This section examines the different aspects related to the
organization of voting operations, such as ballot content and design, voting
stations establishment, staffing and keeping order and the maintenance of
secrecy of voting and special voting procedures.
The procedural conduct of an election involves the integration of numerous
widespread processes. For instance, the 2009 general election in India (15th Lok Sabha) was an operation in which
over 716 million electors were eligible to vote in nearly 835,000 polling
stations. Voters in the 543 constituencies
had an opportunity in total to choose from amongst over 8,000 candidates. Almost 4.7 million polling staff were deployed. National voter turnout was 58% and the final results were available in a matter of several days.[i]
Although the organization of an election rarely reaches this scale, it is
always a complex and delicate operation. The electoral administration should be
able to use the necessary means so that for all citizens the vote is
safeguarded. Regardless of the scale of
an election, elections organizations must ensure that voting places are well
staffed with trained personnel and that all the materials are on site and in
sufficient quantity as,”Inadequate voting supplies effectively undermine the
right to vote.”[ii]
Voting operations are at the heart of voter interaction with the electoral
process and as such can impact participation and confidence:
Increasing popular participation in the electoral process is an important way of strengthening
democracy. This can only be achieved if the public has confidence in the
electoral process and if it is accessible to them. Lack of confidence and
limited access may lead to voter apathy, as reflected in the generally poor voter
turnout evident in some countries.[iii]
The rules governing voting operations and vote counting
at polling stations are usually thorough and detailed. They try to cover every
possible situation and to set out clear and precise guidelines that facilitate the
solution of possible problems.
However, these rules should also be clearly understandable for ordinary
citizens because experience shows that complicated legal frameworks regulating
voting operations or inadequate design of electoral materials giving form to
the legal framework inevitably generate high rates of abstention and invalid
votes.
The objective, simply put, is that, “The legal framework should ensure that secrecy of the vote is guaranteed,
and that all votes are counted and tabulated equally, fairly, and
transparently.”[iv]
[i] Election Commission of India, “Key Highlights, General Elections,
2009 (15th LOK SABHA).”, Official
Website
[ii] DRI and The Carter Center, Strengthening International Law, 42.
[iii] SADC and EISA, Principles for Election Management, Monitoring,
and Observation, 23.
[iv] OSCE, Guidelines for Reviewing a Legal
Framework for Elections, 25.
