The codification of observation methodology in the form of online and
published materials is essential not only for building consensus, but also for
training observers and ensuring that their work is transparent and understood
by stakeholders. The 2003 Electoral Institute for
Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA)/SADC Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and
Observation in the SADC Region, for instance, underscored
the need for national observers to be trained in polling procedures, be present
in polling stations, and assess all stages of the process. ODIHR, EU,
and OAS have published comprehensive manuals for observers that combine
methodological and practical instructions for carrying out a professional
mission. Documents like ODIHR’s Election Observation Handbook (6th ed., 2010),
the EU’s Handbook for European Union Election Observation (2nd ed., 2008), and
OAS’ Manual for OAS Electoral Observation Missions (2009) help ensure consistency
across missions and build a common body of knowledge among observers and staff.
They also can serve as guides for newer organizations, both international and
national, interested in developing observation programs. NDI has released
several field guides for the West African Election Observers Network including
Systematic Methods for Advancing Election Observation, Outreach and External
Communication, and Materials for Professional Election Observation: Designing
Forms, Manuals and Trainings.[i]
OCSE/ODIHR has also published a Handbook for Domestic Election Observers
(2003).[ii]
Since EISA and SADC published PEMMO (discussed above) in
2003, several other organizations have expanded the effort to provide observers
with useful guides on the use of international obligations. The EU, for
instance, has published the Compendium of International Standards for
Elections, which offers observers step-by-step instructions for applying public
international law in their analysis and offers a printed matrix of countries’
ratification statuses. In 2010, The Carter Center launched an online Database
of Obligations (re-designed in fall 2014 as the Election Obligations and
Standards Database, or EOS). The database’s companion handbook, Election
Obligations and Standards: A Carter Center Assessment Manual, breaks down the
21 obligations into detailed, topical assessment criteria for all aspects of
the electoral process. In addition, the EU’s Election Observation Democracy
Support (EODS) project has developed an online database of relevant
international jurisprudence on international obligations.[iii]
A significant body also exists of thematic manuals that
detail methodologies for observing specific components of the electoral
process. In 2001, ODIHR and International IDEA drafted the first handbook on
electoral legal frameworks, Guidelines for Reviewing a Legal Framework for
Elections. In 2013 ODIHR released an updated edition of the Guidelines to
reflect new case law and the emergence of electronic voting systems. The goals
of the manual are to enable observers to identify gaps in legal protections and
to guide authorities to improve electoral legislation.[iv]
Separately, IDEA released International Obligations for Elections: Guidelines
for Legal Frameworks in 2014. Observer groups also have recognized the
importance of monitoring areas such as media, campaign finance, gender
equality, and voter registration. Methodology for Media Observation during
Elections: A Manual for OAS Electoral Observation Missions (2011) articulates
the objective of media observation as “[analyzing] the existence or not of
conditions of equity to compete in an election, observing, for example, access
to media outlets by political actors…”[v]
This handbook, as well as ODIHR’s Handbook on Media Monitoring for Election Observation
Missions (2012), discusses how to collect and process media coverage, looking
for balance of coverage as well as at voter education content. ODIHR likewise
has published manuals on monitoring women’s political participation and voter
registration, and OAS on campaign finance.
Specific methodologies
have also been formulated to monitor and mitigate conflict and violence during
the electoral process. The National Democratic Institute published Monitoring
and Mitigating Electoral Violence Through Nonpartisan Citizen Election
Observation, creating guidelines for citizen observers working in potentially
violent circumstances.[vi]
The United Nations Development Programme also published Elections and Conflict
Prevention: A Guide to Analysis, Planning, and Programming, which, while not
solely oriented towards elections observers, nevertheless provides valuable
information for practitioners in the election observation field.[vii] Thematic manuals
focusing on violence against women in elections (VAWE) have sprung up in
recognition that women are affected by electoral violence differently than men,
and may be specifically targeted for electoral violence due to their gender.
The Organization Security and Cooperation in Europe published their Handbook
for Monitoring Women’s Participation in Elections in 2004, and other
organizations have followed suit.[viii]
In 2013, the Organization of American States published a Manual for
Incorporating a Gender Perspective into OAS Observation Missions.[ix] The National
Democratic Institute published their Votes Without Violence Toolkit in 2016,
which provides resources for election observers and practitioners alongside a
comprehensive manual.[x]
The advent of electronic voting and related technologies has
presented a challenge to observation methodology because standard methods are
often inapplicable. Observers working in countries using technology need to ask
new types of questions. Some may be obvious, such as: Is there a contingency
plan in case of equipment failure? Observers also need a sufficient technical
understanding of the technologies used to assess independently whether systems
are secure from hackers, for example, or whether ballot verification measures
(such as a voter-verified paper audit trail, or VVPAT) are functioning
properly. The Carter Center first published its Baseline Survey for Observing
Electronic Voting in 2007, after testing it in Venezuela’s 2006 presidential
election, in an attempt to equip observers with a comprehensive set of tailored
questions for stakeholders.[xi]
The Center’s Handbook on Observing Electronic Voting (2nd ed., 2012), as well
as ODIHR’s Handbook for the Observation of New Voting Technologies (2013) and
OAS’ Observing the Use of Electoral Technologies (2010) outline the specialized
expertise necessary for a mission involving observation of e-voting or even
e-registration and extrapolate established obligations to technological
applications. Recently, in 2013, NDI and IFES released Implementing and
Overseeing Electronic Voting and Counting Technologies, a guide geared both to
electoral management bodies implementing technologies and to observers,
political parties, and civil society seeking to understand and monitor their
use. Drawing on real case studies, the manual addresses legal issues, timelines
for implementation, sustainability, trust and integrity, and data security, as
well as the extent to which technologies reflect international standards of
transparency, accountability, and ballot secrecy.[xii]
Since the 2016 British referendum, the 2016 US elections and
the 2017 French elections, the potential negative influence of mis- and
disinformation disseminated via the internet and social media is capturing
global attention. In response to this, several election observation
organizations are exploring new methods for social media monitoring. The Carter
Center, EU and NDI are all considering what this means for their work and how
they, and citizen observer partners, assess the integrity of electoral
processes.
As the volume of printed resources is now immense, some
groups have experimented with moving parts of their observer training online.
ODIHR, for instance, has developed a free, four-module, web-based course for
STOs that introduces them to OSCE commitments and other relevant international
standards; their mandate, role within the mission, and daily responsibilities
as observers; and the Code of Conduct.[xiii]
The EU invites STOs to complete a six-module course on “Safety and Security in
the Field,” and IFES produced a 30-minute video tutorial on Ukrainian election
procedures specific to international and citizen observers deploying for the
country’s May 2014 presidential vote.[xiv]
Citizen Observer groups that are members of GNDEM also have access to an online
Resource Center which compiles over 1,000 best practice documents arranged by
topic.[xv]
[iv]
OSCE/ODIHR, Guidelines for Reviewing a Legal
Framework for Elections (Warsaw: OSCE/ODIHR, 2013), 2.
[v]
OAS, Methodology for Media Observation during Elections: A Manual for OAS
Electoral Observation Missions (Washington, D.C.: OAS, 2011), 2.
[vi]
NDI, Monitoring and Mitigating Electoral Violence Through Nonpartisan Citizen
Election Observation, 2014
[vii]
(2) UNDP, elections and Conflict Prevention: A Guide to Analysis, Planning and
Programming, 2009
[viii]
OSCE, Handbook for Monitoring Women’s Participation in elections, 2004
[ix]
OAS, Manual for Incorporating a Gender Perspective Into OAS Observation
Missions, 2013
[x]
NDI, Votes Without Violence, 2016
[xi]
Carter Center, The Carter Center Handbook on Observing Electronic Voting,
Second Edition (Atlanta: The Carter Center, 2012),
[xii]
Ben Goldsmith and Holly Ruthrauff, Implementing
and Overseeing Electronic Voting and Counting Technologies (Washington, DC:
IFES and NDI, 2013), 21.
