This topic area discusses ways that voter education programmes can be conducted in different contexts. It is written for those who are tasked with designing, implementing, and evaluating voter education programmes. The topic area covers seven steps that educators must use to develop relevant, cost-effective, and educationally appropriate programmes.
These seven steps include:
- understanding voter education
- establishing the voter education mandate
- assessing the context in which the programme will take place
- developing an appropriate strategy
- designing and implementing the programme
- monitoring and evaluating the programme
- ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are retained for future programmes
Close attention is given to a variety of methods and aspects that have been used in other voter education programmes. These may form part of the programme currently envisioned by the user. Examples are given along with suggestions for complementary activities. Comments on their relative cost and effectiveness in different situations are also provided.
The methods discussed include the following:
Election administrators who require only an overview of the voter education enterprise should view
the introductory sections.
Terminology
Very often, there is a tendency to use the terms voter information, voter education, and civic education interchangeably. There are, however, important distinctions. These deal with the timing, duration, and scope of the programme as well as the entities typically involved in their implementation. These terms are clarified in the section on understanding voter education (see Definitions and the subsequent files). This topic area is primarily concerned with voter information and education. At the same time, some perspectives on civic education and civic education products have been included in the sample materials section.
