Democracy means rule by the people, and the purpose of a voter list is to register the people who are eligible to exercise the right to vote. The following standards of democratic quality are particularly relevant:
Inclusion of all eligible voters. Any discrimination against individuals who are perceived to be political opponents should be avoided, and special sensitivity should be applied regarding certain sectors of the population that tend to be more vulnerable to disenfranchisement (e.g., women, rural residents, illiterate individuals and ethnic minorities). Comprehensive and accurate voter registers should be considered a prerequisite for free and fair elections (IDEA 2002, p. 33).
Facilitation of the voting operation. In structuring voter registries, the fundamental guiding principles are simplicity of procedures and convenience for the citizen. Because the exercise of a fundamental right is at stake, governmental and administrative authorities must not hinder the exercise of that right or obstruct election-related authorities. Simple administrative procedures must be put in place, and the process for registering must be made as convenient as possible, for example by reducing the need to travel long distances and eliminating payment of heavy fees on stamps and photographs or having to appear several times at registration centers (IDEA 2002, p. 25). This democracy standard requires that, independently of how the list of voters is produced (for only one election or as a permanent or continuous register), the voter lists must be publicly exposed for a given period of time for additions, corrections or deletions on the initiative of citizens.
There are also standards of technical efficacy such as the following:
Accessibility to eligible voters (this should be considered a technical as much as a democracy standard);
Ease of use on polling day. This refers to the way in which the voter rolls are disaggregated by polling center and the ability of voters to find their names on the appropriate voter list;
Updated lists either periodically or on a continuous basis; and
A clean registry, which should discourage double voting and help produce accurate electoral statistics. The main issues here are procedures for the deletion of the deceased, the inclusion of changes of residence so that voters are registered in the constituency where they live, and cross-checking to eliminate multiple registrations of the same individual.
Since the achievement of absolute perfection in almost any ongoing population record is unlikely, the main guiding principle for voter rolls, according to IDEA, is that enrollment procedures:
“need to strike the right balance between the need to be rigorous to ensure integrity of the rolls, and the need for flexibility to ensure that people’s rights to enroll and vote are protected.” (IDEA, 2002, p. 34).
Next: Managing the cost of voter/civil registries: Country Experiences
