The effective management of a voter registration campaign involves staffing and training at headquarters and in local offices. The central election management authority is more likely to be staffed by permanent, long-term employees, with conditions of employment set by civil services guidelines. Alternatively, these positions may be under the authority of an electoral commission that is formally independent of the government.
Locally, the task of hiring and training registration staff is probably the most important mission of administrative officers before actual registration begins (whether through a door-to-door registration , registration centres or the mail). In a periodic list system, most of the registration workers will be hired for a short time. Many positions can be filled by people who don't require to be highly skilled. However, the calibre of local registration staff is likely to be an early indicator of the success or integrity of the election itself. For example, field office workers have very specific responsibilities during the brief registration period. Having to repeat any step of the registration process would be inefficient and would raise suspicions of questionable behaviour.
Data collectors, registration officers and other staff at local registration centres are usually the only election officers whom voters meet. They are the public face of the entire election management body. They must behave properly toward the public. At the same time they must be prepared to deal with people who engage in improper behaviour. For example, someone may attempt to circumvent registration procedures by misleading a registration official.
Local officials need to be able to answer the questions most commonly asked. They also need to know when and how to pass questions to their supervisors.
Types of Workers
The types of workers required for registration will depend on the method of data collection. A system based on a door-to-door registration involves a somewhat different approach from a system using registration centres. In some countries, the political parties or candidates may provide names of potential registration officers. Safeguards may be put in place to ensure the impartiality of those hired; for instance, they may work in bipartisan teams. When voters register by mail, registration workers may function in a more anonymous atmosphere.
There are, however, some common staffing requirements for each registration method. At the head of the local organisation is a registrar or lead registration officer – whatever the official title may be – who has overall responsibility for the successful completion of registration in that district. The registration officer may be assisted by an assistant registration officer, deputy registrar or assistant office manager. There are three separate functions under the responsibility of the lead registration officer and a separate team of workers may be assigned to each. They are:
- data collection
- list production (including data processing)
- list revision
Hiring
One of the key responsibilities of the local election management authority is to hire local staff. Some of the responsibility may be delegated to different staff members. Hiring procedures may vary; for example, in some places, registration officers are selected from various lists of names submitted by the party offices, while in other places this approach would be viewed as overly partisan. What matters is that voters have trust in the system of registration, and see it as fair and impartial. If the selection of workers from a list of names submitted by parties is viewed as illegitimate, it should simply be avoided. In any event, each person hired must clearly understand that working as an election officer is a non-partisan activity. Other methods may include general advertising for staff, seeking staff from other state agencies. No matter what the method of selection is for successfully applying, it needs to be transparent. Temporary staff engaged should be employed on a cost-effective contract basis and with a clear understanding that their employment is temporary.
Training
Training should be conducted in suitable venues and use appropriate training aids. The election management authority can facilitate staff training by providing training manuals and organising training sessions. When planning for training, the following considerations need to be taken into account:
- who is to be trained
- the training timetable
- training methods
- training materials, locations and reference materials
- ongoing monitoring of data collectors
Each employee’s responsibilities should be clearly outlined and the way the responsibilities are to be implemented should be reviewed and discussed. The training session is an excellent opportunity to remind workers that they are very important for the overall integrity of the election.
Remuneration
The local election management authority is responsible for ensuring that employees are properly paid for their activities, according to a fair and standardised scale. The remuneration protocol should set out the rate of pay for each position, as well as expectations regarding hours of work and for completing tasks. The protocol should make clear whether the remuneration is based on performance or simply on an hourly rate. A performance-based system, for example, might provide registration officers with a fixed payment for each completed registration form, perhaps in addition to a set hourly rate or a flat fee. Performance-based remuneration might be intended to increase work quality by making it in employees’ interest to complete the registration of as many voters as possible in their division or administrative unit, but the danger is that registration officers might be encouraged to add names fraudulently in order to receive a higher payment.
Travel Expenses
Flexibility is important as some voter registration initiatives may require travel by employees or volunteer workers. For instance, they may be asked to make door-to-door visits outside their immediate neighbourhoods, in order to establish a registration centre in another locality or to operate a mobile registration unit. When travel is required for work purposes, especially, if long distances are to be traveled, it is unrealistic to expect the staff to function effectively within the next few hours. Overall the remuneration package should set out a system of reimbursement for travel costs. Usually this includes a standard payment per kilometre of work-related travel, a standard amount of funds that can be used for accommodations and a per diem allowance for food and miscellaneous expenses. Limits and standards help ensure that funds are spent responsibly, in accordance with the overall policies of the election management authority.
Honesty and Integrity
Local election workers play an essential role in safeguarding the legitimacy of a voter registration system as well as the election itself. They must be reminded of the importance of performing their duties with honesty and integrity, not to mention the consequences of dishonest or illegal conduct. All employees and volunteers may be required to take an oath or affirmation of service, formally agreeing to be bound by lawful and ethical conditions and standards to their duties.
Continuous Register
In a system with a continuous list, staff selection and training may differ in a number of ways:
- The continuous list needs more ongoing staff. In a periodic list system, the election management authority hires large temporary staff during the registration spike and releases them when they complete their tasks, often within months of hiring. Very few employees under the periodic list system remain with the election management authority after the registration drive ends. In a continuous list system, regular maintenance of the list makes it necessary to have an ongoing staff.
- The larger number of employees with a longer-term contract increases opportunities for professional development programs and generally fosters a more professional approach to voter registration management.
- With larger numbers of employees hired for longer periods, there is a greater likelihood that the staff will have received training, or could receive training, in election management procedures.
- A more professional staff will be better prepared to meet the responsibilities involved in list maintenance, tracking and auditing.
- The continuous voters list is more likely than the periodic list to be computerized, although either system could function without computerization. With increased computerization of voter registration procedures, the election management authority must be able to service and upgrade computer equipment. To do this, it needs more long-term staff.
