Introduction
There is a separate topic area covering voter education which covers more extensively the whole
topic of educating and informing prospective voters. This section concentrates on the electoral
manager`s responsibilities in terms of the election process - explaining to the voter when, where
and how to vote.
Different Practices
Practices in this area vary widely and it is easy to reach an assumption that because a process has
continued for many years almost unchanged - as in the United Kingdom (GB) - the electors know
how the voting process works. This assumption is not always true. By taking an objective and
independent look at a voter information program and comparing it to worldwide practices, one
will almost certainly find areas in which improvements can be made.
The high quality voter education and information programmes carried out in, for example, the
Republic of South Africa (ZA) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) offer much material of interest
to electoral managers. The general voter information material distributed in the run up to poling
- particularly that in poster form (see Voting Process - Bosnia-Herzegovina and Voting Process - South Africa and Polling Station - South Africa) - show the
prospective voters the layout and processes of the polling station. This sharing of information
helps to reduce the demands on poll workers during the actual voting process, minimise time
spent on explaining the process in the poling site and also helps to allay suspicions about secrecy
and security of the voting process.
Review and Feedback
As usual looking at information from past elections is a good starting point - turnout, complaints
and feedback from poll workers and other electoral staff should give some good pointers as to
where additional information is needed. Sample surveys asking voters about their needs and
experiences are also a usefull method of getting feedback.
Web Sites
The list of web sites published with the ACE project offer a wealth of information about electoral
processes. Those published by national electoral commissions are particularly good, with
everything from electoral laws, voter information and sample ballots made easily accessible.
Voter Information Areas
Voter information falls into two broad areas - the first relates to the distribution of material and
information in advance of the poll and the second to the information which is on display in the
polling site.
Complete Information and Various Formats for Various Populations go into both these aspects in detail.
For further information see Information on Voting Eligibility and Methods Information on Voting Locations and Hours Information on Voting Station Procedures Information on How to Ensure a Vote is Valid and Information on the Integrity of the Voting Process.
