Voter registration is usually a prerequisite for voting. In this case, to be able to express their views in the democratic process, citizens must be registered. Election management authorities often conduct targeted campaigns to register population groups that are less likely to participate in elections, such as youth, women, poor people or members of ethnic minorities. This practice raises an important issue: Is the election management authority responsible for ensuring that electoral participation is high or for minimizing differences in the participation rates of different population groups? Might it instead be the responsibility of political party activists to get out the vote at election time?
Electoral administrators have varying views on the issue. For some, ensuring high voter turnout is among their primary responsibilities. It follows that as many people as possible need to be included on the voters list and they must be broadly representative of the population as a whole. Electoral administrators who take this view are likely to make use of targeted voter registration initiatives, and to develop voter education programmes intended to increase the awareness and political involvement of all members of the community.
The opposite view is that electoral administrators should provide the opportunity to participate but not pressure anyone to take that opportunity. In other words, the role of the election management authority is simply to offer a level playing field for all citizens, to direct its messages to all members of the public and to make voter registration procedures available equally to all potential voters. Proponents of this view often note that they are non-partisan electoral administrators and must be perceived as being unbiased. A targeted registration campaign, or an effort to increase the participation of some but not all voters, is likely to have the effect of helping some parties more than others. If that is really the case, any initiative of the type jeopardises the political independence of the election management authority. Many electoral management authorities target all voters, but make special efforts to encourage those voters who are not easily reached or encouraged to register, to do so.
This is a contentious issue and no one answer is right for all electoral administrators in all circumstances. Where possible, it is useful to codify the principles under which an election management authority operates so that a change in its leadership does not bring a dramatic change in its activities.
