Vote Counting
There is a separate topic area on Vote Counting and this file looks at issues concerning results
reporting in terms of Operational Arrangements of Electoral Managers.
What is a result
In narrow terms the result is simply information as to the successful candidate or candidates or
party or parties. It could even be as simple as to report that a named person has been elected. The
result report can however include much more extensive information - the electoral law will
normally specify how the result is to be published and what other information should accompany
the result. This can be quite extensive and for a polling site where counting is also undertaken it
might well include
- the name and number of the polling site
- the voting period (time commenced / time completed)
- number of voters on the
lists
- number of voters who voted
- number of ballot papers received
- number of ballot papers spoilt by voters during the voting process
- number of
Ballot papers included in the Count
- number of invalid ballot papers
- number of votes cast for each candidate or party
- which candidates or parties were
elected
The result or protocol document would be signed by the responsible electoral officials and in
many Countries party officials and / or pollwatchers are also allowed or required to sign.. The law
also normally provides for representatives of parties or candidates to take a copy of the result and
for the result to be displayed at the Counting Site or some other public building in the area.
Candidates / parties / pollwatchers are often allowed to take copies of the tally sheets and other
documents which contain the detailed breakdown of the result.
Official and Unofficial Results
To most of the public the result will be what they hear through the media and often limited to
who was elected and the number of votes they received. This is unofficial news. The official
result is that published by the appropriate electoral official or commission containing all the
information required by law. This distinction needs to be emphsised in election materials and in
Media Codes of Conduct.
Collation of results
The result of the election at Polling Site level may be the end the process if the election is just to
elect representatives to a local council comprising that polling district.
In most cases however the results from a particular polling site are transmitted to the next level
Electoral Commission or Electoral Official to be collated with other results to give the outcome
for a wider area and for a National Election the same process is followed to establish the overall
National Result. With the degree of media interest in national elections the overall results are
often assembled by the National media before they are officially available at national level.
In Equatorial Guinea satellite fax machines are used to transmit results - in Colombia taxis
collect and drop off results at Counting Centres - whatever system is used the ability to identify
'missing' results quickly and chase these up is essential.
In the United Kingdom (GB) the results for each parliamentary constituency are available
nationally through media sources either instantaneously as they are announced or within a few
seconds. The official result is published locally - this gives the details of the votes for each
candidate and those spoilt by voters; for an example, see Parliamentary Election Result - United Kingdom - and this form of result has
changed little in 100 years. The official return of the candidate elected is on another form,
which has changed little in 200 years! This form s collected by official messenger
usually about 12 hours after the result was first declared. Hardly state of the art technology.
On a more serious note the process for transmission of results needs to be absolutely secure and
where materials are moved from a polling site to another location for vote counting or where vote
counting has taken place on a polling site and the result and materials are being taken to the next
level headquarters there must be provision for
- interested parties to take copies of results at each level wherever they are first established so
as to enable these to be checked against the eventual overall results
- for transparency
and security to be paramount to ensure there is no risk of the result or material being tampered
with before it arrives at the next level
The collation of results particularly where complex counting systems are used would normally be
undertaken using computers - this enables results to be printed rapidly and a host of other
information to be published at the same time.
To publish results quickly many systems rely on the initial transmission of data by telephone, fax
or electronically - in all cases the hard copy of the information duly certified by the responsible
officials should follow.
Attempts have been made to tamper with results through interference with computers and
incorrect results have been transmitted by radio through honest mistakes. Getting all the hard
copy results together, checking these are correctly completed and double checking the overall
collation of these is essential before the overall results are finally certified.
In Canada Elections Canada takes the responsibility for the overall tabulation of election rests
and then reports on these to Parliament, the Media and the public, In Australia the Electoral
Commission establish a National Tally Room and included in the Commission's report on the
1996 Federal Elections is a description of the work of the Tally Room see Tally Room Description - Australia
Electoral Law Provisions.
For some examples of provisions in electoral laws regarding results see Electoral Law - Albania Article 75;
Electoral Law - Republic of Latvia Articles 42 to 44; United Nations Electoral Law for Cambodia, 1992 Articles 80 and 81. These are typical electoral law
requirements which the electoral manager has to observe.
Other information
For completeness a result should also include other statistical information about the election. In
some cases the electoral law requires the provision of additional information. Examples are
- the number of absentee ballots issued and returned
- the number of proxy voters
- the number of people assisted in voting due to disability
- the records of
complaints and decisions made on these
Even where the law does not require this information the electoral manager should in the
interests of transparency consider a comprehensive report on the outcome of the electoral
process. Confidence in the outcome will increase if there is a prompt supply of not only the
information required by law but also supplementary information - for examples of reports see
Reporting and Record-keeping - such reports also help in the planning of future elections.
Publication of results
Again the Electoral Law often requires the Electoral Manager to publish results. The requirement
may be as limited as posting the result of the election at the office of the electoral manager or at
the Polling Site. The requirements of the law should be regarded as a minimum activity and
consideration should be given to pro-active publicity containing maximum information about the
election. For example this can include
- details of electoral turnout
- the percentage vote gained by each candidate or party
- the gains and losses of the
political parties
- alterations in political control
- lists of successful candidates containing addresses and contact numbers of those elected
- details of candidates who have lost deposits (where these were required)
- how
turnout differed from previous elections and any key features of the elections
The Hungarian Electoral Commission prepare comprehensive results a few hours after the close
of the poll (in several languages) and these are accompanied by comprehensive general
information about the elections. For an example of one page of their results booklet see
Results Summary - Hungarian EC.
The process of collation of results can involve several layers of authorities or organisations or
officials. The first level of results may be produced at polling site level - this may then be
transmitted to the next level where a number of polling sites are collated - this may produce an
end result in itself - for example one Constituency or council area or one ward. However the
process can then continue to regional and national levels depending on the type of system used.
A clear audit trail (i.e. a step by step check with each step being certified by the officials
concerned) to ensure that at each stage the correct result is transmitted is essential - the problem
is that everyone wants information as soon as possible so the key parts of the result often have to
be transmitted immediately with all the paperwork and the remainder of the statistics following
later. It is possible for this information to be transmitted instantly through an electronic process,
it can be faxed or transmitted by telephone or by personal delivery. The key issue is not to
confuse the unofficial result with the official one and to ensure before the official result is
announced that the person responsible is satisfied that all the information is not only to hand but
has been carefully checked. When the process is complete the electoral manager should ensure
that all the records to verify the result are properly secured and accounted for and can be used if a
challenge through the Courts is made to demonstrate the fairness and transparency of the process.
Managing the release of election results is also important - not only must results be accurate but
the quicker they are released the better - long delays cause suspicion and can cause public unrest.
Quick Count Results
An early indication of the results of national elections can be obtained through the quick count
process - this is normally used where the collation of the overall results can take a lengthy period.
It would not be relevant in many Countries where within a few seconds of the first results
predictions (usually very accurate) are being given of the overall national result.
The Quick Count process relies on result information from a sample of polling sites being
relayed to a central location where it is processed to give an overall national prediction.
The process needs to ensure that typical representative polling sites are chosen and that
adjustments are made to take account of any particular local issues which could affect the results
at polling site level.
The Quick Count result prediction has been used where there are tensions at national level and
advance information can help ease the transfer of power.
For further information see Publication of Results.
