For an electoral event to proceed smoothly, it is essential that both permanent and temporary EMB staff receive appropriate operational training so that they fully understand the tasks required of them, especially when they are interacting with voters or other stakeholders, handling ballots or other accountable materials, or dealing with sensitive issues. At a minimum, such training needs to reinforce the importance of key requirements — such as respect for the law, neutrality and transparency — and to give participants a full understanding of the tasks they will be performing. For temporary staff, this will be the main emphasis, and manuals and checklists will be key tools. For permanent staff, training should also include an emphasis on the underlying systems and processes for which they will be responsible, with particular attention to contingency planning, backup mechanisms and problem solving.
Training Methods
Intensive training of temporary staff before every electoral event is a critical element of electoral service delivery and staff performance. The provision of a high-quality service, based on the principles of integrity and good electoral practice, is the underlying message of all temporary staff training. It is important for an EMB to develop a database of temporary staff who have been trained and worked satisfactorily during electoral events so they can be contacted to work in future electoral events.
Experience has shown that it is more effective to focus training for temporary staff on the specific operational elements of their responsibilities. Training in tasks such as voter registration, polling and counting is invariably more effective if supplemented with simulation exercises, such as role playing or mock exercises. Evaluation of each training session by the participants is essential for improved training performance.
Cascade Training
Cascade training entails the training of a core group of trainers in both electoral technical matters and training techniques—the ‘training of trainers’ who in turn train others at a lower level. The second level trains the third level and so on, until all targeted staff are trained. Cascade training’s relative cost effectiveness and the ability to train large numbers of people in a short period of time mean that it is widely used in both new and established EMBs. It is especially useful for tasks undertaken by large numbers of staff, or where training has to be delivered simultaneously or almost simultaneously over large geographical areas—for example, for voter registration and polling staff. Trainers at each level may be EMB members or staff, or may include external professional trainers, academics or respected members of CSOs. Using a mix of EMB staff and external trainers can have advantages for stakeholder buy-in and sustainability.
Cascade training is effective if the training at different levels is sequenced within relatively short time periods, and if the training at the final level of the cascade (e.g. polling station staff ) is conducted just a few days before the electoral event. This method requires that a large number of trainers fully understand the contents of the training sessions and the training methodology. Any failure or misunderstanding at the top of the chain will be passed on to the lower levels and may damage the whole exercise. Quality control measures— such as limiting the number of levels in the cascade and spot-check monitoring of training sessions—help to ensure that all training sessions are conducted accurately and consistently.
Training by Mobile Teams
A small number of mobile teams of trainers can conduct training for all election staff at all levels. This method has the advantage that the information is imparted accurately by competent teams of trainers. However, it requires more time, since a small number of teams are responsible for training all electoral staff across the country. While this may be an effective solution for electoral events held in very small geographical areas, it is not generally feasible elsewhere. If a large number of staff need to be trained and the mobile team starts training long before polling day, there is also a risk that the groups trained early will forget what they have learned.
Simultaneous Training
Simultaneous training involve training all temporary staff on a single day or series of days. This approach could be used if there is very little time to prepare for an electoral event, or where a large-scale training event is useful to an EMB as an image-building exercise or to stimulate interest in or education about an electoral event, as in Cambodia in 1993. However, it requires a very large number of competent trainers who would generally need to be externally recruited and trained in the technical content. It is also costly and requires very intensive planning to implement. Using video technology to brief temporary staff with previous experience on the changes that have been made to procedures since their last election might be another way to carry out simultaneous training.
