A Complex Process
Electoral management is a complex process carried out against a tight timescale. A major
management consideration is to take an overview of the process and look at the various electoral
activities and requirements.
It is easy to make the process much more complicated than it already is. Electoral staff many of
whom are employed for only one or two days over the election period may read in detail every
page of instructions that are sent to them. More likely they will look briefly through the
instructions and put them to one side referring to them again on polling day when they need to
check what they are doing.
The Requirements of the Law
The electoral law may well set the electoral manager a series of complex tasks but wherever
possible keep processes simple - the preparation of instructions to carry out those processes then
also becomes a simple task and the prospects of the task being carried out in accordance with the
instructions (which reflect the law) greatly increases. The message must be accurate and
expressed in the most understandable terms.
Simple processes are easier for everyone to follow - candidates, parties, agents, staff and the
general public. Transparency and security are also easier with simple processes.
The National Electoral Commission model has much to commend it when it comes to avoiding
over complication. It is far better to have one clear set of national guidelines or instructions
prepared by a national commission than to have numerous local officials or commissions all
giving their own interpretation of what the law means and preparing their own versions of
instructions and processes.
Keeping lines of command short and simple avoids overcomplicating the process. Electoral
processes are governed by the law but interpreting the law and setting up administrative systems
gives scope for some discretion. Training should aim at harmonizing legal interpretation - for
example the law may state polling begins at 7.00am but that does not mean the staff should
arrive at 7.00am.
Some manuals for poll workers and for other electoral staff run to several hundred pages - whilst
they may cover in detail every individual aspect of the electoral process the longer the document
the less prospect there is of it being studied in depth.
Electoral processes themselves are often quite complex - some absentee voting arrangements
require the completion of lengthy forms, many aspects of the electoral process require the
completion of detailed forms at each stage of the overall task. Regulations should be logical - not
provide for example for the voter who holds a proxy to exercise both votes at the same time but
allocate the proxy to a different polling station.
Make Forms Plain, Easy to Read, and Easy to Understand
Unless forms are prescribed in law and cannot be altered they should be examined so that lengthy
and legalistic explanations are avoided - short simple forms and notices are the easiest to
undersatnd. Make forms easy to complete and where the forms are particularly important having
an example of how to fill in the form correctly in the appropriate manual or on the reverse side of
the form itself will increase the chances of the form being correctly completed.
Use graphics to outline processes wherever possible - a good diagram or sketch will convey more
than a page of detailed instructions and be much quicker to take in. Where there are changes
from the current electoral process mark these on the forms and diagrams - many temporary staff
who have worked on elections before assume the process is the same as the previous occasion.
Two pages are attached - see Poll Workers Manual - Elections Canada from an Elections Canada Poll Workers Manual -
both use diagrams to assist presentation and the second indicates a change in the electoral
process.
Flow charts are another way of explaining quite complex processes in simple terms - see
Absentee Voting Process Flow Chart - United Kingdom which is an example of a flow chart used by staff for checking absentee ballot
applications in the United Kingdom (GB). Inexperienced staff can easily follow the process and
deal with the application in the manner prescribed by the electoral law.
Identification of Responsibility and Authority
Clear line management and identification of who is responsible for what will make the electoral
process easier for all the participants to understand. Transparent structures will go a considerable
way towards demonstrating accountability and ensuring the electoral processes are carried out in
accordance with the law and that they are secure and the voting itself secret. The publication by
the electoral manager of staff structures and duties will show where operational responsibility
rests and if at the same time the complaints procedure is widely publicised and the staff
responsible for public relations are able to respond quickly to requests for information the level
of public confidence is likely to increase.
Using Key Points Reminders for staff is another way of summarising quite lengthy instructions
in the hope that the staff will at least read the main document once but will be able to take in the
Key Points Reminder document more easier. In the United Kingdom (GB) such a reminder is
often used to summarise key points about the counting process - this is distributed to the person
responsible for the vote counting and summarises about 8 pages of detailed instructions - see
Count Staff Reminder - United Kingdom.
Understanding Electoral Terms
The inclusion of a glossary in electoral documents is one way of ensuring that participants know
what the many different terms mean. The Sacramento Precinct Officers Manual includes a
Glossary section see Precinct Officers Manual - USA Section 3 Pages 41 to 47. Many other manuals include similar
information and this is highly desirable because many of the participants will not have the
detailed knowledge of the electoral terms in the same way as permanent electoral staff.
