A voter register database can be used by an election management body (EMB) to assist various aspects of the electoral process, such as election planning and redistricting.
Voter registration data can be aggregated to various geographic levels to assist with determining where polling places should be located, and what resources (both staff and material) should be devoted to each polling place. It may be feasible for an EMB to link its voter registration data with its polling place management database to automatically calculate quantities of material and number of staff needed. This can be done through assigning 'catchment areas' to polling places and calculating the number of voters registered within each polling place's catchment area.
Voter registration data can also be aggregated to various geographic levels to assist with redrawing electoral boundaries, or redistricting. Where a redistricting regime requires expected future voter numbers to be taken into account, a voter registration database can be used to plot voter mobility and to determine growth trends over time. However, while voter register data may show trends in growth or decline, care should be taken when using this data for redistricting purposes to include other factors, such as plans for future housing developments or plans to demolish housing.
