Why "Elections and Technology"?
The meaning of "technology"
Implementing technology for election administration
What types of technology will be covered in this topic area?
Why "Elections and Technology"?
In many countries, technology is present in activities related to the electoral process, and in some cases it is essential to the conduct of elections. Technology is used, for example, to compile voter lists, to draw electoral boundaries, to manage and train staff, to print ballots, to conduct voter education campaigns, to record cast votes, to count and consolidate vote results and to publish election results. The appropriate application of technology to elections can increase administrative efficiency, reduce long-term costs and enhance political transparency.
Technologies used for elections can include familiar and older ones like printing presses, ball point pens, manual typewriters, electronic calculators and radios, or newer technologies like computers, optical scanners, digital mapping and the Internet. The logistics of modern large-scale elections can be a considerable challenge for countries without access to technology.
The complexity level of technology used for the administration of elections around the world varies enormously. The rate of technological change is so high that election management bodies (EMBs) must regularly re-evaluate their use of technology to determine whether they should adopt new or updated technology to improve their performance.
This Elections and Technology (ET) topic area aims to assist EMBs in this task by:
- describing technologies that are currently being used for electoral processes
- presenting guidelines for the evaluation, choice and implementation of new technologies
- providing examples of so-called best practices in the use of technology as well as examples where technology has not lived up to expectations
- examining some of the emerging technologies and trends to identify those that may apply to elections in the near future
The ET topic area is different from the other topic areas included in the Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project. While the other topic areas cover specific aspects of the election process, the ET topic area covers technology appropriate to those topic areas.
The use of technology in elections is not an end in itself, but assists in the various aspects of electoral administration. For example, electronic database management systems can be used in several components of the election process, such as voter lists, material inventories, personnel management, payroll, election results dissemination and statistics.
To relate the use of technology to specific election processes, the ET topic area contains links to relevant topic areas on the ACE Project website and to the Internet.
The meaning of "technology"
“Technology” can be defined as anything involving the application of science and engineering. This broad definition can cover any manufactured item, so a more limited definition is adopted to consider items directly relevant to election administration.
“New technology” can mean new in one place and old in another, in addition to being an evolving concept. The Gutenberg printing press, wristwatches, manual typewriters and ball point pens were once considered new technology when they were developed, but in the 21st century they are hardly thought of as technology.
"Elections and technology" often refers to software programs and electronic equipment, such as computers, printers, scanners, bar code readers and the Internet. But there are other technologies used in elections that do not directly involve computers, but rather new materials, such as cardboard, fibreglass and plastic used in polling equipment.
Within this topic area “technology” may refer to existing or so-called old technology, as well as emerging or developing technology. It may include computer hardware and software, other electronic equipment, mechanical devices and some materials. References might also be made to non-electronic innovations and techniques with specific electoral applications.
The main focus is on practical issues such as the type of technologies that are currently in use around the world and guidelines for the implementation and maintenance of technologies.
Implementing technology for election administration
On the process of implementing specific technologies for elections administration, there are a few considerations to take into account, some common to any implementation of technologies others more specific to the electoral process:
Elections can be a high risk activity .
They have to be conducted properly, open to public scrutiny, and there is not much room for errors. Unlike other applications of technology, where systems can be introduced gradually with extended testing and implementation schedules, many election systems are used for the first time on Election Day and, therefore, must work correctly or the entire election may be jeopardized.
An electoral management body needs to consider the upgrade of existing technology versus the introduction of new technology. Thorough evaluations are necessary to avoid incurring high costs for relatively minor improvements. Depending on the application, it may be more appropriate to continue using the existing system.
This leads to the consideration of the cost-effectiveness of implementing a new technology. Evaluation studies of costs and savings associated with introducing technology need to take into consideration, not only the initial costs involved in purchasing equipment and materials, but also the cost of setting up the new system, additional expertise and the need for ongoing maintenance and management. (This will likely involve obtaining an additional commitment of funds through the relevant government budgetary process.)
Another consideration is the sustainability of technologies under evaluation. [
In most applications, there is a need to ensure that the technology adopted can be used during extended periods covering several elections. Adopting technologies that can become quickly obsolete or unusable may prove expensive and unsustainable in the long-term.
Some technologies are changing at such rapid rates that it is almost impossible to avoid short-term obsolescence. In this case, it is important to study existent technology standards and trends in order to adopt protective measures that can decrease both the impact of future versions or systems and technical incompatibilities. Personal computer processing power is a good example of how "state-of-the-art" technology can rapidly become obsolete and therefore how important it is to choose suppliers that ensure upward compatibility that will facilitate the smooth transfer of data from an old to a new computer. In addition, other alternatives such as leasing equipment rather than purchasing, might be considered to optimize the use of resources.
To determine the appropriateness of implementing new systems with new technologies, other factors such as the local physical environment and infrastructure need to be considered. A country with an intermittent power supply, for example, may not be an appropriate location for implementing a wide area network of personal computers that require a reliable power source. High humidity or high levels of dust or sand may also restrict the choice of appropriate technology.
Security issues are also involved. Particularly for systems used for recording, tallying or transmitting voting data, the technology must ensure the security of the data as well, if not better, than the equivalent manual processes that are being replaced.
Before new technologies are introduced, it is important to consult with all of the stakeholders who are likely to be affected. EMB staff must be willing and able to implement the changes.
Participants in the election process such as political parties, candidates, members of parliament and the media need to be consulted if the change affects them as, for example, in a case where an electronic voting system is being considered. New technology may also require changes to the relevant electoral laws and rules, which means that these changes need to be negotiated and guaranteed before a commitment to the new technology is made.
Time frames for implementing new technology need to be carefully studied and defined:
- to consult with stakeholders
- to identify and evaluate needs
- to evaluate and select specific technology to be adopted
- to implement the new system
- to test the system features and outcomes in order to make sure that it works properly when needed
- to train the users of the system
It is common for EMBs to underestimate how long it takes to implement a new system. And yet, if not enough time is allocated to implementing the new system or if implementation is rushed, even though the system may be considered ready at election time, there is an increased risk that one of its crucial steps will fail. (In the late 90s elections were cancelled in a Latin American country on the day of elections because the new voting system was not ready.)
Another potential pitfall is attempting to do too much too quickly. If possible, it is better to introduce new technologies gradually, even over a series of electoral events, instead of trying to implement new technology all at once, in a single step.
Once a decision on a new system is taken, an implementation plan needs to be developed with expected outcomes, timelines, allocation of responsibilities, checklists, standards, quality controls, training of support staff, training of users and an implementation budget. If possible, it may be useful to undertake a pilot program first, to test the new system on a small scale.
After the successful testing of pilot systems, preparations for a full-scale system implementation can start, including a “load test” where the system is tested by conducting a mock exercise that is as close as possible to the real situation.
Another essential step for the successful implementation of a system using new technologies is to determine who is going to use the system and in what capacity, in order to organize appropriate training sessions. In the case of systems used only by EMB staff, for instance, it may be necessary to only train related staff. Where the system is used by EMB staff and outsiders, different training sessions might be needed; one adapted to the staff and another to the outsiders. For example, if an electronic voting system is introduced, EMB staff may have to be trained as trainers who, in turn, train polling workers to assist voters. In addition, a massive communications campaign might be organized to prepare voters to handle the new system and technology. Time for conducting user training has to be built into the implementation plan.
Then come the risks: any technology, new or old, can fail. When new technologies are first implemented, the risk of failure can be higher than with tried and tested systems.
Consequently, it is important to have in place contingency plans. Often this involves setting up manual back-up systems that can kick into operation at short notice whenever the technology fails. For example, where ballots are being counted electronically, plans have to be in place to enable a switch to a manual count whenever the electronic system fails. Computer systems also have to be designed with appropriate back-up systems, such as the use of mirrored servers, automation of back-up copies of data and off-site facilities to regularly store copies of data.
What types of technology will be covered in this topic area?
If an EMB is considering the use of new technology for election purposes, it might want to start by looking at technology currently in use for similar purposes, who is using it and what issues have arisen in its use. The Elections and Technology topic area looks at three main categories of technologies, with sub-categories, currently in use around the world:
- Communications: Telecommunications, Radio, Networks and the Internet.
- Computer Hardware and Software: Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Database Management Systems.
- Other technologies: Specialized Electronic and Mechanical Devices, Non-electronic Innovations and Materials.
This is followed by a review of technologies used within specific electoral administration, such as:
- Boundary Administration
- Technology for Voter Registration
- Technology for Regulation of Party and Candidates
- Technology for Reaching Voters
- Technology for Voting Operations
- Technology for Corporate Management
The ET topic area also looks at issues related to the use of technology, such as management of technology and trends that may affect the future use of technology in elections.
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Preparation of the election night by European Parliament is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License.
