Technology can be used to provide a wide variety of information to parties and candidates.
Information From Voters Register
Many jurisdictions require the election management body (EMB) to supply information from its voters register to registered parties, elected members of parliament and/or election candidates. Where the voters register is kept electronically (usually in a database - see Using Technology for Voter Registration) , this is a relatively straightforward process.
Data from voters registers can be supplied to parties, members and candidates in hardcopy form or electronic form. As many voters registers can contain many names, these registers can be quite large, making hardcopy alternatives on paper or microfiche bulky and costly to produce. Electronic forms of voters registers are generally cheaper and easier to produce. Electronic forms could include copies written to floppy disk, CD-ROM or magnetic tape, or copies provided by email or downloadable from the internet.
As voters registers usually contain personal data, they are often covered by privacy restrictions. EMBs will need to ensure that information from voters registers supplied to parties, members or candidates is supplied in accordance with relevant legislation and guidelines and is protected from unauthorised access or misuse.
The form in which electronic data is supplied to parties, members or candidates might depend on the uses to which the data is likely to be put, the quantity of data supplied, and the technological sophistication of the recipients. In general, data could be supplied in word processing format, spreadsheet format, database format or in flat text files. It may be desirable to offer the data in a range of formats to suit the needs of the various recipients.
In addition to suppling voters register data in a simple list format, it may also be desirable (or required by policy or legislation) to supply data in a 'value-added' format. Such a format could include various database functions such as the ability to search on various criteria or to extract general or targeted mail merges.
General Communications
Technology can also be used for general communications with political parties and candidates. Emails and faxes can be used to contact parties and candidates quickly and, if necessary, in bulk. Where party and candidate contact details are captured electronically, mail merge facilities in databases and word processing systems can be used to send generic or customised letters to parties and candidates.
