Because voter registration is one of the places where it is possible to manipulate the election
results, special attention should be taken to ensure that the voter registration list is accurate and
reliable. An accurate list means that all eligible voters are registered, that they are only listed
once, and that the list only includes eligible persons.
Creating and maintaining an accurate voter
registration list requires close monitoring and multiple checks and balances. These include
keeping the registries up to date, eliminating duplicate registrations and voters who are no longer
resident in that electoral district. Enforcement of anti-fraud and voter registration laws is also
important. It deters future fraud as well as ensures that persons who have broken
the law are held accountable for their actions.
Ensuring only eligible voters register
Some political parties and candidates go to great lengths to ensure their supporters are included
on the voter registration list. As a result, they can provide incentives for their supporters to
register, such as transportation to registration sites, or promises of benefits for the area once the
candidate wins and is in office. However, when parties and candidates transport citizens to
register in other electoral districts or bring in ineligible persons to register, serious integrity
issues can arise.
In Kenya, for example, moving citizens to register in other districts, has been used to manipulate the process. According to David Throup, 'In December 1992 crude means of rigging the elections were not employed. Instead the
provincial administration 'fixed' the election six months before the general election, during the
registration process. KANU supporters were bussed in from the party's rural stronghold to
marginal seats in Nairobi and Mombasa.'
147 Many systems use residency requirements to avoid this out-of-area registration problem.
Some persons may try to register who are not citizens or who are under-aged. Some persons may
try to get multiple cards. They may either register as themselves in multiple locations, or use
aliases. In most systems, these persons are deterred and caught through a requirement to show proof of
identity or citizenship. These requirements are most often used in countries with a lack of trust
in the electoral system or a history of voter fraud. However, if proving identity becomes so burdensome that it deters potential voters from registering, this can become an integrity issue.
This can be avoided by requiring documents that are easily available, such as a national ID card, birth certificate or passport. Adding an alternative for those without papers can assist those whose papers have been destroyed by war or who were never issued birth certificates or other government papers. For example, in the 2000 elections in Haiti, two registered voters could vouch for a third person without
papers. The registration numbers of the two persons who vouch for the voter are noted on the
registry and are held responsible for the accuracy of their guarantee.
Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of voter registration cards and registries
In most systems there is a list of registered voters which is used on polling day to determine who
can vote. Usually, as only those persons who are listed on the registry can vote, the list must be accurate
and protected against tampering. In some systems, this list is supplemented by cards given to the
voter during registration. These cards prove that the person has applied for, and been accepted
as, a registered voter. The voter must produce their card at the polls in order to vote.
As voter cards are used as an integrity mechanism, the cards usually include security features to
deter forgeries and unauthorized duplication or use. These security features include serial
numbers so that electoral managers can track the cards, and in cases where registration fraud has
been a major problem, water marks or special paper can be used to make the cards more difficult
to duplicate. Some systems include voters' fingerprints or photographs to ensure that no one else
is able to use that card. These photos and fingerprints can also be placed in the voter registry.
Voter registries include serial numbers so that the electoral authorities can track the registers and
know if any are missing. They are made in duplicate or triplicates so that the local election office
can maintain a copy while the regional or national office can also have a copy. This can deter
internal tampering, such as adding names or deleting them, as it would be hard to ensure changes
were made to every copy. Registration lists are also usually posted in a public place so that
citizens, political parties and monitors can check the names on the list. A period of time is usually allowed in the electoral calendar for corrections to be made to the registration lists so that mistakes can be corrected and ineligible names eliminated.
Registers must also be accurate and up to date. For instance, in San Francisco, a grand jury in 1988 found that
1,800 dead people were still listed as eligible voters on the voter registration lists. 148
Before the electoral reforms in Mexico, the voter registry was used as a tool for
electoral fraud--decreasing the votes of one segment of the population and increasing the votes of
others. One of the reforms was to ensure an accurate voter registry. Specific standards were set
in the electoral law to make registers more difficult to duplicate, as well as standards for
storage and destruction of spoiled cards and registers. During registration, political parties sign the
voters' cards to validate them, and the thumbprint of the voter is placed on each card during voting
to avoid multiple voting. 149
Monitoring
Monitoring voter registration and the use of the cards during polling provides a check on the
distribution and use of the cards. Domestic and international observers (see Monitors of Election Integrity) who observe the process, and political party monitors who can question the process, act
to expose problems and serve as a deterrent to fraudulent registration and use of the cards.
According to Horacio Boneo, former Director of the UN Electoral Assistance Unit, the 'best way
to deter some widespread types of fraud and manipulation that take place during voter
registration and on polling day is by ensuring the presence of large number of both independent
and party observers present in every instance in which voters are registered and in each polling
station.'
150
Individual citizens can also act as monitors and help ensure a clean registry. They can look at the posted registration lists and challenge registration of persons they feel are not eligible. In New Zealand, for instance, every Registrar of Electors Office has a copy of the entire national voter registration list, and each
post office has a copy of the local list. These lists are open for public inspection. 151 This is the case in most places, except for systems, such as Denmark,
where registration lists are based on the civil registry, and are not shared with the political parties,
other voters or civil society.
Enforcing registration laws
Enforcement of registration regulations and the anti-fraud provisions in the election law are essential checks on a clean and accurate voter registration. In almost every electoral
system, it is illegal to tamper with the voter registration process and voter registries. Violations
of these laws are usually dealt with through the legal system- which in most fraud cases is the
criminal justice system. For more see Enforcement of Election Integrity.
