The penultimate aspect of the electoral law that we examine concerns the counting of the votes. Two questions are addressed: First, where are the votes counted? Second, under what conditions are the votes recounted?
The first question is whether votes are first sorted and counted at the local polling station or more centrally. The advantage of the former is that the count can be completed more quickly and that there is less risk that ‘something’ happens between the polling station and the place where the count takes place. The counterargument is that it may be easier to ensure a fair count when the process is more centralized, as it is easier for all the parties and international observers to watch. Almost 80% of the countries have chosen to have the first count directly in the polling stations. This is the majority pattern in all regions, though there are relatively more exceptions in the Middle East and Pacific. There is no relationship with level of economic development or degree of democracy. Former British colonies tend to follow the example of the UK and to opt for centralized counting.
The second issue is about recounts. There are basically three approaches. In some places (11 countries or 7%) ballots are never recounted, in others (14 countries or 8%) they are always recounted, and in the great majority they may be recounted under certain conditions, or by request or by court order. Countries with no recount (Angola, Costa Rica, Croatia, Israel, Lebanon, Mali, Niger, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, and Venezuela) are clearly the exception but perhaps surprisingly they do not tend to be less democratic overall than those with recounts.
There are clear dominant practices regarding the counting of the votes:
- In the great majority of the cases, the initial count takes place in the local polling station and recounts may occur under certain conditions.
- Exceptions to these dominant practices are more likely to be found among former British colonies, where the initial count often takes place outside polling stations.
- Automatic recounts are rare, but less so in more democratic countries.
| VOTE COUNTING |
Degree of democracy |
Former French colony |
Former British colony |
Former Spanish colony |
Economic development |
Vote counting at the local polling station
|
-
|
-
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less likely
|
-
|
-
|
Ballots never recounted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
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Ballots always recounted
|
more likely in more democratic countries
|
-
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-
|
-
|
-
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