Local Level
In most cases, the local electoral management body will be receiving the results directly from the polling station on election day. They will then compile the results for the electoral district and send it to the national electoral management body by fax (or other means).
The poll officials will call the local level directly to communicate the results of each poll. For greatest efficiency, one general phone number or fax number should be given to poll officials calling the local electoral management body. It is important, however, that the phone system be installed in such a way that the calls 'bounce' to the next available device on that line. Adequate phones or fax machines (as well as other electronic links) to cope with peak demands should be installed.
For more efficiency, the staff answering the phone at the local level should have a pre-printed form for recording results with the names of candidates/ parties/options in the same order as they appear on the ballot paper. This will prevent confusion and mistakes in the data entry. A list of the identification codes or passwords associated with the various polling stations should be provided to the staff as well. Once again, only the poll officials should communicate to the regional/district electoral management body office to transmit the results of the polling stations.
One team should take care of the incoming results, and should transmit the information to the data entry person or the person in charge of combining all the results for the electoral district. A spreadsheet or a board listing each polling station should be prepared and completed as the results are received. Representatives of political parties/candidates/options, as well as media should have access to this spreadsheet or board, so that they can observe the results as they come in. Special measures should be taken so as to make sure that the same results are not given twice. Numbering the polling stations and corresponding ballot boxes is a simple way to avoid such confusion. However, if such a measure is taken, it should be done at the beginning of the election process, and this number should be used consistently on all forms used for the election, as well as on the ballot box. The use of such a number will also facilitate the creation of an audit trail.
The local electoral management body should send its compiled results to the national electoral management body in several stages to accelerate the process of releasing interim results. Then, the national electoral management body will compile, for each electoral district, a summary of interim results for the country.
Since interim results are not official results, in some countries it is not necessary for the electoral management body to compile preliminary indications of the voting figures. The media and the non-governmental organizations compile and publicize the interim results while the electoral management body concentrates on compiling the official results and communicating them formally.
National Level
At the national level, the same type of logistics for receiving the results should be used, but on a larger scale. Also, when all the results are coming in at the same time, the staff responsible for the incoming results should first make a quick quality control check in order to verify if the results make sense or not, for example, whether or not the totals are correct. A comparison with the number of voters registered on the electoral list to the number of voters who cast their vote is a simple and effective way to identify major mistakes. A more exhaustive quality control, for each electoral district and polling station, will be done when the final official results are compiled. Some electoral districts might need more attention than others, especially those that are the subject of intense political campaign activities, or those with a higher degree of administrative difficulties, such as a very high concentration of registered voters (the core of a large city, for example). On election day, these electoral districts might need to be monitored more closely by the national electoral management body.
For the national level, receiving results from regional/district offices by fax is easier and more efficient than by phone. However, whatever form is used for transmission of the results should be standard in order to facilitate the collection of summary interim results. The need for data entry source documents is critical if a computerized system is used to tabulate results. A global spreadsheet, either manual or electronic, with all the electoral districts listed can be completed as the results come in.
If a country is divided into several time zones, the results will come in at different times of the day at the national level (depending on the closing hour of the polls), and the required staff should be carefully scheduled to be available when needed.
In case of emergency, the head office of the electoral management body should always be able to reach their local offices, especially when results are coming in. Whenever possible, a direct phone line should be set up within each local electoral management body, so that the national electoral management body will be able to reach the person (generally the district electoral officer) in charge at any time. The phone number should not be the same one used by the poll officials calling in their interim results.
Special Counts
Special ballots are usually returned to the head office of the electoral management body. In some legislation, absentee voting takes place in embassies (please refer to Voting in a Foreign Country for voting in foreign countries). If this is the case, then ballots are counted locally, following the same procedures as ballots counted in the country, and results are then communicated directly to the head office of the electoral management body.
Depending on the rules of the system used, the legal framework and the logistics in place, the ballots returned by mail might be accepted only five days prior to polling day, or right up until polling day itself. If special ballots are accepted right until election day, counting procedures should be designed so as not to let the count delay the publication of interim results. Please refer to Absentee Voting for more details.
Envelopes received at the head office of the electoral management body are sorted by category: absentee, armed forces, etc. If different types of ballots are used, different colours of return envelopes for each category of voters using the special ballots are recommended. This helps to speed up the sorting of the envelopes at reception.
Once at the head office, a first verification for creating the audit trail is done: receipt of ballots, comparison of the identity of the voter, signature and bar codes (if used), etc. The voter should have been provided with three envelopes: a pre-addressed return envelope, an outer envelope on which the signature of the voter appears, and finally, the secrecy envelope or inner envelope containing the ballot. This secrecy envelope has no marks on it, in order to protect the secrecy of the vote.
First, the returned envelope is opened on receipt, and the outer envelope (containing a secret envelope) is removed. If the identification of the voter is positive, the external envelope is opened, and the secrecy envelope (but not the ballot) is then removed from and inserted into a ballot box.
Depending on the deadline given to return the special ballots, the counting may start before election day, or at the beginning of election day, or at the closing of the polls on election day. However, counting these ballots may take a very long time, depending on the volume of ballots to process and the procedures used. Counting special ballots before election day is common and generally recommended, but special security is necessary to ensure the results are only released when the results of ordinary polls are known.
For the advance polls, and sometimes, for incarcerated voters, counting procedures are quite different. If the advance polls take place over several days, a reconciliation may be done at the end of each day. Some jurisdictions require that the ballot box be opened at the end of each advance poll day, and unused ballots, used ballots (which are not counted) and spoiled ballots be sealed in separate envelopes, as well as the electoral list and the poll book. This measure is mainly for control and creation of a full audit trail of ballot usage.
For incarcerated voters, the procedures used for advance polls may also be applied, but only if the vote took place prior to election day.
The ballot boxes for advance polls are kept safely until the closing of ordinary polls on election day. The counting process for these ballots starts at the same time as for the ordinary polls. If possible, the same poll workers who took the votes for the advance polls should be there for the counting. Counting of these ballots should take place at the regional/district office of the electoral management body in the presence of representatives of political parties/candidates/options. The counting procedures are virtually identical to the ones used for counting at ordinary polls.
The counting of votes from mobile polling stations may take place at the last station visited by the poll workers, or at a local office of the electoral management body. These ballots should not be counted until the regular closing time of the polls on election day. The location of the count of mobile polling stations should be known by representatives of political parties/candidates/options, and they should be present for the counting.
For the purposes of creating separate audit trails, and for properly reporting the results of advance polls, mobile polling stations, and special ballots, these unique voting procedures should not be confused with ordinary polls (depending on legislation). This difference should be made very clear with distinctive statement of the votes forms used for these types of ballots.
