The identification of voters is the process of verifying the eligibility of potential voters and entering their names and other substantiating information on a voters’ list. The process should be fair, comprehensive and inclusive. This requires effective measures to ensure that potential voters are aware of the registration process and have reasonable opportunity to complete it. One of these measure is the voter education campaign. Voter education emphasises the importance of registration, explains voters’ responsibilities and provides information on how to register.
Who Is Responsible - Citizens or the State?
Different systems may use differing registration methods and assign varying responsibilities to electoral administrators and citizens. Sometimes registration is primarily the responsibility of citizens, who must initiate the process by contacting the election administration. For example, they might have to complete a voter registration form at a voter registration centre, fill out a form obtained on-line from the election management authority’s web site, or (in a country with a civil registry) complete a change in registration form and submit it to the civil authority. In other cases, officials are responsible for contacting potential voters; often gathering registration information using registration officers who visit residential addresses either in all areas or targeted areas. Still, another method relies on data sharing between the election management authority and other civil agencies, such as the post office or the housing authority. When notified of a change to a citizen’s information, the election management authority may send voter registration material to that person for verification of the change.
In practice, citizens and state often share responsibility for initiating contact. In Mexico, for example, which has a continuous voters’ list, the election management authority makes registration accessible by establishing thousands of voter registration centres, including mobile units. It is still up to citizens, however, to visit the registration sites and formally initiate their registration.
When voters initiate registration, experience has shown that greater convenience can significantly increase participation. In the final analysis, it is a question of access: how much responsibility does the state have for enabling citizens to register without undue hardship? The answer is that the state must assume considerable responsibility for ensuring that registration is not an administrative barrier to citizens’ participation in democratic elections. At the same time, cost is usually a factor in deciding on the scale of voter registration efforts.
Cost and Comprehensiveness - A Trade-Off
Policy makers strive for comprehensiveness in the voter registration process but they may need to weigh the effort against the overall cost. Developing a voters’ list tends to be less expensive when the bulk of the responsibility for registration lies with voters. In these circumstances, the role of electoral administrators is to ensure that voters are aware of the registration requirements and the procedures they must follow to register. Administrators may choose not to assume responsibility for identifying potential voters who do not register at their own initiative.
This approach results in creating voters’ lists that tend to be less comprehensive than those compiled through state initiative. In addition, certain groups of citizens are often less likely to identify themselves as eligible voters and to register. Examples are youth, the aged and physically challenged persons, poor or illiterate people, and residents of rural areas where transportation is a problem.
