The applicable electoral system and its enabling legislation in each jurisdiction will largely determine what data has to be included in a voter register and what the voter register will be used for.
Voter registration qualifications and disqualifications are generally determined by legislation. The method of applying for registration usually includes the steps an applicant must take to prove eligibility for registration. Such steps can include completing a form with personal data, a declaration of eligibility, proof of eligibility by, for example, providing representatives of the electoral management body (EMB) with relevant identity documents such as birth certificates, passports, immigration documents or a declaration by recognized witnesses if no proof of identity can be provided for a justified reason.
Usually, the electoral legislation determines how an electoral district is defined. This may require that a voter register include voter geographic data to ensure that the voter is registered to vote in the electoral district correspondent to the voter residence address.
Again, these requirements indicate the desirability of electronically capturing and manipulating voter register data.
The applicable electoral legislation is also expected to indicate how the voter register is to be used in the voting process. In most cases, the voter register is used in voting places and EMB offices to determine a person’s right to vote and therefore has to be suitable for voting purposes. This means that copies of relevant information stored in the voter register are available, for instance, in printed hardcopy list formatted in a logical order, so that voter information can be found easily, or in an electronic list accessed by computer. In either case, there is a need to electronically capture and manipulate voter register data.
A requirement to record the fact that a registered voter has voted also impacts on the design of the voter register data base and on how it is used.
The voter data to be electronically captured and manipulated is also determined by additional requirements such as the need to compile master voters lists for the purpose of determining instances of multiple voting or, in the case of compulsory voting systems, instances of failure to vote.
