Basic Issues
Effective maintenance of security in voting stations during voting is a cooperative effort between voting station managers and their voting station officials, security forces, and electoral management body administrators. In higher security risk environments, coordination centres at the regional and electoral district level or local level (see Operations and Security Centres) to ensure integration of election administration and security forces operations during voting will assist integrated decision making on security-related issues.
(Normal security measures instituted by voting station officials to maintain the integrity of operations within voting stations are discussed at Crowd and Queue Control, Determination of Eligibility to Vote, Issue and Casting of Ballots and Integrity Controls.)
Involvement of Security Forces
For an overview of potential requirements and roles in relation to security issues during voting hours, see Voting Site Security Arrangements. The required level of involvement of security forces in maintaining security during voting will depend on results of risk assessments of the security situation. In many environments, where elections have a peaceful history, voting station officials may be able to handle all security requirements themselves, with no need for anything but formal liaison arrangements to engage security forces support for any emergency.
In relatively secure environments, and where the law allows, it may be useful to arrange for one or more voting station officials at each voting station to be sworn in as special constables for voting day, with their authority limited to the voting station and its immediate vicinity--extending as far as any area around the voting station within which legislation prohibits political activity. Where security risk assessments show a higher level of risk of political or physical transgressions, or where elections have the potential to result in radical changes in the control or structures of government, engagement of security forces for protection of voting station operations will often be required.
Prior to Commencement of Voting
Prior to the commencement of voting, security may need to be provided at voting stations during the period between delivery of election materials and equipment to the voting station and the commencement of voting. Wherever possible, voting stations would preferably be set up on the day before voting commences. In areas of minor security risk, normal security precautions for the premises--locking, setting of security alarms, dependence on checks by security personnel who would normally visit the premises--can be sufficient. In higher security risk areas, a permanent security force presence from the time materials arrive would be advisable.
Accountable voting materials--ballots and/or ballot envelopes, voters lists, voting machines or computers--or any valuable or vital equipment, such as radios or other communications equipment, should under no circumstances be left unsecured on voting station premises following delivery; how and where security is required for these will depend on the methods and timing of delivery (see Distribution and Receipt of Voting Materials) and the security risk assessments for the area.
If they are to be delivered to the voting sites prior to voting day, a security presence must be arranged through to the commencement of voting. This presence should be continuous. How many security personnel will be required on-site and whether security duties will be undertaken by police or armed forces will depend on assessed security risks.
If accountable materials are not delivered to the voting station until voting day, as is common in many lower security risk environments where voting station managers collect or have custody of accountable materials before voting day, consideration can be given to alternatives such as:
- safekeeping in local police, bank, or other secure storage facilities, where there is community trust in such institutions;
- secure safekeeping by voting station managers at their own premises--a cost-effective method, but one that should only be contemplated in very low risk situations;
- in urban areas, requiring collection of such accountable materials by the voting station manager from secure storage at the electoral management body's local offices only on the morning of voting day.
Voting materials and equipment should not be left unattended anywhere. In situations where voting station managers are responsible for the collection and delivery of voting material, this may need to be particularly reinforced with voting station managers in regard to leaving voting materials in their vehicles.
Voting Day Deployment
Where security plans call for security forces to be present at voting stations or at mobile/fixed bases covering voting locations, all required security personnel should be in place no later than the required time of arrival of the voting station managers. As part of the pre-voting checks at the voting station, the communication links established between voting stations and security forces, mobile security forces and joint operations centres (see Operations and Security Centres) should be thoroughly checked.
Particularly if there has been no prior personal liaison, voting station managers must ensure before the time for commencement of voting that any security forces assigned to the voting station have a full understanding of the division between security force and voting station official responsibilities with respect to the voting station, and how high a profile they are required to take in their activities in and around the voting station. Where there have been any threats to voting locations, security forces should thoroughly check the voting station for explosive devices before staff enter.
During Voting Hours
During voting hours, security forces may be required either to provide continuous security for voting locations or be on alert to respond to any emergencies, again depending on the assessed security risks of the environment. (For a full discussion of roles of security forces at voting stations, see Voting Site Security Arrangements.) What is important to emphasise is that, apart from situations that endanger the life of those present in or around the voting station, security forces should act only on the request of the voting station manager or other electoral management body officials. For them to have a role in directing any aspect of the voting would raise grave questions about election integrity.
Specific actions to be taken by security forces during voting hours need to be carefully matched to the security risk environment; too intensive an approach in relatively peaceful environments may discourage attendance by voters or raise doubts about who is controlling the voting process. On the other hand, in higher security risk environments, lack of a security presence risks endangering voting materials or allowing intimidation of voters and voting station officials. Where security forces are not present at voting stations, rapid response by security forces to any voting station emergencies must be a reality, backed by operational readiness and sufficient resource allocation.
Voting station managers should, as a component of a regular scheduled operational verbal report to electoral district managers, report on the security situation.
Potential Roles for Security Forces
In all situations, security forces should be available to assist voting station managers by removing from voting stations persons who refuse to obey lawful directions from voting station officials (see Challenges to Voters).
Specific additional roles that may need to be undertaken, depending on risk assessment of the environment, include:
- ensuring that voters are not harassed or intimidated on their journey to or from the voting station;
- maintaining checkpoints outside the voting station to search for weapons and store confiscated weapons from voters while they are in the voting station;
- providing evacuation and safety management in the event of disasters;
- control of disturbances within or near the voting station;
- enforcement of any security perimeter established around the voting station.
In some environments of high security risk, there may also be a need for security forces to maintain general monitoring throughout their areas of responsibility to ensure that no illegal voting stations, not authorised by the electoral management body and intended to siphon off voters from legitimate voting stations, have been set up.
In some specific circumstances of high security risk, security forces may have to take a more active role in assisting voters to attend and return from voting and the protection of voting station officials. Where threats to participants in voting processes in general are high, secure transport may need to be provided for both voters and officials. In respect to voters, any secure transport arrangements are more effectively organised as convoys, rather than protection of individual voters or small groups. Attention is required to appropriate scheduling of such services and ensuring that these services are provided equally to all communities at risk, so as not to raise questions of potential political bias in these arrangements.
Following Close of Voting
In situations where security forces are assigned to voting stations, they will generally have a continuing role after the close of voting. They may be useful outside the voting station in assisting to turn away voters arriving after the close of voting. They may also be required to provide security during the count or for transportation of ballots to counting centres. (For further discussion of these issues, see Securing of Ballot Boxes During Transportation and Vote Counting at Polling Stations.)
