Regardless of the model of EMB used, budgetary restrictions provide an overall constraint on the number and types of positions that an EMB can afford to fund. EMBs following the Independent Model that have the authority to hire and fire staff may be best placed to determine their own structure. Even in such cases, however, the law or government regulation may have already determined key elements of the organizational structure, such as senior executive positions and required functional divisions.
All EMBs that rely on public service staffing for their secretariat may face constraints on their ability to determine their organizational structure. General laws and practices for the public service may require approval for all organizational structures from a central supervisory body; set rigid standards for how departments, sections, subsections and other work units must be structured; or restrict the use of non-public service contractors or experts. The staff of governmental EMBs under either the Governmental or Mixed Models, all or most of whom work within public service departments, may have even greater constraints, as they may have to fit not only the structure of a temporary electoral organization but also the continuing work structure for their department or authority’s other tasks. EMBs under the Independent Model that have control over their staffing may have more structural flexibility.
‘Developing’ is a key term for EMB organizational structures. Devising an initial structure is the first step, but maintaining a structure that continues to meet the evolving legal framework, the rapid advances in electoral information and communications technology, and stakeholder expectations is a real challenge. It is harder to be flexible enough to meet these demands when the organizational structure is partially or wholly defined by law or regulations of bodies other than the EMB, or where the EMB’s structure and staffing are subject to general public service rules. While constant organizational change is unsettling, including structural reviews in major evaluations and giving the EMB powers to make changes or additions to organizational structures can enhance the effectiveness of electoral management.
Temporary task forces or project teams drawn from different parts of an EMB can be a more effective short-term response to evolving challenges than major changes to organizational structures, especially when rapid action is required and when the disruption of major restructuring may outweigh any immediate benefits.
