Voter education should not be viewed as a low-priority or an option. It requires access to the highest levels of information and decision making within an election authority.
So much of what is decided, in terms of election calendars and milestones, legislation, training, and deployment of officials, has an educational imperative and educational consequences. As a result, the election authority needs a coordinated approach and a coordinating structure within which the senior staff responsible for voter education play a significant role.
The implementation of a voter education programme will also require a number of specialists. In addition, there will be considerable overlap with other departments within the election authority, such as contracts, staffing, procurement, materials distribution, and public relations.
These overlaps and specialities are described in the Implementation section of this topic area. Ensuring that there is close collaboration between the educational and general administrative aspects of election administration will greatly reduce the costs of the educational undertaking.
Other administrative concerns of educators are discussed throughout the sections dealing with strategy and programme elements. In particular, this topic area addresses questions of language and culture (see Cultural and Social Considerations and Language). It is not assumed that voters are literate, and a number of suggestions are made for dealing with low levels of literacy in the production of materials and the conduct of events.
