Management Considerations
Election management is concerned with establishing a team, a plan, and procedures that will
ensure that the electoral process is successfully run within budget and in compliance with the
law.
The management of the electoral process influences the way in which the rest of the world views
a country's commitment to democracy and, more importantly, the extent to which a country's
voters accord legitimacy to their government. The level of responsibility that rests with election
administrators and their staff is, therefore, quite great and to be taken on only with great
personal commitment.
In addition to the ethical guidelines outlined in Guiding Principles, some of the key principles that election
managers should be guided by include communication, accountability, transparency,
professionalism, impartiality, and the concept of service to voters and other participants in the
process.
Large staffs of workers are required to run elections. If elections occur only once every three or
four years, many of those individuals may of necessity be temporary employees who will have
no opportunity for involvement in the electoral process in between. Alternatively, elections of
one form or another may take place frequently (see U.S.A. example) and require a larger
permanent staff. The election management body (EMB) must always ensure that its most
important resources--those who work for it and represent it to the key participants in the
electoral process--are professional and impartial.
An EMB must recognize that its function is essentially a management task linked to a
specialisation. Election management is a function that finds little or no direct comparison in
other areas of public administration because of the scale, scope and required timeliness of its
activities.
It is important to analyze the work that an EMB is required to undertake, separate the
components into managerial and functional areas, and establish a management structure that
reflects those functions. EMBs generally undertake the following functions, though this
classification is not absolute:
- Personnel. Whilst the EMB may only employ a relatively small number of people
permanently, it will call on thousands or tens of thousands to work on the election. Since both
permanent and temporary staff need to discharge their functions in a professional manner,
high-quality training and personnel administration functions are necessary.
- Finance. Budgets for the election need to be drawn up, discussed and negotiated, agreed
and monitored. Large sums of money will be spent on staff and supplies, and it all needs to be
accounted for properly.
- Legal. The EMB will have a role of some sort in interpreting and advising on election
law. It may also be tasked with making recommendations for change to the election law or even
with making election law or acting in a judicial capacity in the hearing of complaints.
- Investigative. Complaints made about aspects of the election will require investigation.
- Logistics and operations. The preparation and deployment of staff and supplies and the
maintenance of lines of communication are essential parts of any successful election.
- Data processing. Processing large volumes of data will be required either directly or
indirectly, permanently or temporarily to manage the voters lists and possibly result tabulation.
- Information and publicity. Voter information and civic education are increasingly
important facets of the work of an EMB. These are especially important at a time of change or
innovation.
The above list of the tasks performed by EMBs is not definitive, and some EMBs may not be
responsible for every aspect of the management of an election. The list does, however, provide a
basic structure from which to build.
