EMBs can use electoral technology in virtually all aspects of managing the electoral process:
- Voter registration systems for building and maintaining a voter register with personal details of all eligible voters in electronic format, in some cases also biometric information such as photographs or finger print scans. Voter registration data in electronic format can be used in many ways (e.g. data cross-checks, duplicate detection, issuing voter identification documents, targeting voter information, planning and electoral logistics, producing voter lists for polling stations and obtaining demographic information about the electorate).
- Voter identification systems (electronic poll books) for checking the eligibility of each voter at the polling station level by comparing his or her personal details to a database of all eligible voters.
- Party and candidate registration systems, for tracking the registration status of all political subjects for an election, checking any required support signatures and providing the data in appropriate formats for designing ballot papers and tally sheets, configuring voting machines, etc.
- Observer registration and accreditation systems, for tracking the accreditation process for citizen and international observers and issuing their identification documents.
- District and boundary delimitation systems, using geographical in- formation systems to delimit political boundaries and distribute polling stations and catchment areas.
- Electronic voting and vote-counting systems, various systems ranging from machine counting of paper ballots to voting machines used in polling stations and Internet voting systems; these speed up the counting process and eliminates human interference.
- Result tabulation and transmission systems, for processing electronically captured turnout and results data, greatly speeding up related procedures and avoiding and detecting human error through automation and data cross-checks.
- Results publishing systems, for presenting and visualizing election results in various formats including maps, charts, detailed results databases and overviews.
- Voter information systems to provide voters and other electoral stakeholders with detailed data about electoral process. Such systems include polling station locators allowing voters to easily find their polling station, legal databases of regulations, information about parties and candidates running for election, databases allowing access to detailed election results and statistics, and continuously updated calendars with key events and deadlines.
- E-learning systems, for the professional development of EMB staff.
All of these electoral information and communications technology (ICT) solutions employ a wide range of technology, from simple mobile phones to private satellite links, from standard productivity and collaboration systems to specialized biometric databases, and from private intranet systems to public websites and social media channels.
Initially, electoral technology was often entirely custom built for each EMB, based on general-purpose ICT systems. In such systems, any specific electoral functionality had to be built from scratch. In recent years, however, election technology vendors have increased their range of products and provide ready-made solutions that only require relatively minor adjustments to local requirements and conditions.
