Once the preliminary voters’ list has been compiled and made widely available to voters and political parties, the next step is to gather changes on the list. Various reasons may necessitate revision of the preliminary list:
- Some eligible voters want their names to be added because they were missed in the initial door-to-door registration or were unable to present themselves at the registration centre during the registration period.
- Some voters have moved since the voters list was last updated, and their new address has not been recorded.
- Some voters have newly reached voting age, become citizens or otherwise met eligibility requirements, and the change in their information has not been recorded.
- Some voters want to correct information that has been recorded or transcribed inaccurately (e.g. misspelled name or address).
- Others may want to be removed from the list.
In short, there are many reasons why the preliminary voters list might lack currency, be inaccurate or incomplete. The revision period provides an opportunity to improve the quality of the list. This enhances the credibility of, and public confidence in, elections and provides increased legitimacy of the electoral process.
Removing Names from the Preliminary Voters List
Someone may be removed from the preliminary voters list if there is evidence that the person does not fulfill the eligibility criteria, which is often clearly laid out in the electoral law of the country.Normally, the name is deleted through a judicial or quasi-judicial process to prevent fraudulent removal.
Registration officials should remove the name of anyone who was placed on the list but has since died. Usually, they require a documented proof of death to remove the name; a data-sharing arrangement with the vital statistics office can supply this necessary information and proof to the election management authority.
In general, a voter cannot request the removal of someone else’s name from the voters list. This is a safeguard to stop partisans of one party from removing the names of their opponents.
Claims and Objections
As far as possible, the addition of names or the correction of information on the preliminary list should remain an administrative task rather than a judicial or quasi-judicial responsibility. However, appropriate procedures must be followed when deleting names from the list. Often a revision court, or a similar quasi-judicial body, is mandated to hear challenges to the preliminary voters list; it has the authority, sometimes together with the lead registration officer, to alter the list on the basis of the hearing.
Many jurisdictions treat the hearing of challenges as an administrative duty of election officials instead of a responsibility of the judiciary. The lead registration officer ensures that each person whose eligibility to vote is being challenged is informed of the date and location of the revision hearing, as are all parties bringing challenges. All have the right to be present and submit materials or statements to the revision court. The court is the final arbiter of challenges to the preliminary voters list.
Two points should be noted:
- If voters are able to register on Election Day, this procedure does not apply since a hearing would not take place until after the election.
- If the preliminary list is of poor quality, hearings can become a major bottleneck and may need to be expedited.
