The integrity of voting rests on assurances that:
- votes are completed only by those persons eligible and entitled to vote at a particular voting location and in a particular election;
- each voter votes only once and in his or her own name only (unless specific provision is made otherwise in election legal frameworks for forms of proxy voting);
- voters make a free and secret choice when voting;
- accountable voting materials are issued only to those authorised to use them;
- the use of all liable voting materials can be accounted for.
It must be made very clear to voting station managers and staff during their training that they are responsible for ensuring that voting integrity is not breached within the voting station.
While the basic integrity controls necessary within voting stations have been dealt with in some detail in sections such as Preparations for Commencement of Voting, it is useful to summarise these in brief.
Particular care may need to be taken in systems requiring a minimum voter turnout for election validity to watch for ineligible persons attempting to vote and attempts at introducing unauthorised material into ballot boxes.
Voting Site Controls
Effective management of the voting area will limit the potential for breaches of other integrity controls.
Major issues for the voting station manager to consider in controlling the voting site are that:
- entry to the voting station is restricted to authorised persons--voters attending to vote, officials, and other properly-accredited persons;
- there is no politically partisan activity (to the extent that this is defined in election legal framework--see (Role of Party/Candidate Representatives) within the voting station;
- any required restricted access or activity perimeters around the outside of the voting station are set up and enforced;
- signs, barriers, and staff resources are used effectively for crowd and queue control;
- voting station officials and observers have a clear view of all activity within the voting station, particularly of areas used for accountable voting materials issue, voting compartments, and ballot boxes.
Voter Identity Controls
Before being issued liable voting material, voters should prove that they are entitled to be issued the material. To prevent impersonation of another voter, this would normally require the voter to produce, for examination by voting station officials, an identity document.
Identity cards acceptable for this purpose should be of high integrity, bearing a photograph or other easily recognisable personal characteristics of the voter. Where national identity card systems of high integrity exist, these may be cost-effectively used.
Alternatively, where high integrity identification controls are applied during voter registration, a voter identification card issued as a receipt for registration (or at a later date) could be used.
Voter Eligibility Controls
The major control on the eligibility of a voter to vote at a particular voting station, at a particular election, is the accuracy of preparation and of use by voting station officials, of voters’ lists in the voting station. Accurate matching of voters with entries on the voter’s list and marking of the entries of voters who have voted is essential.
Additional controls in the form of voter identification cards denoting each voter's correct voting station may also apply.
These controls may be supplemented by similarly well-controlled systems to allow those eligible to vote, but through administrative error not on the voters list to vote, and/or, where allowable under the legal framework, voting day registration of voters.
Voting Secrecy
Controls on voting secrecy go to the heart of principles of free choice in voting. Within the voting station, voting station officials must ensure that:
- voters are alone in voting compartments (except when assisted voting is authorised);
- ballots are appropriately folded or enveloped to conceal the voter's vote before they leave the voting compartment;
- no one attempts to ascertain from a voter within the voting station how they intend to vote or have voted.
The question of exit polls conducted by media or political participants may also cause concern and such activity needs to be carefully monitored to ensure that voters are not harassed.
Materials Controls
Strict control of liable voting materials should be enforced at all times before, during, and after voting. Particular attention needs to be paid to:
- keeping accountable materials under strict security at all times (tables or storage containers in which there are accountable voting materials should never be left unattended; and any accountable material not currently in use should be kept in secure containers);
- witnessed sealing of empty ballot boxes before use;
- supervising ballot boxes (or voting machines and computers) to ensure that each voter casts only a single vote, that only valid materials enter the ballot box, and that seals remain intact and materials are not removed from the ballot box during voting;
- careful accounting for and reconciliation of all accountable voting materials received, issued and unused, and of voting materials issued to voters recorded as having voted.
Intimidation Controls
Voting station officials must be aware of the atmosphere within the voting station and alert to prevent any intimidation of voters.
Strict control of entry to only authorised persons and of removal of weapons from persons entering the voting station will assist this. Voting station managers must be alert to:
- state or security officials remaining in the voting station having an intimidatory affect on voters;
- attempts to influence voting of subordinates by supervisory staff (in military or other hierarchical establishments) attending to vote with their subordinates;
- party or candidate representatives, observers, or voting station officials attempting to communicate with or influence voters on a partisan basis;
- intimidation of officials by party or candidate representatives, for example, through loud challenges, threats, influence of earlier public criticism (e.g., at an earlier round of the elections), or by officials of the state present in the voting station;
- establishment of close liaison with security forces allocated to the voting station (see Security in Voting Stations).
Multiple Voting Controls
Strict application of controls to prevent multiple voting is much more effective than attempting to investigate and remedy its effects after its occurrence:
- the basic and most effective control is to use unique, accurate voters lists at each voting location and have tight procedures to confirm voter identity.
- tight integrity controls on voter registration, particularly if coupled with production for all voters of a voter identification card that must be presented for voting, will support the integrity checking of voter identity and prevention of multiple voting.
Where there are doubts about the quality of voter identity procedures, the accuracy of voters lists, or the accuracy of marking of voters lists by voting station officials, or voters lists used in each voting station do not contain a unique set of voters, other multiple voting controls will be required to maintain high voting integrity standards.
Common additional controls would include:
- cancelling or stamping voter identification cards specifically issued for the election to indicate the voter has voted--this control depends on the integrity, and potential transferability, of the voter identification card;
- marking any general identity card to be used as proof of identity to denote the voter has voted--the effectiveness of this again depends on the integrity, and potential transferability, of the voter identification card;
- marking voters with special ink when they vote.
Party/Candidate Representatives
Monitoring by party/candidate representatives in the voting station not only aids transparency, but can also assist in maintaining the integrity of voting by bringing matters to the attention of voting station officials. Voting station layouts should enable a clear view of all voting activity--including entrances, eligibility checking, voting materials issue areas, and voting compartments, ballot boxes--to voting station officials, party and candidate representatives, and observers present.
Party/candidate representatives must have the right to observe all activity in the voting station, from the pre-voting checks of apt voting materials and sealing of ballot boxes to the post-voting materials reconciliations and packaging of materials.
Party/candidate representatives would preferably have the right to challenge both the eligibility of voters and actions of voting station officials where these are not in accordance with procedures.
Challenges to voters and voting procedures may assist voting integrity where party/candidate representatives suspect that:
- voters believed ineligible to vote are being allowed to vote, or believed eligible to vote are being denied a vote;
- voters believed to have already voted are being allowed to vote;
- unauthorised additional ballots are being introduced into the ballot box;
- ballots are being removed from the voting station for marking outside, then brought back into the voting station by other voters to deposit in the ballot box;
- the ballots or ballot envelopes being used by voters are not those officially printed;
- there is any intimidation of voters;
- ballots or ballot envelopes are being handled by other party/candidate representatives during voting;
- unauthorised assistance is being provided to voters marking their ballots.
