Use of technology in elections must be sensitive to the readiness of the stakeholders to assimilate that technology. In some circumstances, people will expect more from technology than it can realistically deliver. In other cases, people may be distrustful or suspicious of technology, or they may be poorly equipped to adopt it.
Unrealistic expectations of technology can result in adoption of technology that is not capable of fulfilling its intended functions. This can happen if the technology chosen is not appropriate for its intended tasks, or if adequate support mechanisms are not available to maintain the technology after it is installed.
Distrust or suspicion of technology can lead to delays in implementation or can halt a project altogether. Where stakeholders are poorly equipped to adopt new technology, perhaps through lack of trained staff or unreliable infrastructure, technology can easily fail to fulfill its promise.
To maximize the chances of success, there are a number of strategies that can be adopted to reduce unrealistic expectations, suspicion and distrust, and to increase the ability of stakeholders to implement new technology.
Overcoming resistance to change
There may be bureaucratic opposition to innovation or change. This can occur when there are vested interests in retaining the current system. A common fear is that adoption of technology will lead to loss of jobs. This is, of course, sometimes true, and is an issue that should be recognized and addressed by the election management body (EMB) in negotiations with staff who may be affected.
Adoption of technology often changes the nature of a workplace without necessarily reducing the workforce, by reducing the need for staff to be employed on manual tasks but increasing the number of staff needed to manage the technology. In some cases, these staff members will be the same people, and no jobs may be lost. In other cases, because of the different skills needed, some staff may become redundant while other staff with different skills may need to be employed.
Where adoption of technology is expected to lead to significant changes in work practices, the EMB should adopt a change management strategy. Many management companies offer change management training and skilled consultants who can advise on appropriate strategies. The most important aspect of change management is regular consultation with all affected stakeholders, beginning early in the process. Stakeholders who are fully informed about the reasons for change and the benefits to be derived from it are more likely to be supportive, particularly if they are given the opportunity to make meaningful contributions at the planning and implementation stages.
There may also be political opposition to innovation or change. Elections by their nature are politically sensitive, and it is possible that the implementation of new technology will have a political impact. For example, introducing electronic telephone voting may change the demographics of a voting population by allowing greater access to voting facilities. Again, it is important to consult with stakeholders at an early stage and to secure their agreement to change, if possible. As major changes such as introduction of electronic voting will generally require legislative changes, securing political support for change is essential.
Reluctance to adopt technology may also stem from a lack of trust in the new technology. Lack of trust can occur through misunderstanding, lack of knowledge, or numerous other reasons. Again, consultation and clearly explaining the rationale behind the technology should help to clear up misunderstandings and remedy lack of knowledge. Where the system being considered will have significant implications for the electoral process, such as an electronic voting system, trust will often need to be earned by conducting thorough, transparent evaluations of the proposed system, ideally independently verified.
Where the technology being considered will affect the public, it is important to include the public as stakeholders and to gain their trust in the new system. This may entail a large scale communication campaign to inform the voting population of the proposed changes (see Voter Education). Before attempting large-scale communication, it may be desirable to use market research methods to test proposals with focus groups or by surveying samples of the population. Significant changes like the introduction of electronic or internet voting may be subject to public inquiries, such as a commission of inquiry or a parliamentary committee inquiry. Public inquiries are a good opportunity to gauge public reaction through public submissions and the media interest generated by the conduct of the inquiries. Effective cooperation by EMBs with public inquiries is also a good means of promoting trust and understanding of proposed new technologies.
The maturity of the political environment will also have an impact on the acceptance of new technology. Where a society is in a transitional phase expectations may be very high, or conversely, distrust may be high. The responsible EMB should be aware of these possibilities and be prepared to work with them.
In more mature political environments with greater political stability, there may be resistance to change on the basis that the present system has worked well, so that there is no need to do anything differently. In this case, the need for change will need to be persuasively presented, and the stakeholders will need to be convinced that benefits will arise through adoption of new technology.
Managing high expectations
While some people may be distrustful or suspicious of technology, others may expect too much. Particularly where people have not had much exposure to technology, there can be an unrealistic expectation that applying technology to a problem will easily solve it.
If unrealistic expectations are not tempered, there is risk that technological solutions may be chosen that are inappropriate or unable to live up to the expectations. As with lack of trust, unrealistic expectations can be lowered by effectively consulting with and informing stakeholders, and by being transparent and clearly identifying risks to balance the identified opportunities.
Overcoming structural problems
New technology will be successful only where the human and physical resources exist to properly manage the technology. Staff or contractors need to be available who can implement and operate the technology or who are capable of being trained to do so. Where skilled staff are not available, training strategies can be adopted to provide adequately trained staff, or external contractors may be employed.
If external contractors will be used, their cost needs to be taken into account when adopting new technology. Where an EMB relies on contractors, it should be aware that contractors may be needed not only to set up the technology, but also to operate, maintain and upgrade it.
Physical resources will also impact on a country's readiness to assimilate technology. Access to reliable power supplies, communication lines and secure storage may be crucial to implementation of new technology. Where essential infrastructure is absent or not reliable, technology options may be limited or impractical (see 'etb03' and Special Considerations In Less Developed Countries).
The security environment will also have an impact on the likely success of new technology, particularly where a country is in transition to democracy. If there is a risk that the election process may be disrupted by civil unrest or sabotage, care will need to be taken that the technology chosen is robust and flexible enough to continue functioning if a part of a system becomes inoperable. This may involve such strategies as maintaining multiple backups of data at several different sites, or ensuring that networks can continue to operate where one or more links are down. It may be best to ensure that manual back up systems are available to bring on line in the event of unrecoverable system failure.
Where the electoral process is a component of a peace keeping mission, complications may arise due to the unusual nature of the bureaucratic bodies established to carry out the mission. Lacking established bureaucratic structures and usually attempting to complete a large logistic exercise in a short timeframe, peace keeping missions can be difficult places in which to implement new technology. Many of the strategies described above may be needed to achieve a satisfactory result.
