It is useful to consolidate some of the factors that are of particular importance for organizing cost-effective voting operations in developing countries.

Many of these are concerned with how best to attain voting operations’ principles and objectives (see Guiding Principles of Voting Operations) with lower levels of local resources and in environments where there is limited experience in managing accessible and transparent voting operations.

In developing societies, there are likely to be a number of factors that will require greater attention during voting operations planning and implementation than in developed societies. These would include:

• less in-house resources within the electoral management body, and a potential need to ensure transparency and integrity issues where other resources of other state organizations are required for voting operations tasks. (See Transparency and Integrity below);

• ensuring that voting operations methods and procedures provide sustainable solutions. (See Sustainability below);

• taking advantage of opportunities for development provided by materials production, staff training, introduction of technology. (for voting operation purposes,See Sustainability below);

• developing voting operations strategies that are appropriate for the literacy levels in the community. (See Literacy below);

• ensuring that local resource capacities, in terms of infrastructure and skills available, are carefully considered in voting operations planning. (See Infrastructure and skills base below);

• ensuring that procedures, materials and equipment used are suitable for the local environment. (See Procedures, materials and equipment below).

Traditional Societies

In more traditional societies there may be specific issues to be addressed--in training staff, revealing voting processes and in voting site layout and management - that require a balance between cultural sensitivity and maintaining the democratic model of a transparent voting process that protects the secrecy of the vote.

The integration of traditional leaders into voting operations processes, perhaps through accommodation within the system of representation or accessing their skills in information or administration roles, may be important for the success of voting operations.

In societies where the notion of individual secret decision-making (voting) has not been the norm, or where voting is traditionally a male preserve, enhanced measures may be required in relation to issues such as:

• promoting the employment of women in information, training and voting station staffing or voter assistance roles;

• voting station layouts that ensure and protect secret individual voting;

• creation of special voting locations and/or time schedules for particular community groups.

Transparency and Integrity

In less developed communities, effective use of available local resources for voting operations may require considerable sharing of responsibilities and resources with other state agencies.

In such cases care needs to be taken that the management of voting operations, is distinct from politically controlled civil service bodies. Wherever possible there should be a separation of premises, reporting systems, management control, and financial appropriations used for voting operations.

It is highly preferable that State agencies whose resources are used for voting operations are under formal, performance-oriented contract to the electoral management body for their services, and are bound by the electoral management body's administrative code of conduct.

Good practice requires that electoral management bodies are able to terminate the contracts or suspend the assistance from State agencies if the performance level agreement or administrative code of conduct is not adhered to. (For further discussion of voting operations responsibilities. See The Electoral Management Structure and the Delivery of Voting Operations)

Sustainability

Role for International Assistance: With regard to elections it emphasizes the key issue of sustainability, that is, how best to use local resources and any available international assistance to develop a voting operations fabric that is self-regenerating for future elections.

Many sustainability issues are as relevant to countries at a higher stage of development emerging from less-democratic regimes as they are to developing countries.

International political agendas may lead to an election, particularly where a transition to democracy is involved and the society has emerged from a protracted conflict receiving international assistance and extensive media attention, with no guarantee of future assistance due to changing priorities for donor communities and donor neglect.

Typically such elections will involve extensive monetary and technical assistance in a relatively short and unrealistic voting operations timetable.

This is often the result of using an election as the primary conflict resolution mechanism and where an election is deemed to be an effective indicator of democracy. The short period involved will often lead to the imposition of high-cost solutions not locally sustainable.

It may lead to raised expectations from the community for all state operations that cannot be met, as well as opportunities for corruption.

Rather than imposing high-cost and unsustainable "perfect" solutions from external environments or organizations, the key to developing longer-term effective voting operations solutions in lesser developed or transitional societies is in :

• providing assistance suitable to the local environment's needs and which promotes the growth of local capabilities;

• accepting that these may not initially produce a flawless election.

Opportunities for Development

Voting operations offer a number of opportunities for increasing local capacities in developing countries. Implementation of voting operations systems and methods without considering whether a local skill base has been developed to allow them to be maintained and operated for other functions or future elections is a wasteful use of scarce resources.

There are some basic guidelines that, if followed, can maximize sustainable benefits:

Use any available technical assistance programmes for voting operations in longer term skills transfer projects: rather than as short term operational staff substitutes. Without such skill transfer, there will be a continuing need for assistance at future elections.

Skills transfer should aim at covering a broader area: than just election technical matters. The inclusion of staff at local levels in generic skills training in general management, basic accounting and finance, equipment maintenance and operation, ethical conduct --all integral to voting operations--is of continual community benefit.

Less technologically intensive methods: particularly if aimed at inclusion of previously excluded members of society, can produce broader based positive effects.

Only where necessary for election integrity or performance should methods, other than those that are simple, easily trainable and able to be applied under conditions of lower technology and resource bases, be used.

Consider whether equipment and systems introduced for voting operations can have continued community use: Can communications systems be operated on a continuing basis for the benefit of the community? Is the investment in technological equipment and methods justified by its being suitable for integration with or augmentation of existing systems? Can the technology be used for implementation of other social programmes?

Acquiring equipment and technology for sole and infrequent use at elections can be a poor investment when resources in general are very limited.

When considering appropriate equipment and technologies,

Consider how much of a technological leap is involved: Local maintenance expertise (either existing or specifically trained) must be available for effective future use.

Consider carefully the benefits of foreign procurement: Are any immediate technological, cost or quality benefits sufficient to outweigh the resource-building effects of developing local facilities and capabilities?

When implementing voting operations methods, first have a skills maintenance plan: If equipment is not used between elections, skills gained, and the use of the equipment for other functions, will be lost.

If staffs employed in voting operations have no continuing framework in which to practice their skills, or communication with voting operations management, the expense of training will be of limited benefit to the community at large.

Literacy

Considerations for Semi-literate or Illiterate Communities: Population literacy levels will have a important impact on the design of voting operations materials, voting station procedures, voter information communication strategies, and staff recruitment and training methods. In areas of lower literacy the emphasis needs to be on direct and practical communication methods, which need not come at a high cost.

Voting material needs to take into account people who are unable to mark ballot papers and who are unable to complete and sign documentation and allow alternative methods of attesting information on voter identity cards, candidate nomination forms, challenges to voters, provisional or early voting documents, receipts of materials and similar official documents.

For lower literacy communities ballot design requires communication of the voters' choices through:

• uncluttered layout;

• design that visually emphasizes where to place any required voting marks;

• use of images rather than words.

Use of distinctive party symbols (reinforced during community voter information campaigning) is generally more cost effective than reproducing candidate photographs or photographs of the leaders of political parties on ballots.

The election system itself can assist successful voting operations in semi-literate or illiterate communities by adopting simple systems requiring only one mark (list or First Past The Post) on the ballot, or by using differentiated separate voting papers or tokens for different candidates. If simultaneous elections for more than one representative body are being held, use of distinctively colored or different sized ballots will enable voters to comprehend them.

For semi-literate and illiterate communities, assisted voting procedures and voter training in voting stations through practice runs and simulation need careful consideration. In such communities, voting station staff may also need to be increased in relation to the number of voters.

Visual aids to voting--illustrated guides to how to obtain a ballot paper, mark it, and deposit it in the ballot box--prominently displayed around the voting station assists semi-literate and illiterate voters to understand the voting process. The use of a single ballot box, rather than multiple boxes, for any simultaneous elections will also simplify voting for the illiterate people. Voter information should emphasis material that is not written. This can be accomplished, for example, through:

• grass roots community activity, involving community leaders in transmitting voting information through local public meetings; use of street theatre, music and radio;

• conducting voting simulations (perhaps as an adjunct to local voting station staff training sessions) where voters can practise for voting day)

Staff Training

While literacy and numeracy would be basic requirements for recruitment of electoral officers, there may be communities where the need to use local electoral officers is important, yet literacy levels are not high.

In such cases election forms must have clear, simply illustrated instructions for use, and training should be based on simulation exercises of the roles of the different staff in voting operations. Emphasis must be placed on the completion of any necessary forms.

Providing all staff with a simple cue card, with clear visual representations of the functions that they have to undertake is an effective training mechanism

Infrastructure and Skills Base

Limited local transport and insufficient production infrastructure may require earlier production or acquisition of materials and equipment, requiring care in developing realistic voting operations time lines and calendars.

Basic decisions need to be made on whether lower technology levels and possibly longer production lead times available locally provide acceptable solutions to voting operations needs.

In considering external sourcing, potentially negative impact could result from:

• long supply lines;

• little opportunity to oversee production;

• lack of internal resource building;

• establishing possible future external dependence;

• perhaps using scarce foreign currency.

An objective appraisal needs to be undertaken of the benefit external outsourcing would add to voting operations effectiveness, compared to alternatives that could be provided by current local facilities or with external technical assistance to local producers.

Transport

Where transport equipment stock is poor or transport routes are in bad condition, using armed forces transport capacities can be an efficient, and in some cases the only, solution to supplying all voting sites.

However where armed forces have had a historic or current political role, using them for transport of voting material can lead to perceptions or suspicions of them manipulating the process. These can be partially overcome by instituting strict dispatch and receipt checks on voting materials by the electoral management body and independent or political participant monitoring of these activities.

Voting Premises

The use of temporary structures or mobile voting stations may also need to be considered if the building stock, particularly in rural areas, is not sufficiently developed for use as voting stations, where distances are vast or where decision-making is traditionally an open air activity.

Depending on resources available these could be a simple as shade cloth strung between trees; in environments where armed forces are assisting with logistics more complex or elaborate solutions can provide secure, sturdy temporary voting sites.

This might include airlift or road transport of large containers with all voting station equipment and material. Additionally, upgrading existing buildings for voting operations purposes may provide opportunities, through the security and facilities needs of voting station or warehouse sites, to improve their general usefulness to the community.

Communications

Due to the dispersed nature of voting sites, communications for voting operations can be a problem in lesser-developed communities without extensive communications networks.

Installing new networks that provide communication with all voting sites can be expensive. The accessibility of required communication will be very much determined by security risk assessments and reporting speed requirements.

This is one area where cooperative ventures between electoral management bodies and other agencies may be necessary, for example in;

• using existing national communications networks and sitting voting locations accordingly;

• developing networks flexibly to allow joint financing and satisfaction of common needs.

In many developing countries armed forces communications networks have the greatest capacity; flexibility and coverage.  Similar reservations about their use, however, may exist as for logistical assistance. Enhancing communications may be a useful priority for international electoral aid funding.

Provision of viable civilian communications networks, which will have continuing usefulness, is a more positive contribution to sustainable development than using external voting operations assistance funds for functions such as producing multi-colour print ballot papers on high quality security print paper.

Many of those using communication systems in voting stations or in voting operations communications centres may never have had to use similar systems previously for formal communication. There may be a need to train people in such techniques as telephone or fax use.

Professional Skills

The increase in volume and range of workloads during voting operations may require enlistment of professional staff either from other sectors of the local economy (which may place strains on goal achievement in these areas), or external technical assistance.

The more complex the voting operations system and procedures, the more likely that the additional professional skills required may not be found locally.

In developing countries it is important that engagement of additional professional skills is used as an opportunity for management skills transfer to develop the voting operations capacities of the electoral management body, rather than being treated simply as a dispersal of functions.

Staff Recruitment

The use of existing disciplined and skilled workforces for some vital voting operations tasks can provide greater assurances of quality, and be cost-effective. Some areas where this can be considered are the use of:

• teachers, both for training voting station staff and as managers of voting stations;

• senior students as voting station staff;

• state employees such as warders for packing election materials;

• penal institution workshops for production of equipment such as ballot boxes, locks and seals.

The use of such state institutions and employees in voting operations roles may be problematic where they are generally perceived to be biased towards the state.

Even in these situations, it can be as effective, and less costly, to ensure that their actions are monitored by political participants and independent observers (for which some external training assistance may be necessary), and an effective redress system is in place, rather than initiate new administrative and production structures.

Management Skills Training

The overall management of voting operations is a skilled function in both the technical and general management areas.

Training of voting operations managers in general management skills is a widely applicable and important part of using external technical assistance for local resource building. This can occur through exposure to:

• management planning

• staff recruitment and management

• resource mobilization methods

• materials handling

• accounting principles and practices

• procurement practices

• accountability principles

• conflict resolution

Such transferred skills are portable across most public and commercial sectors.

General Skill Development

The large volume of staff required for voting operations at local levels provides opportunities for empowerment, both through general development of skill levels and use of recruitment strategies to assist in redressing gender or minority imbalances.

Many of the base level skills required at the voting operations and voting station level are highly transportable, such as, materials management, conflict resolution, maintenance of accurate records, and use of telecommunications or radio equipment. Training of local voting operations staff can assist local development in general.

Training programmes for voting operations staff, particularly in areas of low literacy, need careful attention in both goals and methods. Breaking down voting station staff roles into discrete work units, and training staff for a limited number of these, can be more effective.

Training methodology can be more effective if role playing and simulation are used, with illustrated reference cards and posters retained by voting station staff, rather than relying on written materials and lectures, especially in areas of illiteracy or semi- literacy.

Procedures, Materials and Equipment

Functionality: It is important that materials and equipment are functional in the environments in which they are to be used, simple in construction, easily maintained, and readily understood both by staff and voters. High-cost materials and equipment may provide only marginal, if any, improvement over lower-cost items, even though they may promote a more exclusive image for the electoral management body and international donors.

Use of technology should be appropriate for the level of training and equipment maintenance that can be achieved in lower-technology environments. The following issues require careful consideration.

Physical and Political Conditions

The physical and political conditions to be endured will significantly impact the development of viable procedures. Whether voting sites are enclosed or in the open, whether materials are likely to be subject to humidity, dust, cold, or rain, whether security risks have been found, all will determine the durability and security required for voting equipment and materials.

In rural areas such condition will have particular impact as back-up facilities and skills may not be available.

Examples would include:

• Cardboard ballot boxes over time may be less costly than metal or rigid plastic, but may be destroyed or affected under conditions of high humidity or rain--high strength plastic bags may be a better, cheap option.

• In dusty or humid conditions, smart adhesive labels can be both more costly and less-effective than old-fashioned writing directly on materials containers.

Availability of Power and Lighting

Where reliable power is not available, the comparative costs of alternative solutions--both monetary as well as in terms of integrity--need careful assessment in each environment. Solutions may entail:

• limiting voting operations to daylight hours, which may entail additional costs in providing more voting locations or multi-day voting;

• provision of mobile generators to voting sites, if they are available and can be maintained during voting;

• provision of emergency lighting equipment (candles, gas lamps), which may entail additional safety or training requirements.

In such circumstances the reliance that can be placed on reporting systems based on electronic equipment, and whether counting is better done at central locations, also needs careful consideration.

Monitoring Capacities

The skills and availability of independent observers and party or candidate representatives will influence the intensity of voting operations security and accountability mechanisms, as well as the materials design for these.

Form Numbers and Design

The numbers and design of forms and other documents that have to be completed by voting station staff and other officials can be a crucial issue, particularly in societies with lower literacy See Literacy above.

A proliferation of forms can test both the patience and skill of less experienced voting station staff, and incorrect or incomplete documents can affect perceptions of election validity. And as the complexity and volume of forms increase, so do election costs. Minimal form requirements relate to:

• accountability for voting materials (receipt, use during voting, unused)

• financial accountability (staff attendance and reporting, petty expenditure) and

• recording of complaints, objections and disputes.

Voting operations systems that require more complex recording at the voting station may not be as appropriate in developing societies.