The focus of all planning, all preparation, all recruitment and training, materials production and equipment acquisition, system testing, and the other preparatory activities is to ensure that operations on voting day or days run effectively.
No matter how good the planning, and the testing, efficient implementation on voting day is the critical aspect of the election's success.
The following factors are important ingredients in ensuring this success.
Preparing for Voting Day
In the days before voting day, and on the morning of voting day itself, the final pieces in the voting preparations jigsaw puzzle are put into place.
Wherever possible, by the night before voting day, voting stations should be in a state of total readiness. To leave essential materials delivery, voting station set-up, and checking that all materials are present and equipment in working order until the morning of voting day can court disaster.
A checklist for these final arrangements might include:
• the distribution of voting station material.
• checking by voting station managers that all the material and equipment required for their voting stations has been delivered in the correct quantities and in good condition;
• ensuring that all voting station officials have transport to and from their duty stations;
• reviewing contingency plans for voting day, and implementing backup solutions for problems arising with deficiencies in materials, in voting site availability, or in staffing;
In more developed areas, voting station staff may be able to make their way to the voting station by their own means. In more remote areas, or in developing countries, transport may have to be provided by the electoral management body.
Additional arrangements may need to be made where voting is being held over more than one day
Hours of Voting Operations
While voting stations are in operation, the focus of all voting operations staff is on ensuring that voters are provided with an efficient, courteous, high integrity service. Prior to the time for commencement of voting, final checks of all voting materials and equipment, and that all staff are present, should be followed by notification of readiness from all voting stations to the electoral district office.
Throughout voting station hours of operation, voting station managers are responsible for ensuring that:
• staff are supervised effectively to provide a high standard of service to voters
• voting integrity is maintained and security of the voting site, voters, officials, and materials is properly maintained ;
• voting procedures are correctly implemented at all times by all voting station officials;
Procedures in the voting station can be broken down into a number of routines:
• controlling voter entry and ensuring a smooth flow of voters through the voting station
• accurate checking of each voter's identity and eligibility to vote at that voting station, and recording all who have voted;
• efficient issue of ballots to voters, maintaining vigilance over voting secrecy and the security of voting materials;
• providing information in a proactive manner, and, where required, assisted voting services;
• effectively dealing with voters who are apparently not registered to vote at that voting station;
Monitoring by party or candidate representatives of voting station activity enhances the transparency of voting processes, and can provide a safeguard against errors or partisan practices on the part of other participants in the election.
Actions after Voting
No matter where ballots are to be counted, there are common actions that need to be implemented in voting stations at the close of voting. These include:
Closing the voting station at the correct time so that there can be no later challenges based on voters arriving late being allowed to vote. Equitable treatment of voters already queued to vote at close of voting time, and any decisions made to extend the hours of voting, can have important implications for perceptions of election integrity, and should be addressed in the legislation.
Collection and securing of all liable voting materials--ballots, voters lists and ballot envelopes (if used and accountable). One of the most important aspects of voting station officials' duties is to undertake thorough and accurate reconciliations of liable voting materials following the close of voting. This is often one of the least understood and, coming at the end of an intense working day, most disliked aspects of their tasks. However, for an efficient count, and to guarantee election integrity, it is vital that these reconciliations be accurately completed and any discrepancies investigated. Inaccurate voting materials accounting at this stage can compromise integrity, and create considerable additional expense during counts and in answering election challenges
*The sorting, verifying, and packing of voting station materia. Overly complex systems for this will result in much time wasted later, either in the later sorting of materials by the election management body or in counting. However, it is important that accountable materials, as well as reusable and disposable materials, are clearly separated at this stage.
Many of the actions that are undertaken at the close of voting, particularly involving voting material reconciliations and sealing of ballot boxes or closing down voting machines or computers, are of critical importance to electoral integrity. As such, it is best for election transparency that party or candidate agents that are present witness these actions.
Before leaving the voting station, voting station managers should ensure that all voting records and reports on activities during voting day have been completed. Other actions at close of voting will vary according to whether the count is to take place at the voting station or at a separate counting centre:
• Where ballots are to be counted at the voting station, the voting station layout will need to be modified to facilitate an efficient count
• Conversely, where ballot papers are to be transported to another location for counting, emphasis following close of voting will needs to be placed on a speedy but accurate sort and verification and packaging of all materials, so that they are ready for transport.
There may be additional organisational or materials accounting requirements at the close of voting where special facilities are provided (for absentee, early, or mail voting, or mobile voting stations). This is particularly so when these facilities operate over several days.
Dealing With Challenges and Complaints
Both during the hours of voting and in the aftermath of voting day, electoral management bodies are likely to have to deal with complaints about the service being provided, about political participants behaviour, decisions of voting operations staff, and about the validity of procedures and practices implemented. Following voting day, election results may be challenged on the basis of perceived irregularities; it is important that there is an open and fair process for handling such complaints, challenges, and disputes.
Follow-Up Actions
The electoral management body will a number of responsibilities after an election. Major activities would include:
• Ensuring that election materials and equipment are recovered, sorted, and maintained in secure storage, or made available for reuse or destroyed in line with legal obligations and electoral management body policy.
• So that future improvements in voting operations can be realised, it is important that a thorough evaluation of voting operations frameworks, procedures, and practices is undertaken, as soon as possible after the election so that valuable impressions and data are fresh in people's minds. This is crucial in improving performance, service, and cost-effectiveness
• Election voting records will require examination and further investigation where any instances of voter fraud, such as multiple voting and impersonation, are suspected.
In continuous voter registration systems, elections can provide a wealth of information on voter changes of status and addresses, which will require follow-up and processing. In compulsory voting systems, investigations of registered voters who did not vote are also required
Independent Observation Groups
Voting day is also the period of most extensive activity for independent observers. It is when:
• Their resources are likely to be stretched to cover sufficient election locations;
• their data gathering is at its most intense;
• They are likely to be called upon by political participants to intervene on their behalf.
There will generally be an expectation, on the part of the local and/or international community, that they deliver accurate and timely judgments on the freeness and fairness of election processes
Proper functioning of observation during this period requires detailed identification of the critical processes for observation, such as election preparatory processes that will indicate the voting day environment, voting hours operations, and the ensuing counting of ballots and declaration of results.
• For this observation to succeed, observers must be provided with reference materials that assist their task
• For the observation to have any influence, observer groups need to produce logical, concise reports on their activities and their assessments of election processes
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Timor-Leste Holds Second National Village Elections Under UNMIT Supervision by United Nations Photo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic.
