Depending upon the circumstances under which an election is being held, the non-partisan voter education effort may be an official one, undertaken by the election authority, or one conducted independently by civil society organisations, or it may be some combination of the two. To ensure the consistency of the message, accuracy of fact, and reach of information, it will be important for all entities engaged in voter education to develop and maintain constructive relationships.
The Election Authority
The election management authority may be structured in a variety of ways. It may be a permanent Election Management Body with full-time members and a professional staff. It may be a temporary commission established proximate to an election and comprised of part-time members and limited staff. Or it may be an administrative unit within a government agency, perhaps with seconded staff. In any case, the authority responsible for administering the election will have a vested interest in ensuring that accurate and timely voter information is distributed as widely as possible.
Depending upon the resources at its disposal, the election management authority may be in a position to conduct its own voter education programme. Or it may be partially or entirely dependent upon international assistance and/or civil society groups to undertake this task. A division of labour may also develop, with the election authority assuming responsibility for general voter education, for example, while international organisations and civil society groups target special groups, such as ethnic minorities or women voters. In this case, routine interaction, in the form of information-sharing and coordination, will be important. Whatever the arrangements, the election management authority is likely to have a special interest in and ultimate control over the official voter education programme. It is, after all, one of the more public manifestations of the election authority.
Election management authorities will want to ensure that information is accurate and neutral. The quality of the voter education programme, both in terms of its substance and its conduct, will also affect the public's perception of the effectiveness and professionalism of the election management authority.
In addition to a national office, the election management authority may have regional or local commissions charged, as part of their broader responsibilities, with the dissemination of public information including voter education. Ensuring that there is a close relationship between those responsible for administering the election and those responsible for voter education at all levels is essential.
The Need for Good Information
Effective voter education programmes depend on good information. This information can be considered both in terms of the electoral process and the electorate.
First, those responsible for voter education need clear, correct, and timely information about the electoral process. If the legal or regulatory framework is in a state of flux as a programme is being developed, voter educators will want to maintain open lines of communication with those responsible for adopting legislation or drafting regulations so that information can be obtained as quickly as possible.
To ensure the efficacy of the voter education programme, information must also be obtained about the electorate and from voters, themselves. What are the characteristics of the electorate? Are there segments of the electorate, such as young or rural voters for example, who appear to be particularly apathetic or ill-informed? What do voters find confusing or intimidating about the registration or voting processes? Are there important pieces of information unknown to them? Have there been changes to election procedures about which they are unaware? This is the type of information that must be communicated to ensure that the voter education programme actually meets the needs of the electorate. At various stages of the voter education programme, concepts, messages, and media products can be tested through focus groups or other forms of market research to determine the clarity and appropriateness of information. It is also possible to solicit input and feedback more informally from voters.
It seems somewhat obvious to suggest that contact with voters through the voter education programme usually results in good information about how voters perceive the election process and any problems surrounding it. Yet, in the midst of election preparations, administrators may tend to neglect this source of information. There is also a tendency for those who are intimately involved with the details of the election on a daily basis to be somewhat out of touch with what and how much do ordinary voters actually know. A good voter education programme, therefore, will include a mechanism to obtain and process information from voters and make available to the election management authorities for remediation.
Government Departments
Apart from the election management authorities, there are other statutory bodies that may need to be consulted as the voter education programme is being refined. In some countries, departments of information or education may be responsible for on-going civic education programmes. Because civic education has a nation-building component, presidential offices, broadcasting or telecommunications bodies, and departments dealing with development, constitutional planning, or other institutional arrangements may also be involved. Within each of these entities, there may be specialists who have views on voter education initiatives, how these should be carried out, and the extent to which they complement or compete with their own civic education programmes.
Education departments may be concerned primarily with children, but often they are also involved with adult education and training. And they may be responsible for the licensing and qualifications frameworks for those who do educational work. Or they may have developed, and therefore be one of the stakeholders, in such a national qualifications and training network or council. These are important allies, as well as potential competitors, especially if their own budgets are strained.
Independent Statutory Bodies
Independent statutory bodies may be responsible for overseeing particular aspects of a country's constitution. Human rights commissions, for example, constitutional courts, commissions responsible for gender and racial equity, and councils dealing with special groups all have had increasing advocacy and educational roles. As such, they have a role to play during elections and should be involved in negotiation and coordination of the voter education programme.
