Basic Issues
Prior to the commencement of voting, it is vital that voting station managers ensure that the voting site and its staff are in a state of complete readiness to open at the correct time, with all services required available and set up to operate in the correct fashion. Those voters who turn out early to vote are entitled to the same level of service as those arriving later in the day. If there are still voting site preparation or staffing difficulties being resolved in the first hours of voting, service may suffer, and the effects may last throughout the hours of voting.
Use of Checklists
The extent of the checks to be undertaken is such that the provision of checklists to voting station managers, on which they can note the completion of required tasks, is essential for an efficient commencement of voting. An example of precommencement checklists is contained in Polling Place Management Procedures - Australia.
Pre-Voting Day
Wherever the security situation and the nature of the voting site allows, delivery and checking of voting station materials and equipment supplies, installing furniture and equipment according to approved layouts, and ensuring that the required facilities are available and working would preferably be undertaken the day before voting day (see Distribution and Receipt of Voting Materials). This additional access to voting sites will need to be negotiated with site owners. It may incur some additional costs, for voting station managers and other staff setting up the voting station, for site leasing (if not using premises made available under any official free use policy), and for additional security, if required, between voting station set up and commencement of voting. However, benefits for an efficient commencement of voting would generally more than outweigh any additional costs.
In some circumstances (such as where the voting station is not in enclosed premises), such pre-voting day preparation may not be possible. In these cases voting station staff may be required to report for duty sufficiently early to ensure that the voting station is fully ready for operations at the required commencement time. However, the site should still be inspected on the day before voting day to ensure that it is still in a suitable condition to allow preparation as a voting station the following morning.
(For information on actions that may be taken pre-voting day to ensure voting station readiness for the commencement of voting, see Voting Station Readiness and Ensuring Readiness.)
Arrival of Staff
Voting station staff must be required to report for duty before the voting station opening time. For voting station managers and other senior officials, this would be at least one hour before commencement time. Other voting station staff may also need to report for duty at the same time, particularly if the voting station has not been fully set up on the eve of voting day. Cost considerations must be taken into account--not all staff may need to report for duty an hour beforehand--but staff members must be required to be at the voting station by a deadline that will allow them to be assigned duties and familiarise themselves with the materials to be used, materials locations, and voting station layout and facilities. Time should be allotted for staff to be briefed by the voting station manager, and also to allow the voting station manager sufficient notice of staff who have failed to report for duty in time to seek replacements by the time of commencement of voting.
Pre-Commencement Checks
Pre-commencement of voting checks by the voting station manager on the morning of voting day need to be thorough. In broad terms, they would fall into the following categories:
- site checks to ensure that all necessary furniture and facilities are in place and operational, the voting station is set up correctly, security is in place, all signs and posters are displayed as required, and any crowd control barriers or other such equipment are correctly erected. (see Site Checks);
- staff checks to ensure that all staff are present on time, any required replacement staff are requested, staff are allocated and given a final briefing on their duties (see Staffing Checks);
- materials checks to ensure that the correct quantities of materials are available and have been laid out for use (see Materials Checks);
- equipment checks to ensure that voting and communications equipment is functioning (see Equipment Checks);
- time check to synchronise watches and clocks in the voting station to an accurate source (such as telephone time service or by radio) to ensure that the voting station opening time is punctual.
Any problems found that cannot be resolved on the spot should be immediately reported by the voting station manager to the appropriate election administration office for action.
Readiness Reporting
Local and regional election administration offices must have a readiness reporting schedule implemented for all voting stations under their control. Contact should be established with all voting stations prior to commencement time for assurance that all readiness checks have been undertaken and of their readiness to open on time.
Time of Opening of Voting Station
The voting station should open for voting exactly at the legally defined and advertised commencement time. Where essential material has not arrived in time for opening at the designated time (e.g., the ballots, equipment such as ink and lights for multiple voting controls, or voters lists) the voting station would preferably remain closed until sufficient of these become available to maintain effective voting integrity and service. (This would depend both on the nature of the material missing and any immediate threat to security if the voting station remains closed).
To cover situations where voting commences late at a voting station, provision in the legal framework for authorisation to extend voting hours by a similar period, if necessary to process all voters, would preferably be available. Contingency plans (see Contingency Plans) should be prepared to cover such an eventuality.
