Simplification Using Checklists
Detailed voting operations work plans can be unwieldy documents for everyday use by all staff. Calendars and time lines, as a summary of the key dates and issues in the work plans, will not generally provide the most effective task reminder and monitoring format. Use of checklists provides an intermediate step between these two other necessary planning and monitoring documents.
Checklist Content
Checklists can usefully be developed on a number of levels, tailored to:
- the responsibilities of individual staff members;
- activities at particular locations;
- project-based and overall monitoring of activity.
A hierarchical format--where checklists for completion of all steps in single activities or functions in each location provide information to overall monitoring checklists tracking activity completion against election time line requirements--provides an effective management tool. Where computer facilities are available, such checklists can be computerised and automatically integrated to provide efficiencies in data transfer. Completion of steps in a particular task in a particular location automatically updates progress against overall time line checklists.
Checklist Design
In designing checklists, the purpose for which the checklist is to be used must be clearly kept in mind. Better designs will include space and directions for the responsible staff member to mark completion of each individual stage on the checklist and sign off the completed activity. Individual activity or function checklists used as action prompts need to include all key actions, in logical time sequence, for the correct completion of a task.
The level of detail included on the checklists may need to be tailored to the experience and the immediacy of supervision. Checklists for voting station staff may need to be more detailed in their breakdown of actions than those for experienced voting operations administrators. However, keeping checklists short and simple, restricted to a single function or activity per checklist, is important to promote their use. Checklists for monitoring activity completion need not necessarily note all steps in each task, or they may become unwieldy. (For further discussion of issues that may be covered by checklists, see Checklists and Cue Cards.)
Journals and Diaries
Electoral district managers and other voting operations administrators are well advised to keep a journal throughout the election period. This may be in the form of a basic calendar-style checklist (see Calendars and Time Lines), showing the significant milestones and the dates on which they are scheduled to be and actually were achieved (see Diary of Duties of Returning Officer - Canada). This can be of greater future use if in the form of a combined checklist and diary, any significant occurrences--particularly those which have created to disputes or challenges, or which have implications for the planning of future elections--are formally noted (see Returning Officer's Election Journal - Australia 1996).
The journal could also be in straight diary format, with all actions taken and occurrences recorded each day and compared against project planning deadlines (see Returning Officer's Diary - New Zealand 1996). A plain diary format would be better combined with the use of other specific checklists for task activities.
