Elements of Normal Voting
While voting procedures will differ in detail, there are common elements that need to be present in any effective procedures for normal voting, such as:
- control of entry to the voting stations, so that only authorised persons (voters, officials, other accredited persons) can enter;
- a method of verifying each voter's identity and that they are eligible to vote at that voting station (i.e., they have not voted previously in this election and they are registered or are otherwise entitled to vote in respect of the electoral area serviced by the voting station);
- noting of the names of persons who have been issued ballots to prevent multiple voting and allow materials reconciliations;
- controlled, accurate issue of accountable ballot material (which may be ballots, envelopes, or access to voting computers issuing) to eligible voters;
- methods to ensure that each vote is secret;
- the method of indicating the preferred candidate or party amongst those on the ballot(s) for the election;
- ensuring that only valid voting material is placed in the ballot box.
For details of the key aspects of procedures for normal voting stations and their implementation, see the following sections:
For discussion of voting station layouts and facilities for implementing these procedures, see Voting Station Layout Standards, Potential Voting Station Layouts, and Voting Site Facilities.
Areas Serviced by Voting Stations
Usually voters are assigned to a specific voting station to vote, on the basis of the division of the electoral district into smaller geographic polling sub-divisions, generally containing approximately equal numbers of voters. There are considerable advantages to this method. For one, it promotes voting integrity. Voters lists for each voting station are unique, thus minimising the chances of multiple voting. Voters are from the immediate neighbourhood of the voting station, thus any attempts at impersonation are more likely to be recognised. Also, it allows standard staffing and materials allocation to each voting station, thus promoting efficiency in resource allocation methods.
The accuracy of the division of voters registers into a unique list for each voting station is vital. Specific geographic location information for each voter has to be accurately recorded at the time of registration, and voter registration systems must be able to support the production of voters lists at this small geographic area level. This can often be a complex task in societies where:
- general address designation systems are of poor quality or there are areas with no defined street number or name addresses;
- voters reside in squatter camps or illegal settlements;
- there are significant numbers of itinerant or homeless voters.
These issues need to be carefully considered when devising geographic criteria systems and recording methods within voter registration systems. Considerable precision in micro-management of voters registers is required.
In some jurisdictions, voters may cast a normal vote at a voting station of their choice within their electoral district. While this promotes accessibility to voters, it requires more complex systems for voting integrity control, resource planning, staffing and materials supply as:
- voters lists will not be unique in each voting station, additional multiple voting controls will be required;
- the potential numbers of voters attending each voting station is more difficult to estimate;
- standard staffing and materials allocation processes will be more complex to implement.
For integrity reasons alone, this is a method that would generally be discouraged.
Method of Indicating Preferred Candidate or Party
The method by which voters indicate their preferred candidate or party, as determined by the legislation defining the election system, will have a significant impact on procedures for normal voting. Basic variants include:
The enveloped ballot system, where each party or candidate appears on a separate ballot, the voter chooses the desired ballot and is issued an envelope in which the ballot is sealed before it is placed in the ballot box. In these systems it is the ballot envelopes that are the strictly controlled and accountable items; the ballots themselves can be freely available. Voting procedures are oriented to the controlled issue of ballot envelopes to eligible voters. Such systems are employed in France and Sweden.
'Mark choice' ballot systems, where alternative candidates or parties appear on the same ballot, and voters have to mark their preferences (either manually or using a voting machine or computer screen) on the ballot. There are variations in the manner in which preference must be marked (see Ballot Design). In these systems the ballots are highly accountable items, and voting procedures are oriented towards controlled issue of ballots to eligible voters.
Write-in ballots, where voters write the name of their preferred candidate or party on a blank ballot. Again it is the ballot issued only to eligible electors that must be tightly controlled. It would not be usual to use such systems for normal voting, though they can be effective for use in special voting facilities such as early or absentee voting, where timetables or complexity of materials supply may prevent the use of ballots fully printed with party or candidate details.
In some jurisdictions, voters use tokens, rather than ballots, to indicate their choice of party or candidate. Each party or candidate is represented by a different token, often distinguished by colour, and the voter chooses the appropriate one. This method can be effective in countries with generally lower literacy levels. Voting procedures must control that voters only deposit a single token in the ballot box; materials production controls must ensure that tokens are of the same size and weight so that voting secrecy is preserved.
'Mark choice' ballots are more common. Within this category itself, there are multiple variations of method. Some variations depend on the electoral system employed.
First-past-the-post and party list proportional representation systems would usually require that voters place only a single mark on the ballot, against a party or candidate of their choice. Allowable marks would often be defined in legislation and could be restricted to a numeric one, or include other allowable marks such as a check or a cross. Accessibility and equity principles would dictate that the nature of the mark itself was not important and that the only important matter is that the voter has clearly indicated a preference.
Some first-past-the-post or party list proportional representation systems may operate on a negative vote basis, meaning that voters cross out or place marks beside the names of the parties or candidates they do not prefer, and leave untouched the party or candidate they prefer. These requirements can be more conducive to voter error, and less expeditious to count.
Single transferable vote or alternative vote systems of various types would require the voter to indicate either for all candidates on the ballot, or a minimum defined proportion or number of the candidates, a preference ranking, from '1' to 'n'.
The electoral system may require voters to cope with combinations of ballot types, for example, where simultaneous elections are for different chambers of a legislature elected using different voting systems.
It is very important that voter education and information programs make very clear to voters the manner in which they must indicate their preferred party or candidates. (For further information on these issues, see Information on How to Ensure a Vote is Valid. Information on characteristics of various election systems can be found in Majority-Plurality Systems, Semi-Proportional Systems, PR Systems and their related articles.)
Effects of Voting Method on Voting Station Operations
The voting method used will have significant effects on the procedures that must be implemented in voting stations. Some examples include:
- requiring voters to mark more than one preference mark on a ballot will take longer, affecting issues such as the number of voting compartments, or booths, required and the voter turnout capacity of voting stations;
- whether ballots or ballot envelopes are accountable items will affect security considerations (both in the voting station and during production), and the layout of the voting station in terms of where these materials are issued;
- the holding of simultaneous elections, especially where voting methods are different for each election, will raise issues of whether ballots for each election should be issued simultaneously to the voter, or there should be separate areas in the voting station for each election, through which the voter must pass. Simultaneous issue of all ballots is the more efficient method, but its effects on voters' understanding of how to complete each ballot must be considered.
Voting Day and Hours
The day of the week determined for the general voting day will affect planning and implementation of voting operations. Week day voting may affect the ability to recruit polling officials and require special arrangements to allow workers to vote, unless voting day is a declared holiday. A general voting day on a weekend may present the need for additional facilities for voters not at their usual residential locations. (For further information, see Frequency/Date/Day of Elections.)
Hours of opening need to strike a balance between accessibility to voters, efficient resource use, and staff fatigue. Long opening hours will increase the potential for tired polling officials to make errors in their work.
