General Issues
Use of checklists as control and reference information provides simple standard formats that are prompts to action, monitoring tools, and more easily referenced than relying solely on accessing descriptive data in bulky manuals. They are particularly useful in encouraging consistent monitoring of task completion. Their design and use should be encouraged as a supplement to, though not as a total replacement for, procedures manuals.
The design and method of production will depend on the subject matter and target audience. For central administrative actions such as materials supply, checklists may only be used by one or two staff, and could be hand drawn or simple computer generated control sheets. Where checklists are used to standardise the action of larger numbers of staff--such as electoral district managers, materials packaging staff, voting station managers, and voting station staff--they may better be produced as appendices or integrated sections of their procedural instructions or manuals.
Examples of some areas where check lists can prove especially useful include the following:
Nominations
Processing of nominations can be a complex process, particularly where qualification checking involves obtaining data from other authorities. Use of processing checklists will aid in accurately tracking the stage of processing for each nomination, and provide a standard format of data from which to accept or reject the nomination. (For an example of such checklists, see Nominations/Registration Checklist, South Africa 1995.)
Voting Site Assessments
Use of checklists will support consistent assessments of potential voting station locations to determine if they meet the standards required. (see Polling Place Assessment - Australia, 1996.)
Materials Management
Maintaining checklists to monitor the design status, ordering, quality control, supply, and distribution of election materials is a necessary management control tool in a complex supply environment. Constructing inventory, despatch, and even some reconciliation records in simple checklist format will aid in correct completion.
Supervisors of Voting Stations
Active performance monitoring of voting stations during voting hours will provide voting operations administrators with information on voting progress, operational problems, warning of any possible challenges, and data useful in voting site and staff selection for future elections. If supervisors on visits to voting stations complete performance checklists, such information can be retained in a standardised format. (For examples of such a checklist in detailed format, see Polling Place Liaison Officer's Report - Australia 1996 and Polling Site Check List - USA. For a simpler format, covering activities before, on, and after voting day, see Voting Station Performance Checklist - New Zealand 1996.)
Voting Station Staff
Use of checklists is a most immediate reminder to voting station staff of their specific duties and a useful tool for voting station managers in monitoring staff performance and ensuring that required actions have been taken. Simple checklists can be effectively used for tasks including the following:
Manuals for voting station officials may be more functional if designed as a series of checklists. (For examples of manuals designed in a checklist series format, see Duties for Polling Staff, USA, Chesterfield County 1996, Absentee Polling Staff Duties, USA, Chesterfield County, Polling Place Operations, USA, Chesterfield County 1996 and 'Moved' Voter Checklist, USA, Chesterfield County 1996.)
Ballot Counts
Checklists for ballot counts can be useful reminders to staff both of count procedures and validity criteria to be applied to ballots. Specific tasks that lend themselves to simple detailing in checklist format include:
- steps for opening ballot boxes and reconciling ballots;
- steps for checking admissibility of enveloped ballots, including absentee or mail votes;
- criteria for determining validity of ballots;
- packaging of materials following completion of the ballot count.
