Basic Issues
Security is a factor to be considered by electoral administrators in all environments, even those where risks of election-related physical violence are low. The level of security that is required to assure election freedom, fairness and integrity, can only accurately be determined from conducting risk assessments of each voting operations component process within the specific election's environment. A single blueprint for election security measures cannot be drawn.
Focus of Security Risk Assessments
Security risk assessments would usually examine for each voting operations component process:
- its vulnerability to disruption, violence, fraud, or manipulation;
- its importance in producing a free and fair election outcome;
- potential security threats to which it may reasonably be subjected;
- the potential impact, if it is not sufficiently secure to withstand potential threats, on the election outcomes, on personal safety, on infrastructure, on other legal or societal obligations (e.g., release of legally protected personal data), or on additional election financial requirements.
Factors to Be Considered in Risk Assessments
In assessing the level of specific threats, it is useful to take into account the following issues, as specific to the particular election, to enable the planning of an appropriate security framework:
The political environment, including analysis of:
- the commitment of each political participant to open and transparent processes;
- the relative competitive strengths of political participants;
- the history and current atmosphere regarding political participants' acceptance and implementation of equitable election frameworks;
- the history of acceptance of potentially adverse election results;
- the stability or transitional nature of current political systems;
- the existence and strengths of any active groups or individuals who may wish to disrupt or subvert election processes;
The conflict environment, including analysis of:
- evident or likely conflict resolution mechanisms (discussion, negotiation, manipulation, fraud, intimidation, violence);
- the level of distrust between political participants;
- the existence of strong geographic, nationality, or issue-based conflicts that will be apparent during the elections;
- the intensity of political conflict;
- the need for or imposition of international intervention to initiate election processes;
The administrative environment, including analysis of:
- the propensity of state institutions to interfere directly or through surrogates in election processes;
- the independence and integrity of election officials;
- the integrity and existing internal security procedures for materials and services suppliers;
The security force environment, including analysis of:
- domestic policing and military forces' integrity, impartiality, professionalism, and operational capabilities;
- the presence and mandate of any international security forces;
- the existence of private militias or official armed forces under the partisan control or influence of political participants;
The information environment, including analysis of:
- the complexity, integrity, and reliability of manual and electronic systems used for storing data on which the proper conduct of the election depends.
