Overall reports
In the United Kingdom (GB) there is no overall report on the electoral process because there is
no overall national electoral commission - the responsibility is devolved to numerous local
government officials who usually only deal with the actual reporting of the results. The Election
Commission of India issue an overall report after national elections and their report on the 1996
Indian General Elections 26 is informative and comprehensive - it covers everything
from the election programme, the details of the political parities and constituencies, voter turnout
and then a mass of statistical information about all aspects of the elections.
The Australian Electoral Commission publish similar reports and their document on the 1996
Federal Elections contains a wealth of information 27 It gives extensive statistical
information and describes the processes followed in some detail including the electoral system,
how votes are counted, how results are assembled nationally, voter information activity by the
commission, party funding information and the results of litigation arising from the elections and
the costs of the overall process.
Reports of this nature given on a national basis are informative and interesting - more
importantly they demonstrate to the public at large precisely what is happening in terms of the
electoral process, how much it cost, what problems occurred and what improvements are
proposed. The national electoral commissions are in a far better position to prepare this type of
report than are local commissions or electoral officials because the information on overall
activity is more relevant if given at a national level although equally relevant at local level if
local taxpayers are meeting the costs. This is a distinct advantage of the National Electoral
Commission. The United States of America (US) Federal Election Commission prepare a similar
national statistics report but that is primarily to produce a national historical record of the
elections for the offices of United States Senator and United States representatives which are
administered by local election officials.
Reports are not just prepared at the end of the electoral process. Uganda's Interim Electoral
Commission prepared a report in June 1996 - see Report of Interim Electoral Commission - Uganda - which sets out clearly the
background to the electoral process in Uganda, what duties and powers the Electoral
Commission has and who its members and key staff are. This document would be of less interest
to the average citizen but would be extremely useful to any participant in the electoral process
whether a candidate, party member or electoral official. Information of this type is always of
assistance in demonstrating the transparency and integrity of the electoral process and its
publication is particularly important where public concerns are expressed or there is limited
knowledge about the electoral process responsibilities.
Different ways of producing the information should also be considered - the Australian Electoral
Commission also produce their overall electoral statistics on CD-ROM - this is useful where a
report containing very large quantities of information is prepared and where potential users have
the necessary equipment.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland prepared a report on a By Election held on 24th May,
1997 - see By-election Report - Australia. They are required to do this by provisions in the Australian Electoral Law
Act of 1992 and the report is an excellent example of the Electoral Commissioner demonstrating
to the candidates, electors and to the community at large exactly how the election was
administered.
Reports about problems, complaints and issues which may go to the Courts
Some electoral systems identify staff specifically to investigate problems and resolve conflicts.
The Republic of South Africa (SA) Electoral Law provides for Monitors to attend every polling
site and their function is to watch what is going on and investigate problems and resolve
conflicts. This is a way of separating the functioning of the poll site which in the South African
system is the responsibility of the Presiding Officer from complaints and problems. The monitors
also have a wider role in looking at issues such as political meetings, canvassing and advertising.
The Monitors are specifically required to write full reports about the issues they get involved in.
This is essential particularly if the issues are later the subject of challenges through the Courts. A
system for proper reporting of complaints and problems must be established by the electoral
manager. For further information, see Complaint Procedure
Security and Who has access to records
Keeping accurate records is one activity - there is then the question of who can access them. The
electoral law and regulations will place numerous statutory requirements on the electoral
manager to keep records and retain and eventually destroy material.
There must be a well organised and secure system for storage of election documentation and
records. Even where information is publicly available the documentation containing that
information should be kept in secure conditions. Information about voter registration and other
election material can involve vast quantities of paper - electronic scanning of records is an
increasingly viable way of recording information in a manner which is secure, instantly
accessible and takes very little space.
The Electoral Manager's staff should have received training or at the least know how to find out
- what information is available to anyone who inquires
- what information is available
to candidates, parties and agents
- what information is only accessible to the electoral
manager
- what information can be required by the Courts in the event of prosecutions
for electoral offences or where the result of the elections can be challenged
- what
documentation is sealed at the end of the electoral process and is not accessible to anyone
The Electoral Law will normally contain provisions setting out the requirements for record
keeping and documentation retention and destruction. There is often a requirement on the
Electoral Manager to destroy the ballot papers and other material directly related to the election
after a specified period after polling day. This is usually after the time for any challenge to the
process has expired.
Electronic Records
Increasingly records and information are stored in electronic form. Where this is the case back up
data recording is essential. Many voters lists systems rely on electronic scanning of individual
voter records with the paper copy of the record not being retained so this is only printed off when
required for an election. An excellent system and one which is cost effective particularly where
office and storage space is expensive but it leaves the electoral manager in a position of some
difficulty if the data is corrupted. Specialist advice on keeping failsafe backup data is a must
because the alternative is often a costly repeat process of gathering or processing information.
Record Keeping
Throughout the electoral process record keeping is essential - at every stage records are created
of
- voters
- people who feel they should be voters but are not qualified
- polling sites
- electoral areas
- electoral staff
- candates
- parties
- agents
- the voting process
- results
- complaints
and of numerous other electoral issues.
Security and transparency are paramount - the electoral material and records must be kept secure
if there is to be public confidence in the process and the public must be assured about
transparency - if there is a major complaint are the records relating to the issue available and
complete and in a form which can demonstrate how the decision was made? There are numerous
systems for record keeping from electronic scanning of documents to keeping documents in
boxes and infinite combinations of both. Whatever system is used it needs to be set out in a
logical ordered so that it can be easily accessed by any authorised person. Whilst working
surrounded by piles of electoral forms and material might impress some observers it is more
usually the sign of a poorly organised office.
What happens after the results are declared?
Once the results are known the public perception is that the election is over - for the electoral
manager there are many tasks still to be carried out - review of process, packing up and securing
election material, paying staff, recovering equipment and so. The staff may well be exhausted
after a stressful period - plan in advance what has to be done, prepare clear lists of action points
for each area of responsibility and deal with these as quickly as possible - the risk other wise is
that the last 5% of the work will drag on and on.
Other considerations
There are numerous ways of maintaining paper records - seek advice from specialist suppliers as
to the most economic and secure way of storing these. Always ensure that backups are available
wherever possible. Consider what would happen in the event of fire or other emergency and plan
record keeping with this in mind!
