Once
the statement of the votes of the voting station is completed, the presiding
officer should communicate the interim results to the local offices of the electoral
management body (and in certain cases, to the national electoral management
body directly).
In the
case of voting locations housing multiple voting stations, the person
responsible (known in some jurisdictions as the central voting supervisor) should
obtain the results from each counting officer and transmit them to the local
offices of the electoral management body.
In many
countries the electoral management body maintains local or regional offices
during the electoral period. The interim results are generally communicated to
the local office, which, in turn, communicates a cumulative statement of the
votes for the electoral district to the national headquarters office.
There
is a trend towards a “two-channel” approach whereby the presiding officer will
send results both to the local office as well as to the national level. The
latter equips the EMB HQ with the source data and allows an internal end-to-end
verification of all interim consolidations.
Communicating Interim Results
The
interim results for each voting station, using the statement of the votes,
should be transmitted to the office of the local electoral management body by
phone (cellular or fixed line), SMS, internet or web application or other means
such as radio hand sets, if such exists.
It is
recommended that a unique password or code be provided to the person who will
transmit the results. For security reasons, this unique password or code should
be given to the responsible person by the electoral management body as close as
possible to the day of the election itself.
This
code will reduce the possibility of impersonation, and prevent unauthorized
persons from transmitting incorrect or biased election results to the local
office of the electoral management body.
For
greater security, and to detect any attempts at fraud, the original form should
be sent separately to the local electoral management body in a sealed
tamper-evident envelope. This envelope should be sent along with the electoral
materials by hand or by courier. By sending the original, the local electoral
management body can verify the results against the one previously sent by
telephone or electronically, and ensure that they are the same.
If
there is no available phone (cellular or fixed) at a voting station or the cellular
or fixed line phone is not working, alternative methods should be considered.
Walkie-talkie or radio emitting devices do not require the installation of a
phone line and are flexible and simple in their use. However, their deployment
should take into consideration the topography of the area to identify in
advance any black-out regions where it is impossible to receive or transmit
messages. Satellite phones are increasingly used in small number of highly
remote stations, though the cost can be prohibitive.
Again,
appropriate training and identification codes should be provided to voting
station and counting officers before deployment.
If it
is not possible to use any means of wireless communication, the last resort is
hand-to-hand delivery by election official/s of the results to the local
electoral management body. If an electoral official is unavailable a suitably
designated person should be used as a messenger.
As a
general rule, electronic transmission should be utilised at the earliest
possible point. For example, if a presiding officer is unable to use a cell
phone to transmit results from the polling station because of poor coverage, he
or she may deliver the results by hand to the local office. If there is
cellular coverage at the local office, the presiding officer may now transmit
results electronically.
This
messenger should be a credible person and the choice of such person should be
accepted by counting officers, as well as representatives of the political
parties and candidates. When using this method, the messenger could also bring
the ballot box and its contents, eliminating the need for additional transport
arrangements.
A
tamper-evident bag is recommended, in order to ensure that results are not
changed in transit. This is often a thick plastic bag, signed by the persons at
the original location that, once sealed, cannot be opened without damaging the
bag. Consequently, the receivers can be confident that the bag is the same upon
its arrival at headquarters. A complete chain of custody, comprising trail of
signatures of those handing over the materials, and those receiving them, is
essential. Constant accompaniment of the materials by election staff, as well
as observers is recommended.
Role of Media
News
agencies and media organizations will likely compete to provide their forecast
of the election results as quickly as possible after the close of voting. They
will dispatch their representatives as to the scene of the electoral action.
The offices of the electoral management body are the most likely media targets,
mainly for efficiency reasons.
At a
centre for collecting results for voting stations, one representative can cover
a wide area, and can report for a reasonable number of voting stations.
Route of Official Statement of Votes
The presiding
officer should provide the electoral management body with copies of the voting
results, and the right to an official copy the results should be given to
representatives of political parties and candidates, and to observers. Such
extra copies can be made with a multi-part carbon copy form, or a photocopy
machine. Alternatively, multiple copies can be prepared by hand.
The
original statement of the vote should be attached to the ballot box in a sealed
tamper- evident envelope. This is particularly important to processing a
recount of the ballots, if required.
Once
the statement of the vote for a voting station is fully prepared and
transmitted to the local electoral management body, a copy can be posted at the
outside of the voting station. The same information and results are then made
available for everybody, and at the same time.
Because
witnesses are permitted to observe and scrutinize the counting process, results
are public. The statement of the vote becomes a public document; this is made
especially evident once it is posted. However, it is important to mention that
these results are not official yet, but are only interim results: official
final results will always take legal precedence.
