Information Focus
Manuals for voting station officials will not need to cover the breadth of issues required in manuals for staff responsible for the organisation and administration of voting operations (see Administration Manuals). Voting station officials manuals need to cover four basic areas of instructions:
- technical data on voting procedures;
- materials and personal security issues;
- maintenance of voter service and rights;
- staff rights, responsibilities, administration, and welfare issues.
The simpler the style of such manuals, and the more use can be made of simple checklist formats within them (see Checklists and Cue Cards), the more likely voting station officials are to refer to them to assist in swift and correct decision-making under the pressure of voting day.
Subject Matter
Specific issues that will generally need to be covered within a voting station officials manual include:
- the voting station official's role, decisions within their responsibility, and when advice should be sought from more senior staff;
- payment, welfare, meal, accommodation, transport, insurance, and other entitlements;
- responsibilities under the election staff code of conduct (see Voting Operations Staff Codes of Conduct);
- responsibilities regarding training attendance and activity completion;
- pre-opening of voting station duties;
- materials to be issued to and maintained by staff;
- maintaining the security of voting materials while in and not in use;
- instructions for use of any equipment to be used by voting station officials;
- maintenance of voting station layout, cleanliness, and materials;
- information regarding handling of ballots (and any ballot envelopes used) and their relevant ballot box, and descriptions and instructions for use of electronic or other voting machines;
- voting station entrance and exit controls;
- persons authorised to be in voting stations;
- maintaining voter flow and controlling voter queues;
- providing information and assistance to voters;
- establishing identity of voters and required checks to prevent impersonation and multiple voting;
- use and correct marking of voters lists;
- treatment of persons not found to be on the voters lists;
- issue of ballots and control of computers or other voting machines;
- procedures for maintaining secrecy of voting within the voting station;
- treatment of spoilt, rejected, discarded, or cancelled ballots (or ballot envelopes, where these are accountable items);
- securing of ballot boxes;
- rights of voters within the voting station;
- rights and responsibilities of party and candidate representatives and independent observers in the voting station;
- common problems encountered in voting stations and standard responses;
- procedures for close of voting;
- procedures for reconciliation, packaging of materials, and their despatch or preparation for the count, following the close of voting;
- role of security forces;
- emergency, accident and adjourned voting procedures, and personal security measures.
(For examples of such manuals, see Preparation for Elections Manual - Trinidad and Tobago, Returning Officer's Manual - New Zealand, 1996, Guide for Polling Day Staff - New Zealand, 1996, Election Judges Manual, Paper Ballots, USA, Illinois, Election Handbook - USA, Indiana 1996, Polling Official Duties - USA, Chesterfield County, Instructions to Polling Officials, Costa Rica, 1998, Poll Workers Manual - Elections Canada and Poll Workers Handbook - South Africa. For examples of manuals for staff in voting stations using different types of electronic or mechanical voting or vote counting systems. see Election Judges Manual, Machine Voting, USA, Illinois, Election Judges Manual, Optical Scanner Voting, USA, Illinois and Election Judges Manual, Punch Card Voting. USA, Illinois. For an example of a handbook for voting station officials, dealing with issues likely to arise with voters, see IFES Precinct Election Handbook - Russia.)
Where staff are categorised and assigned duties at different skill or responsibility levels within a voting station, separate manuals for these categories of staff may be justified, both to minimise the risk of confusion and to allow more detailed guidance for those staff in positions requiring superior literacy or skills. (For examples of such manuals, see Polling Place Procedures, General Staff, Australia and Polling Place Procedures, Specialist Staff, Australia.)
Voting Station Managers
It may be prudent to provide managers of voting stations with a separate manual, since their responsibilities will also encompass additional or higher-level functions, for which additional guidance may be required. Additional duties to be covered in such manuals would often include:
- the management, training, and welfare of staff;
- establishment and maintenance of voting station layouts;
- management of complaints and challenges;
- overall materials security and accountability within the voting station;
- completion of voting records and voting station reports;
- liaison with voting operations administrators and other agencies;
- roles in staff and voting site selection.
(For an example of a voting station manager manual, see Polling Place Management Procedures - Australia.)
Where ballot counting takes place at specific counting centres, rather than at voting stations, and is done by different staff, separate manuals for the count will be required. If counting takes place at voting stations, count procedures may be better included with voting procedures in the one manual.
Officials for Special Voting Facilities
Officials staffing special voting facilities (see Voting Procedures) will have some quite specific duties according to the nature of the special type of voting. Where there are considerable differences in their procedures and duties compared to officials in a normal voting station, to enhance clarity of instruction, it is preferable to produce separate manuals.
Mobile Voting Stations
Officials on mobile voting stations (see Other Special Voting Arrangements), particularly if operating for more than one day, will have specific additional functions in relation to logistics, materials security and reconciliations, and often voting procedures involving early or absentee voting (see Absentee Voting and Early Voting). (For examples of manuals for mobile voting stations, see Mobile Polling Procedures, Electoral Visitors, Australia and Remote Mobile Polling Procedures - Australia, 1996.)
Voting Abroad
Where voting is conducted at voting stations in foreign countries (see Voting in a Foreign Country), officials will have specific and different duties in regard to materials supply and return, and administration of mail voting or absentee voting. (For an example of a manual for officials staffing foreign voting stations, see Instructions to Overseas Issuing Officers, New Zealand.)
Early Voting
Early voting (see Early Voting), whether by mail or in person, may also be subject to different voting procedures. (For examples of manuals for early voting, absentee voting, and voting by mail, see Pre-Poll Voting Procedures - Australia, 1996 and Polling Place Procedures, Specialist Staff, Australia. For a detailed manual for polling officials involved in early voting broken down into chapter files, see Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Early Voting, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Clerk's Duties, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Office Hours, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Mail Voting, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Mailing Ballots, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Ballot Receipt, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Signatures, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: FPCA, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Ballot Applications, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Attendance Ballot, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Locations, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Special Types, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Challenges, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Fail Safe Voting, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Poll Watchers, Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Ballot Board and Early Voting Handbook, USA, Texas: Supplies.)
Local Referendums
In some circumstances, referendums held concurrently with elections may be restricted in voter eligibility to particular local areas or community groups. In such cases, rather than include instructions for such a referendum within all voting station officials manuals, it may be more effective to produce a specific manual for use only in the voting stations affected. (For an example of a manual for a limited-eligibility referendum held in conjunction with a general election, see Guide for Local Restoration Poll Voting, New Zealand.)
