The Key Resource
The election management body (EMB) staff is the key resource in any election process. Even
with the increasing adoption of automated systems, no electoral process will work properly
without a quality staff. Training is absolutely essential at all stages of the staffing process. In
electoral management, it is also important to be constantly aware that a mistake by one staffer at
one site can have catastrophic results if it influences the outcome of the election. It may even
require the enormous expense of administering a new election for a particular office.
The need for thorough training is matched by the need to see that staff members are not only of
the right quality but that they enjoy the confidence and respect of the community and the
participants in the election process.
Temporary and Permanent Staff
Electoral work, particularly on voter registration and at voting sites, frequently involves using
large numbers of short-term workers. Where voting is taking place on a single day or on a
limited number of days, election workers are normally engaged on the basis that they will work
for that day or those days only and undertake sufficient preparation in the period beforehand.
Permanent staff often have other responsibilities as well as electoral ones. It is a major
management consideration first to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of properly trained
staff members to carry out the ongoing electoral processes, and then that the arrangements for
the recruitment and training of temporary staff will deal adequately with the volume of work
expected. Details of appointment and training processes are set out in Personnel Appointment and Training.
In terms of permanent staff, the strategic planning for the electoral process should identify
human resources as a key activity - the training and development of permanent staff is often
easier to arrange than that for temporary staff. In some cases, election dates are set well in
advance and give ample time for recruitment and training, while in others elections are called at
relatively short notice, allowing little time for staff recruitment and training in the midst of a
host of other activities that must take place.
Advance planning is, therefore, essential and should include:
- keeping ongoing registers of temporary employees
- scheduling training programmes in advance of the election date being fixed, even if some of
the training must be repeated once the date is fixed
- looking at alternative sources of poll workers if shortages are likely
- ensuring that any fees and expense payments to short-term employees are settled in advance
- identifying issues arising from previous elections in terms of permanent and short-term staff
and ways to resolve them
Even where there are national electoral commissions, it is unusual to have a large number of
permanent electoral staff spread across a country. Elections Canada only has a small number of
permanent staff (based in Ottawa between elections). The electoral officers who administer the
process in the 295 electoral districts are appointed on a temporary basis when an election is
called and are then responsible for recruiting and training any additional staff that they
need.'eme09#1'
Requiring Help
A further management issue is the ability to get assistance, or borrow staff, during the election
process. Again, the impact of this needs to be assessed and planned in advance. Electoral laws
can require teachers, members of the civil service, or local government officials to serve as
election workers or registration officers.
Job Specifications
Minimum requirements for electoral staff need to be laid down. Specification for each electoral
post should be assessed and used as a guideline for staffing. The New Zealand Electoral
Commission has prepared descriptions for each of their electoral posts, and samples of these
show how a concise description can be prepared of what a post entails (see Job Descriptions/Staff Profiles - New Zealand)
Getting Specialist Help
Reference is made in Personnel Appointment and Training to the desirability of separating out work that does not require the
expertise of key electoral officials. Once the specifications for poll workers has been settled, the
appointment and remuneration (if any) of these persons can be dealt with by staff who have no
specialised election knowledge.
One of the characteristics of senior election officials seems to be the wish to carry out every part
of the process within their office or organisation. Appointing short-term staff is an activity that
can be dealt with elsewhere once the key guidelines have been established. If tasks do not
require specialist electoral management skills, then use other staff in them and keep the
specialist staff for the key electoral work.
People Who Should Not Be Used
While election managers are often pressed to find enough people to fill all the necessary staff
positions, exclusion of people from consideration for appointment is also an important
management function. Transparency in the electoral process is not helped if persons with
known political connections (such as candidates' immediate family members) or other reasons
for not being appointed to public office (such as a previous record of corruption) are found
working at voting sites. (Some electoral systems include specific provision for representatives
of political parties to work at registration or voting sites, and if the law so provides this is of
course acceptable.) A screening process to ensure that potential election staff--from the most
senior election manager to the poll workers and office clerks--have no disqualifications is
essential. There should always be a requirement for persons appointed to formally accept the
responsibilities of their position and declare that they have no constraints that would call their
integrity into question.
Clear identification of officials is important. In the electoral office or at the registration or
voting site, it should be absolutely clear which persons are in the employment of the electoral
manager or commission and which are there as party representatives. This enables voters to see
who is involved at any time and may be useful to them in determining whom to approach in
order to lodge a complaint or ask a question.
Review of Performance
Like any aspect of electoral management, a review of staff performance after each election or
registration period is essential. The review will give an indication of where additional training is
needed and also show what has gone well.
Congratulating and rewarding staff who perform well is also important. The Supervisor of
Elections in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., evaluates each voting site's performance and lists all
the sites that have had no errors for the last election, the last two elections and the last three
elections. This obviously gives the election workers a goal to achieve.
