Once the vote counting process is over, the counting officer prepares the statement of the vote for a voting station.
This form indicates the election results and should include standard information, such as the name of the electoral district, the name and/or number of the voting station, and election date.
Specific information on the count should include:
The presiding officer and the representatives of political parties and candidates sign the form. They should provide their printed names, addresses, and telephone numbers, if any, along with their signatures. If there is a problem, it will then be easier for the electoral management body to locate and contact them.
Some jurisdictions require all counting officers present at the voting station to sign the statement of votes.
Once the form is completed the results should be given orally, or transmitted electronically, to the local office of the electoral management body to allow them to gather interim results as soon as possible. The presiding officer is responsible for communicating the interim results.
The transmission can be done by telephone, cellular phone, or Internet using a unique security code to ensure the proper identification of the person transmitting the results. However, the communications infrastructure in parts of some countries does not permit oral or electronic reporting of interim voting results. In such locations, the use of the presiding officer or other officially designated person carrying the statement of the vote may be the only available alternative.
After the interim results have been reported orally or electronically, the original of the statement of the votes should be transmitted to the pre-determined office of the electoral management body by hand in a sealed tamper-evident envelope. This measure is essential to prevent fraud and ensure chain of custody of the legal document based on which final results are verified.
Representatives of a political party and candidates should be allowed to copy the results.
The counting officer should post an official copy of the statement of the votes at the voting station. The original is placed in a sealed envelope and attached to the ballot box for use by the electoral management body. Observers and party and candidate representatives should have the right to a copy of the official statement of the vote for the voting station or the counting centres.
Issue of Transparency
Transparency is very significant, particularly at the time of the release and transmission of interim results. Representatives of political parties and candidates should sign and have a copy of the statement of the vote and should be allowed to witness the transmission of the corresponding results to the electoral management body.
Such transparency of actions is essential in the acceptance of the general outcome of the election.
Importance of Contingency Plans
Communications technology plays an increasingly important role in the transmission of voting results. If the supporting systems used by the electoral management body fail, postponement of interim results can ensue, creating numerous administrative, technical, security, and logistical problems. In addition, such failures tend to be politically embarrassing to the electoral management body, and often cause mistrust from constituents towards the EMB.
To avoid such failures, a contingency plan should be implemented, and fully tested prior to Election Day. Identification of a second telephone in close proximity to each voting station can be made prior to Election Day, and can represent an economical alternative in case of technology failure. Where mobile phones are used, technical support staff can be deployed with replacements for failed units. Where multiple mobile networks are available, local roaming or alternative SIM cards can be provided to presiding officers.
Where transmission of data from devices at the polling station or perhaps from tallying centres is planned, devices can be configured with a number of target servers offering redundancy at the back end and increasing the likelihood that results will reach at least one of the configured servers.
Radio handsets can also be used. Finally, a manual alternative to electronic transmission of results, such as the use of couriers or hand delivery, can be used as a final back-up plan.
The selection of a contingency plan is driven by local context and circumstances in that particular jurisdiction. In some circumstances, prior agreement with security forces to use their communications equipment can be negotiated, or partnership or collaboration with private companies to use their facilities can be made as a backup plan.
