Voting facilities for security forces--armed forces and police--may be a particular issue to be solved in planning voting operations, whether such forces are fully mobilised during the voting period or not.
Voting Facilities for Armed Forces Bases
Placing voting sites within armed forces bases is a course preferably to be avoided. Such locations may be intimidating to polling officials, and there may be difficulties with all political participants being free to monitor voting processes, or provide party and candidate information near the voting site. This can be of particular concern where there has been any perceived history of political partisanship on the part of armed forces.
If voting locations are within armed forces bases, it may also be easier for junior armed forces members to feel pressured into voting in a particular way, through the presence of commanding or senior staff in the vicinity. For similar reasons, where there is organised transport for troop units to voting stations, officers and other senior ranks should not be in the voting station supervising troops while they are voting. Such potential intimidation may be a particular concern in countries with conscripted forces.
In voting stations near large military bases, the arrival of troops to vote may need to be organised to prevent undue pressure on voting station facilities. Troops are more likely to arrive in organised transport to vote than individually. Pre-voting day liaison between local voting operations administrators, senior polling officials and armed forces commanders will assist in smoothing the flow of troops to voting stations.
When armed forces members are in voting stations for the purpose of voting, under no circumstances should they carry their weapons with them.
Security and Emergency Forces on Duty on Voting Day
Equity is not served if registered voters are denied the opportunity to vote because of their occupation. Where there is full-scale mobilisation of armed forces, police and emergency forces on voting day, it would be prudent for the legislative framework to provide them with the opportunity to vote, which may require provision of special voting facilities, since it is not likely that many security force members will be stationed at the voting station in the electoral district where they may vote normally. Facilities for these voters could be provided by either of the following measures:
- early voting (by mail, or preferably for armed forces, in person, as armed forces mail voting could be subject to influence by officers or senior ranks);
- to allow security force members on duty to use absentee voting facilities at a voting station at or near where they are stationed on voting day.
Liaison between local voting operations administrators and security and emergency forces commanders on the requirements for any such special voting facilities is necessary for comprehensive voting operations planning.
