Why 'Elections and Technology'?
Technology is essential to the conduct of elections. Technology is used at every stage of the election process, for example, for compiling voters lists, drawing electoral boundaries, employing and training staff, printing ballots, conducting voter education campaigns and publishing election results. The appropriate application of technology to elections can increase administrative efficiency, reduce long-term costs and enhance political transparency.
Technologies used for elections can be 'old' ones like printing presses, ball-point pens, manual typewriters, electronic calculators and radios, or 'new' technologies like computers, optical scanners, digital mapping and the internet. Without access to technology, the logistics of modern large-scale elections would be beyond our abilities.
The complexity of technology used for elections around the world varies enormously. The rate of technological change is so fast that election management bodies (EMBs) must regularly re-evaluate their use of technology to determine whether they should adopt new or updated technology to improve their performance.
This Elections and Technology topic area aims to assist EMBs in this task by:
- Describing technologies that are currently being used for electoral processes
- Providing guidance for EMBs considering adopting and implementing new technology
- Giving examples of 'best practice' in use of technology as well as cases where technology has not lived up to expectations
- Looking into the future at some of the emerging technologies that may apply to elections in the 21st Century.
The Elections and Technology topic area is different from the other topic areas included in the Administration and Cost of Elections (ACE) Project. Where the other topic areas cover specific aspects of the election process, the Elections and Technology topic covers technology appropriate to any part of the election process.
This is not intended to imply use of technology in elections is an end in itself. Rather, it is recognition that the same technological solution can apply to many different aspects of the electoral process. For example, electronic databases can be used for almost every part of the election process, including voter lists, inventories, staff payments, postal voting, vote counting and results dissemination.
So that users can relate the use of technology to specific election processes, the Elections and Technology topic area contains links to the relevant topic area in the ACE Project. Later revisions of the ACE Project will include links from these other topic areas to relevant technology references in the Elections and Technology topic area.
What do we mean by 'technology'
'Technology' can be defined simply as anything involving the application of science and engineering. This is a very broad definition that could cover any manufactured item. For the purposes of this topic area, we need a limited definition more directly relevant to election management.
We could use 'new technology', but what is new in one place might be old in another. 'New technology' also has an evolving meaning. The Gutenberg printing press, wristwatches, manual typewriters and ball point pens were examples of 'new technology' when they were developed. Now these things are hardly considered to be 'technology' at all.
When people discuss 'elections and technology' in the 2000s, they tend to refer to computers and related electronic items, such as scanners, bar code readers and the internet. But there are other examples of electoral technology that do not directly involve computers, such as polling equipment made from cardboard or plastic.
To keep this topic area to a useful size, we will limit our definition of 'technology' to include primarily electronic or mechanical devices including but not limited to computerised devices. Some reference will also be made to non-electronic innovations that have specific electoral applications. Thus, this definition can include existing or 'old' technology, as well as emerging, developing or 'new' technology.
This topic area will touch briefly on emerging technologies. However, its main focus will be on more practical issues, such as, what technologies are currently in use around the world? How can these technologies be implemented in my case? How can I improve on the technologies I currently employ?
Implementing technology for election purposes
There are many aspects to consider when implementing technology for election purposes. Below are some of the main ones.
Elections are a high risk activity. They have to be done properly, open to public scrutiny, and be done right first time. Unlike other applications of technology, where systems can be introduced gradually with extended testing and implementation schedules, many election systems will only be used 'live' once, and the systems must work correctly first time, or the entire election may fail.
Perhaps the primary thing to consider is whether you really need to upgrade your existing technology or introduce new technology. In some cases the costs or the risks may be too great, and it may be more appropriate to continue using existing systems.
Using technology for election processes can be costly, especially at the implementation stage. Many technological solutions may cost significantly more than the equivalent manual processes that they replace. It may not always be cost effective to implement new technology where relatively minor improvements do not justify the extra cost. You do not have to implement a high-cost, high-tech solution if a low-cost, low-tech alternative is acceptable in your particular circumstances.
Yet there are occasions when technology can also save money over the long term. You need to weigh the costs and savings associated with introducing technology. When doing so, you must keep in mind not only the initial costs involved in purchasing hardware and software and employing consultants to set up your new system, but also the ongoing maintenance and management costs. (This will generally involve obtaining commitments through the relevant Government budgetary process.)
You should also consider the sustainability of any technology you adopt. In many cases, you will want to ensure that the technology you adopt for next year's election will still be useful at the election after that. Adopting new technology for each election may prove expensive and unsustainable in the long term. On the other hand, technology is improving at such a rapid rate that this year's technology may be out of date by the time the next election comes along in 4 year's time. Personal computer processing power is a good example of how 'state of the art' technology can rapidly be overtaken by technological improvements. Where change is rapid, it may be more cost-effective to lease equipment rather than purchase it to ensure that you optimise your capabilities at each successive election.
Other factors must also be considered to determine the appropriateness of implementing new systems. The local physical environment and infrastructure is one such consideration. A country with an intermittent power supply, for example, may not be an appropriate location for implementing a wide area network of personal computers that requires a reliable power source. High humidity or high levels of dust or sand may also restrict the choice of appropriate technology.
The security of new technology must also be taken into account. Particularly where technology is used for recording, tallying or transmitting voting data, the technology must be at least as secure as the equivalent manual processes, and ideally it should be more so.
Before new technologies are introduced it is important to consult with all the stakeholders who are likely to be affected. EMB staff must be willing and able to implement the changes. Participants in the election process, such as political parties, candidates, members of parliament and the media will need to be consulted if the change will effect them, for example, where an electronic voting system is being considered. New technology may also require changes to the relevant electoral laws and rules. These changes need to be negotiated and guaranteed before you can commit to the new technology.
Time is needed for the implementation of new technology: time for consultation with stakeholders, time for identifying your needs, time for selecting the specific technology you will adopt, time for implementing the new system, time for testing it to make sure it will work effectively when it is needed and time for training those who are going to use it. It is common for EMBs to underestimate how long the implementation of new systems will take. If system implementation is rushed, the risk that the system will fail at a crucial time is magnified.
Another potential pitfall is attempting too much too quickly. Instead of taking a quantum leap and implementing a radically new technology (compared to the existing local technology) in one step, it may be more appropriate to gradually implement change over a series of electoral events.
Once a decision has been taken to implement a new technology, an implementation plan needs to be developed. This should include expected outcomes, timelines, allocation of responsibilities, checklists, standards, quality controls and an implementation budget. It may be useful to undertake a pilot program first, to test the new system on a small scale. After small scale tests, one of the last steps before bringing a system into production might be a full-scale 'load test', where the system is tested by conducting a mock exercise that is as close as possible as the real thing.
An essential aspect of implementing new technology is training those who are going to use it. For systems that will only be used 'in-house' it may be necessary only to train relevant staff. Where the technology is being used by external users - for example, if an electronic voting system is introduced - the external users will also have to be trained. Where the external users consist of the entire voting population, this 'training' may involve a mass communication campaign. Time for conducting user training must be built into the implementation plan.
Any technology, new or old, can fail. When new technologies are implemented, the risk of failure can be higher than with tried and tested systems. Consequently, contingency plans must be in place in case the technology fails. Often this will involve having manual back-up systems in place that can kick into operation at short notice if the technology fails. For example, where ballots are being counted electronically, plans should be in place to enable a switch to a manual count if the electronic system fails. Computer systems should also be designed with their own back-up systems, for example, by using mirrored servers, making regular back-up copies of data, and storing copies of data off-site.
What types of technology will be covered in this topic area?
If you are considering adopting new technology for election purposes, a useful starting point is to consider what technology is currently in use, what it is being used for, who is using it, and what issues have arisen in its use. The Elections and Technology topic area will look at the following types of technology currently in use around the world:
- Computer systems
- Personal computers
- Office automation software
- Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs)
- Communications technology, such as phone/fax/data lines, radio, television, microwaves and satellites
- The internet
- Electronic voting systems
- Mechanical voting systems
- Scanning systems
- Identification systems
- Database applications
- Mapping applications, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
- Audio/visual applications
- Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems
After exploring technologies and applications currently in use, you may find that what you want to do has never been done before. To help those considering breaking new ground, the Elections and Technology section also attempts to look some way into the future at what technology may be able to offer the election management world in the 21st Century.
