In a typical year or even a typical electoral cycle, the election authority may have little occasion to contact the electorate directly for the purpose of voter education. During a registration initiative, however, the authority must communicate certain facts and messages to voters, and this gives it the opportunity to add a voter education component to the initiative. The first priority is to present basic information about voter registration – who is eligible to register to vote, how to register and so on – but it is suitable to add messages about the importance of voting. Messages may even target certain groups of voters, such as youth, women, ethnic communities or homeless people.

Factors That Affect Education Programs

The form of voter registration being used will determine the focus of voter education messages. If registration is conducted through door-to-door enumeration, the emphasis will be on explaining why this is happening and what it involves. Messages will tell people that election or registration officials will be coming to their homes, that the officials will show identification, and that these enumerators will gather the information needed to add eligible residents of each home to the voters list.

The focus is different in a system using registration centres. Messages will explain to voters the requirements for registration, and will tell them when and where to register. In a district served by a mobile registration unit, messages will inform voters of the dates when the unit will be operating in their vicinity.

Enumeration

If enumeration is the method chosen for registering voters, the education program must publicize the dates and hours when it will take place – particularly since the time when enumerators will make their rounds is often relatively brief. Another facet of voter education is the card that enumerators leave at an address where they find no one at home. The card can explain further steps for registering voters at that address; for example, it may give the date when enumerators will make a return visit, or a telephone number to call for information.

Security is an important issue in enumeration. Since voters are asked to open their doors to enumerators, an impostor might seek to gain illegal or unwanted access to a home. The voter education program should explain how to recognize bona fide enumerators and what identification these officials will carry.

Equally important is providing for the security of the enumerators. A common safeguard is the requirement that they work in pairs. This may raise costs and necessitate efforts to find enumerators who can work together harmoniously, but the security benefits are substantial. Registration guidelines themselves may require that two enumerators work together, with each representing a different political interest and/or nominated by a different political party.

Registration Centres

In a system using registration centres, voter education will emphasize the importance of registering, and will explain the dates and times for registration and the locations of centres. Other messages may tell voters what documentation, if any, they need to bring to the registration centre (e.g. proof of identity, address or citizenship), whether they can register family members as well as themselves, or what to do if they cannot visit a registration centre during the publicized hours of operation.

Voter Education Partners

Voter education programs should seek to involve the major media outlets in publicizing important information, through paid advertising or free public service announcements. In a country where the only major media outlets are state- or government-operated, it may be a considerable challenge to ensure political impartiality. If that is so, community organizations, non-governmental organizations and political parties themselves may help to publicize why voter registration is important and how to register.

In newer democracies, foreign-based non-governmental organizations may provide assistance for voter education. In these (as well as most) cases, the central message may simply be “You must register to vote.”

Continuous Register and Civil Registry

For the initial development of a continuous list, voter education requirements are similar to those for the development of a periodic list. The difference is that the periodic list is used for only one electoral event, and whether or not someone is listed has no bearing beyond that event. In contrast, the success of an initial registration drive for a continuous list helps determine the longer-term success of the register and thus of the democratic process. Education efforts should communicate this point to potential voters so that they fully understand the implications of choosing not to register.

Civic education about registration has a role as well in a country with a civil registry system. Since participation in the registry is usually mandatory, messages should inform citizens about any new requirements and the penalty for non-compliance. Citizens also need to know how compliance or non-compliance affects their civic and/or democratic rights. For example, if they fail to register by the announced cut-off date before an election, they may have to pay a fine and may have no way to establish their eligibility to vote in that event.

Scale of Education Efforts

The scale of a civic education program depends on a country’s previous experience with collecting information about its citizens and holding democratic elections. If there is a tradition of maintaining civic records and organizing free and fair elections, voter awareness will generally be well developed and the education program may be modest. A greater effort is needed if the registration system has recently been revamped, or if the country has little experience with registration or democratic elections.