The Question

This question was posted on behalf of an ACE user from the Netherlands.

Hello,

I'm conducting research on the efficiency of organizing elections in Europe, and specifically on the use of voting booths. I am particularly interested in examples related to the following aspects of voting booths:

- Central/decentral procurement
- Manufacturers
- Legal regulations and standards for voting booths
- The impact of electronic voting on the use of booths
- Where you think new or better booths would be of benefit to the electoral process

Many thanks! This will be of very great use to my research.

Best wishes, Aniek Teulings

Summary of responses
With regards to electronic voting and booths, it is explained that many electronic voting machines come complete with their own privacy panels. For electronic voting with ballot scanners, measures may need to be taken to ensure that privacy of the vote is maintained in the event of malfunctioning scanners or voters needing assistance.

The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has manufactured a new electronic voting machine which has been used in local - but not yet in national - elections.  This was the result of an agreement made between the previous Bangladesh Election Commission, BUET and Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory.

Examples are given of a foldable voting booth from the Seychelles and a simple, makeshift booth from Cameroon.

Examples of related ACE Articles and Resources
Encyclopaedia:
• Voting Compartments 

Names of contributors
1. Peter Wolf
2. Bulbul Ahammad
3. Kisimba Albert
4. Abdul Alim
5. Susana Dione Ngole Epie

6. Marc Mayrand

Many electronic voting machines come with integrated privacy panels and eliminate the need for additional poll booths as long as the machines can be placed with suitable space between them.

For electronic voting with ballot scanners it may be interesting to note that privacy considerations need to go beyond the polling booth itself. Voters mark their ballot in the voting booth and then feed the ballot into the ballot scanner. The scanner is usually outside the booth. Especially when voters need assistance feeding their balot paper into the scanner, in case of paper jams or rejected scans the ballot may become visible to poll workers and possibly other people present in the precinct. Appropriate placing of the scanner as well as special secrecy folders can be provided to address this problem to some extent.

Hi,

I'm from Bangladesh. Bangladesh Election Commission has launched a new Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) . This EVM has no need of scanner, voter just press the button beside of symbol then vote will automatically count in the memory of EVM. There is no scope to press more button. This EVM will set in secret booth so no scope to see any election personnel.  

I think this EVM is completely secured.

Voici un modèle d’isoloir pliable que j’ai vue aux Seychelles, je pense pouvoir le conseiller pour ton travail.

Au fait à quel niveau interviennent les témoins pour un vote électronique, ou alors on considère que le webmaster est vraiment impartial au point de transmettre les données telles quelles sont enregistrées.

Hi, I am from Bangladesh, in addition to Mr. Bulbul's comment, I am adding some more information.

1. The  price of an EVM is about 573 USD. It is locally made by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology BUET). The machine has not yet used in any parliamentary election. It has been used in some polling booths in two citiy corporations and in all the polling stations in two other city corporation election.

2. Manipulation in EVM is possible if the Assistant Presiding Officer, the incharge of polling both allows someone to do so.

3. A tripatriate MoU has been signed among Bangladesh Election Commission, BUET and Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory to produce EVM in large scale during the time of previous commission.

Best

Abdul Alim 

Hello Aniek,

The system in Cameroon is quite interesting and I can say the cheapest. Some few sticks are nailed together to form a square,  some cloth or any stuff which will hamper anyone form seeing which paper out of the 23 or more you collected to introduce into your envelope. Then you can now walk out of the booth and cast your ballot.

From the photo attached, you will understand more of what I have been trying to explain. In areas where there is no electricity, lamps like this one is used. Interesting isn't it.

This reply is posted on behalf of Marc Mayrand, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada 

Elections Canada centralizes all procurement activities for the acquisition of electoral material including voting compartments in accordance to the government of Canada contracts regulations. You can find attached a copy of the specifications used by the supplier to produce the voting screen. For example, here are a few manufacturers in charge of the production of voting compartments:
 
Crownhill Packaging Ltd.
8905 Goreway Drive
Brampton, Ontario
L6T 0B7
Phone number: 905-494-1191
Maritime Paper Products Limited
PO Box 668
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
B2Y 3Y9
Phone number: 902-468-5353
 
With respect to the legal regulations and standards for voting compartments, you can find a few highlights below:
• Supplies for voting days must be delivered to the Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) before voting day(s)

• 1 or 2 voting compartments (CEA 121 (3)&(4) - usually 1) must be on a separate table and arranged so that electors cannot be observed while marking their ballot.

• Secrecy of the vote must be maintained. There must be adequate spacing around the voting area to maintain the secrecy of the vote
 
With regards to the questions pertaining to the impact of e-voting on voting kiosks, and to the notion of “better kiosks” in general, Elections Canada believes that improvements are needed to voting processes to increase their accessibility and efficiency. In 2010, Elections Canada proceeded with an e-voting project, providing assistive-voting devices (AVD) in voting kiosks during a by-election.  The voting kiosks consisted of cardboard voting screens placed on tables. Provision of the e-voting device impacted the configuration of the kiosks; we needed to adapt the voting screen to fit onto the device, and we needed to ensure that the kiosk was positioned such that the screen on the device would not compromise the secrecy of the vote, while also being close to an electrical outlet. The voter’s inexperience with using the e-voting (AVD) device necessitated a longer occupancy of the voting kiosk.
 
An assessment of this pilot project concluded that this technology did not meet the needs and expectations of electors with disabilities.