Appointment of Electoral Staff.
There needs to be clear criteria for the appointment process and transparency in how it is carried
out. These goals are most easily attainable if there are clear definitions of what categories of
staff are needed and how they will be selected.
In the Republic of South Africa elections in 1994, over 200,000 staff were appointed to
administer the electoral process. All appointments were made by the Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) through their chief director, who made it quite clear that appointments would
be made from all the people of South Africa - men and women, black and white, those from the
country and from the towns. The Handbook for Presiding Officers and Voting Officers prepared
by the IEC (see Poll Workers Handbook - South Africa) not only sets out all the duties, but it in Sections 2 and 7 details the
appointment process, the duties of the various staff, the requirements for secrecy and how
secrecy will be maintained.
Who Makes Appointments?
There needs to be a clear understanding of who has the authority to make appointments. For
information on the various types of electoral staff, see Personnel Appointment and Training. The appointment of members of
a national election commission may be made by the national government or by nomination from
political parties, or once the commission is established, in some systems by the commission
itself. Most electoral managers will not be involved with this type of appointment. Their
responsibilities are more likely to relate to the appointment of staff in the electoral manager's
office on a permanent or temporary basis and to the appointment of the vast numbers of staff
engaged on a temporary basis usually as poll workers, vote counters and registration workers.
Personnel Appointment and Training sets out various criteria for staff and where (for example) poll workers may be recruited
- this file looks at the actual appointment process. In countries using the electoral commission
system, the employer will normally be the national, regional or local commission. Regional or
local councils often have a role in the process and in that case they will be the employer; in other
cases, a named electoral officer has the power to employ (and dispense with ) staff.
Fair Selection Procedures
These procedures should apply to any staff appointed for any organisation - in electoral work
these procedures are even more important. If there is any hint of a partisan approach in the
appointment process it will rapidly reduce the confidence of the participants in the fairness and
openness of the electoral process. With large numbers of temporary staff, it is difficult to apply
the same standards and processes as occur when permanent staff are selected for senior posts. A
decision, therefore, needs to be made on the fair selection criteria which will apply to the
different categories of posts. It is common for the criteria for temporary staff and the
appointment process to be much simpler than for permanent staff. The recruitment process may
be as basic as a recommendation from an existing poll worker that a person is suitable, followed
by a check that the person is not connected to any party or candidate.
Most organisations have codes of practice and procedures for staff recruitment. For an example
of a code which contains the key elements of good practice, see Recruitment Code - United Kingdom, which is from the
University of Bath in the United Kingdom (GB). This code is designed to cover all types of
University staff appointments but the principles are equally applicable to the appointment of
electoral staff, particularly permanent ones.
Some countries use a screening process involving the main parties when appointing, for example,
voter registration staff, which assists in ensuring transparency.
Criteria for Posts
Poll workers usually have to work long hours and sometimes in difficult conditions. One
obvious criteria is to make this necessity clear in the information about the post and clearly set
out what the duties entail. The advance information should also set out clearly that, for example,
any involvement with a political party or candidate will disqualify a person from working on the
electoral process. A related question is: Does involvement concern only the potential staff
member or should the involvement of that person's spouse or close relative also disqualify? In the
absence of a provision in the electoral law, these issues need to be decided.
With all posts, there should be a clear 'Job Description' which will be much more
comprehensive for permanent posts. Specifying a minimum age or education level is common as
is the imposition of a maximum age.
Appointment Documentation
When permanent appointments are made, the job descriptions and appointment letters should
comply with good personnel practice and set out all the pertinent issues in connection with the
jobs.
For temporary appointments, the letter to the staff member will frequently combine the terms and
conditions of the post with an explanation, in considerable detail, of all the duties and
requirements that go with it. Again, there is be a tendency to over-instruct, so keeping the letter
short and simple will probably increase considerably the chances of it being read and understood.
The sample at Voter Information Activity - Australia is for a poll worker in the United Kingdom (GB). The letter sets out
the terms and conditions of the appointment and encloses a number of documents which contain
all the detailed information and instructions. One of these documents is an acceptance by the
person of the appointment, which also acts as both a declaration by that person that they have not
participated in the election on behalf of a candidate and an application for an absentee ballot.
Appointment documentation needs to make it clear what is involved, where the person is
working, who they are responsible to, who they contact if problems occur, what they do on the
close of the poll, what they are being paid, and what they are expected to do in advance of the
electoral event. Giving all staff an ID card or credentials is also highly desirable. It assists in
maintaining security and re-assures the public that the person they are dealing with holds the post
or office stated on the credentials.
Role of Personnel Office
This office will play a key role in the success of the electoral process. There needs to be high
quality advance planning of how staff will be recruited, what division there will be between
permanent and temporary staff, how staff will be selected if there is an over supply and what
criteria will be laid down in terms of qualifications, suitability for work, age (high and low) and
lack of connection with parties or candidates.
Elections are often called at short notice. Perfection in the appointment process should always be
sought, but in reality, the numbers of temporary staff and the time scale will mean that standards
may need to be adjusted. In some circumstances, other government employees are seconded to
the electoral management body and the latter has no direct control over them in terms of the
ability to dismiss or discipline - this situation is not desirable.
Removal of Staff
However good the appointment process, some staff will not prove capable of performing to the
required standard. If they are not complying with the electoral law or regulations or are
disregarding instructions, then action must be taken. Dismissal of staff is the final option. It may
be possible to deal with the matter by a warning and appropriate further instruction and / or
training. An absolute requirement is prompt action. It is no good to wait until after the electoral
process is over before dealing with a staff performance issue. If a polling site worker is causing
problems then he or she needs to be replaced sooner rather than later!
