for that purpose or registration by mail. After initial construction, however, there is a significant shift in the approach to data collection. In particular, the election management authority tries to obtain changes in voter information on an ongoing basis so that it can incorporate changes of address, add newly eligible voters, and remove the names of deceased people or individuals who have otherwise ceased to be eligible to vote.
To maintain a continuous register, an election management authority may negotiate data-sharing agreements with other public bodies. These give it access, for example, to changes of address reported by citizens to the tax office with their annual income tax declarations, or perhaps reported to the housing authority. With the development and ongoing management of data-sharing arrangements, an election management authority using a continuous register must undertake tasks significantly different from those required for producing a periodic list.
Data Storage
Once information has been gathered, it must be securely stored. The storage method most familiar today is a computerised database. Registration personnel transfer data from the voter registration forms to computerised files. The files can then be used to produce voter identification cards and the voters list itself. Information may also be recorded by hand or typewriter. Voter files then are sorted according to various criteria (e.g. alphabetically or by street address). Appropriate precautions put in place in prior to the registration process starting, will maintain a secure environment for the files, whether or not they are computerised.
A more challenging but equally important task is storing source documentation, such as voters’ fingerprints, signatures and photographs. These often serve as vital checks of list accuracy and provide legal verification for voter registration. Another task may be transferring computerized files from local election offices to the central election management authority for final compilation of the voters lists. If files are not computerized, it may still be necessary to transfer data from the voter registration forms to the voters list, often with the intermediate step of producing a preliminary voters list. Both registration data including, voters’ fingerprints, signatures, photographs, forms and voters lists must be stored securely.
Simple, Clear Procedures and Structure
A large-scale, comprehensive voter registration drive often occurs within a short time before or after the calling of an election. Plans for the drive should give priority to establishing an open and transparent registration system. A rule of thumb is to keep procedures simple and take reasonable security precautions. The voter registration form itself should be straightforward, not a test of literacy or competence. Its purpose is simply to gather basic information and reveal whether the individual completing the form is eligible to vote. The sheer magnitude of the voter registration process and the inevitable time pressure are challenges enough. If the procedures chosen are kept simple, the task will be more manageable.
Equally important is a clear and well-articulated structure to smooth functioning. A supervisor should directly oversee the work of seven to nine data collectors or registration officers, a regional deputy registrar should be responsible for perhaps seven to nine supervisors, and so on up the administrative ladder. Lack of foresight will produce inefficiencies; they can be minimized with a well-defined organization.
