Basic Issues
The focus of all planning, all preparation, all recruitment and training, materials production and equipment acquisition, system testing, and the other preparatory activities is to ensure that operations on voting day or days run effectively. No matter how good the planning, and the testing, efficient implementation on voting day is the critical aspect of the election's success.
The following factors are important ingredients in ensuring this success.
Preparing for Voting Day
In the days before voting day, and the morning of voting day itself, the final pieces in the voting preparations jigsaw puzzle are put into place. Wherever possible, by the night before voting day, voting stations should be in a state of total readiness. To leave essential materials delivery, voting station set-up, and checking that all materials are present and equipment in working order until the morning of voting day can court disaster.
Significant issues in these final arrangements include:
In more developed areas, voting station staff may be able to make their way to the voting station by their own means. In more remote areas, or in less developed countries, transport may have to be provided by the electoral management body. (Voting station officials transportation is further discussed at Transportation of Voting Station Officials.)
Additional arrangements may need to be made where voting is being held over more than one day (see Multi-Day Voting).
Hours of Voting Operations
While voting stations are in operation, the focus of all voting operations staff is on ensuring that voters are provided with an efficient, courteous, high integrity service. Prior to the time for commencement of voting, final checks of all voting materials and equipment, and that all staff are present, should be followed by notification of readiness from all voting stations to the electoral district office. (These necessary checks are detailed in Preparations for Commencement of Voting, Site Checks, Staffing Checks and Materials Checks.)
Throughout voting station hours of operation, voting station managers are responsible for ensuring that:
Procedures in the voting station can be broken down into a number of routines:
Monitoring by party or candidate representatives of voting station activity enhances the transparency of voting processes, and can provide a safeguard against errors or partisan practices on the part of other participants in the election (see Role of Party/Candidate Representatives).
Close of Voting
No matter where ballots are to be counted, there are common actions that need to be implemented in voting stations at the close of voting. These include:
Closing the voting station at the correct time so that there can be no later challenges based on voters arriving late being allowed to vote. Equitable treatment of voters already queued to vote at close of voting time, and any decisions made to extend the hours of voting, can have important implications for perceptions of election integrity (see Close of Voting).
Collection and securing of all accountable voting materials--ballots, voters lists, ballot envelopes (if used and accountable). One of the most important aspects of voting station officials' duties is to undertake thorough and accurate reconciliations of accountable voting materials following the close of voting. This is often one of the least understood and, coming at the end of an intense working day, most disliked aspects of their tasks. However, for an efficient count, and to guarantee election integrity, it is vital that these reconciliations be accurately completed and any discrepancies investigated. Inaccurate voting materials accounting at this stage can cause havoc, and considerable additional expense during counts and in answering election challenges (see Collection of Ballots).
Sorting, verifying, and packing all voting station material. Overly complex systems for this will result in much time wasted later, either at the count or in later sorting of materials by the election management body. However, it is important that accountable materials and reuseable and disposable materials are clearly separated at this stage (see Verification and Packing of Materials).
Many of the actions that are undertaken at the close of voting, particularly involving voting material reconciliations and sealing of ballot boxes or closing down voting machines or computers, are of critical importance to voting integrity. As such, it is highly preferable for election transparency that these actions are witnessed by any party or candidate representatives present (see Role of Party/Candidate Representatives).
Before leaving the voting station, voting station managers should ensure that all voting records and reports on activities during voting day have been completed (see Close of Voting).
Other actions at close of voting will vary according to whether the count is to take place at the voting station or at a separate counting centre. Where ballots are to be counted at the voting station, the voting station layout will need to be modified to facilitate an efficient count (see Preparation for Ballot Count). Conversely, where ballot papers are to be transported to another location for counting, emphasis following close of voting will needs to be placed on a speedy but accurate sort and verification and packaging of all materials, so that they are ready for transport (see Verification and Packing of Materials).
Where special voting facilities are provided, for absentee, early, or mail voting, or where mobile voting stations are operating, there may be additional organisational or materials accounting requirements at the close of voting, particularly if these facilities operate over multiple days (see Closing Arrangements for Special Voting and Close of Voting for Mobile Voting Stations).
Dealing With Challenges and Complaints
Both during the hours of voting and in the aftermath of voting day, electoral management bodies are likely to have to deal with complaints about the service being provided, about political participants behaviour, decisions of voting operations staff, and about the validity of procedures and practices implemented. Following voting day, election results may be challenged on the basis of perceived irregularities. It is important that there is an open and fair process for handling such complaints, challenges, and disputes (see Management of Challenges and Complaints).
Follow-Up Actions
After any election, there will be considerable consequent activity for the electoral management body. Major activities would include:
- Ensuring that election materials and equipment are recovered, sorted, and maintained in secure storage, or made available for reuse or destroyed in line with legal obligations and electoral management body policy (see Retrieving Voting Site Resources, Storage after Voting Day Post Election Responsibilities and Supplies - Recovery and Evaluation).
- So that future improvements in voting operations can be realised, it is important that a thorough evaluation of voting operations frameworks, procedures, and practices is undertaken, as soon as possible after the election so that valuable impressions and data are fresh in people's minds. This is crucial in improving performance, service, and cost-effectiveness (see 'poi' and Routine Post Election Evaluation).
- Election voting records will require examination and further investigation where any instances of voter fraud, such as multiple voting and impersonation, are suspected. In continuous voter registration systems, elections can provide a wealth of information on voter changes of status and addresses, which will require follow-up and processing. In compulsory voting systems, investigations of registered voters who did not vote will also be required (see Voter Follow-Up).
Independent Observation Groups
Voting day is also the period of most extensive activity for independent observers. It is when:
- their resources are likely to be stretched to cover sufficient election locations;
- their data gathering is at its most intense;
- they are likely to be called upon by political participants to intervene on their behalf.
There will generally be an expectation, on the part of the local and/or international community that they deliver accurate and timely judgments on the freedom and fairness of election processes (see Management of Observation).
Proper functioning of observation during this period requires detailed identification of the critical processes for observation, such as election preparatory processes that will indicate the voting day environment, voting hours operations, and the ensuing counting of ballots and declaration of results (see Observation of Voting and Counts). For this observation to succeed, observers must be provided with reference materials that assist their task (see Observer Reference Materials). For the observation to have any influence, observer groups need to produce logical, cogent reports on their activities and their assessments of election processes (see Observation Reports).
