Need for Voter Information
Providing effective voter information on voting operations issues:
- assists voters in participating in the election to make informed voting choices;
- reduces additional workloads on voting operations staff in assisting or redirecting voters in voting stations.
While a full discussion of voter information messages and methods, and its integration with voter and civic education campaigns, is contained in Educational Needs, some of the major issues are also worth reinforcing in the voting operations context.
What is Voter Information?
The distinction between voter information and voter education is in some ways an artificial one. Voter education is more targeted towards issues of voters' rights and responsibilities, basic principles of the vote, the effects of elections, and encouragement of participation. Voter information provides the basic details to those intending to vote on how, where and when to vote. Some voter information issues, particularly on voting methods and procedures, are obviously also a part of voter education.
Unlike voter education, which is more effective as a continuous process, voter information's impact is going to be greatest when carefully timed to appear when voting interest is greatest, i.e., immediately before and during voting. Voter information needs do not cease at the close of voting. For confidence in the integrity of the election, open and mass availability of election results is a necessity, through such measures as:
- media broadcast and publication;
- availability of ballot count documents for public inspection;
- publication of result information documents by the electoral management body.
Standard Information Issues
There are standard issues about which all voters will need to be informed, in order for them to participate in voting. In broad categories, these concern:
Voter information campaign strategies should aim at providing all potential voters with accurate information on these issues. (For further discussion of these issues, see Other Considerations.)
Additional Issues in Specific Cases
Particularly for referendums and special format ballots such as elections undertaken wholly by mail, the electoral management body is also best placed to provide authorised statements to inform voters of:
- in the case of a referendum, the yes and no cases for propositions;
- candidates' platform statements.
In some jurisdictions, the electoral management body is required by law to provide such information to all voters at their registered addresses.
Reaching the Audience
In determining voter information strategies, the most cost-effective mix of means to reach the maximum voter audience with information needs to be carefully analysed. It would be very unusual for a single-track approach in providing information to be effective. Basic methods of imparting voter information include:
- general media--through mass or specific market media outlets, public signage and posters, information displays (see General Media);
- direct to individual voters--through delivery by mail, stocks of information leaflets in public places, meetings or briefings, telephone information services, inquiry offices, use of direct electronic means (see Information Direct to Voters);
- reinforcement of voter information at voting sites through use of posters, pamphlets, and assistance from staff (see Information at Voting Locations).
Mixes of voter information delivery methods will be environment specific. Amongst other things, they will need to take into account:
- general literacy levels;
- language groups;
- levels of penetration and affordability of mass and electronic media;
- cultural and gender differences;
- patterns of transport and assembly of crowds.
Information formats should also be carefully considered for their effectiveness in imparting information to both voters as a whole and specific target groups of voters. Additional or modified voter information systems and materials for specific audience groups will be required to maintain equity and accessibility in the information provided for different groups, such as:
- women;
- different language groups;
- voters of lower literacy;
- the visually or aurally impaired;
- voters outside the country at the time of the election.
Research Based Strategies
Strategies accounting for these requirements can only be efficiently devised if based on thorough research. Evaluations of voter education programs and information from voter educators are a significant source of useful data. Further information to guide information targeting and appropriate methodology can come from both electoral management body sources--such as sectorial analyses of past data on voter turnout, invalid votes cast, redirections to different voting stations--or data from other sources--such as media penetration statistics, passenger transport data, mail reliability data.
(For further discussion of the planning of voter information campaigns, see Available Resources and Voter Information Activities.
Timing of Voter Information Campaigns
Voter information campaign timing will depend on the length of the election period and the timetable for specific activities occurring within this period. Information on voting operations would generally be concentrated in the month before voting day. To maximise information retention, information campaigns should be planned so that broader more general information is gradually refined to specific data in the few days before voter action is required. This is important in use of mass media (for an example of voter information media scheduling, see Advertising Materials Sample Book - Australia, 1996). There may be many peaks for this, particularly where alternative methods of voting allow voting in advance of voting day. Where voter registration deadlines are within the voting operations period, information on these will form another peak for information.
Effective information targeting cannot be achieved without advance planning. Effective campaign strategies, scheduling of media placements, design of effective materials require both research and testing.
(For further discussion of the timing of voter information campaigns, see Target Groups, Audiences, and Constituencies.)
Aiding Informed Media Comment
Development of media information kits is useful (for examples of these, see Media Information - United Kingdom and Media Pack - Elections Canada). Official briefing sessions for journalists and regular press releases during the voting operations period will assist in developing accuracy in media reports of voting administration issues. Additionally, the use of news stories (where accurate) resulting from media briefings can have a significant additional cost-effective impact in voter information campaigns. Uncontrolled contact with the media, however, may do more harm than good. Electoral management bodies should have a media strategy designed to ensure accuracy of media reporting and extract maximum benefit from the timing and content of news stories. (For further discussion of the elements of a media relations strategy, see General Media.)
On voting day and during the count, the use of a media centre (see Results Reporting - Media Centre) to act as a hub for information on voting progress and the count will concentrate media information demands in a single, manageable site. To gain maximum effectiveness, this should be the only site through which media briefings and information are provided. This will free other voting operations staff from media demands during their busiest period and enable a broader perspective to be placed on information releases. In more developed environments, such centres could also contain facilities such as direct feeds to media organisations of computerised progress figures on the count.
It is also useful for the electoral management body to produce guides for journalists and commentators, to further reduce the chances of misinformation or misinterpretation of procedures being widely broadcast through the media. Handbooks for journalists similar to those produced for candidates may be considered (see Manuals). Where complex technical operations are involved, such as for computer-based voting or counting systems, special media handbooks to assist with informed comment may need to be produced. (For an example of such a guide for a very complex election results system, see Election Night Guide for Journalists, Australia.)
Partisan Media
There are particular issues that arise in societies where media, or the major media outlets, are controlled by the government or other political participants. In such situations access to media for impartial news stories providing voter information without any political slant may be difficult. Post-edited stories for audio-visual media need to be approached with particular care where voting operations officials' participation is requested. Official voter information will be the only unimpeachable information available where media are controlled by such political participants. It is important that media placements are controlled carefully so that they appear in unamended form. Monitoring of media coverage of voter information issues is particularly important in such environments.
