Voting sites provide a last minute opportunity to get information for those who did not get it in any other way. While the amount of information that can be provided may be limited, every care should be taken to make use of this low-cost opportunity.
Voters may have had limited contact with a voter education programme during the run up to the election. From this, they may have only taken away the message that they should register to vote and go to the voting site on Election Day. A decision will have to be made as to whether the voting site itself, either before or on Election Day, will provide last minute voter information. As it is likely to do this anyway, if only in the form of staff members managing queues and ensuring that people have the correct documentation ready, it is worth considering ways in which this can be done effectively. Additional details are given in Information at Voting Locations.
Basic Information
The following information is normally given to voters arriving at a voting station:
- the location of the entrance to the voting site
- the location of publicly posted voters lists to help voter's determine to which voting site they are assigned (particularly when there are multiple voting sites in one location
- where to queue
- whether there are any security requirements with which they will have to comply
- where to find refreshment and toilet facilities if there is a significant queue
- how long they are likely to wait
- what documents they will be required to show to establish their qualification to vote
- what service levels they can expect from electoral staff
- where to exit the voting site
It may also be necessary to provide signs relating to parking in the vicinity of the station.
Additional Information
Basic information may be supplemented by additional information such as:
- the layout of the voting site
- the names and roles of the voting site commission
- a listing of others permitted in the voting site such as election observers, party or candidate representatives, journalists, election commissioners,or security personnel
- a listing of parties and/or candidates contesting the election
- the design of the ballot paper(s) and instructions on how to properly mark one's choice
- the procedure for requesting assistance or dealing with a spoilt ballot paper
And this information could be supplemented by more general information about the governing structures for which voting is taking place, the services being rendered by that level of government, and the manner in which the results of the election will affect the formation of that government. These more general matters may make a difference to the ability of the voter to
make a reasonable and rational choice and reduce uncertainty and insecurity about the election.
Voting Climate
Apart from information, voting stations will also want to present an ambience that supports the voter education messages that have characterised any education programme. Appropriate slogans or other messages may be displayed.
The manner in which all this information will be provided should be considered very carefully in order to make sure that it is accessible, clear, meaningful and absolutely non-partisan. Merely pasting up a series of posters along a wall because there is a surplus of these particular posters is not sufficient and may indeed be counterproductive.
Planning
Once a voting site has been set up in the appropriate form, election workers will want to provide basic components for voter information.
- The role of election workers. While all election workers should conduct their business in the voting site in a way that is conscious of the public, there may be those who have a particular role in providing information, either to all voters or to those who seek assistance.
Amongst the possible roles for those who give information to all voters are ushers and queue walkers. Such people will assist in directing voters to queues and from queues to voting site entrances. Where the queues are long, they may make arrangements to deal with elderly or disabled voters. They may also help prepare people for voting by checking that they have the correct documents, by answering queries about the voting process, and by seeking out and reassuring voters who appear diffident.
Such staff should be given additional voter education training beyond that normally given to the rest of the voting site commission. This training should include very close examination of questions of privacy, secrecy of the vote, and nonpartisanship. All of these need to be managed particularly carefully at voting sites not only to ensure a good voting experience for the individual but also to place the voting site commission and the voting process above suspicion.
Inside the voting site, those who seek assistance with voting or who have queries in regard to one or other aspect of the voting procedure may be assisted only if prior arrangements have been made for such assistance in the electoral legislation and regulations. There a determination will be made as to who should provide this assistance and in what way their assistance will be monitored in order that it be clearly understood as assistance and information regarding procedures rather than determining for whom a person might vote or influencing them in that regard.
- Signs. Voter education programmes will work with offices or deparments responsible for voting site arrangements to ensure that the signs available for a voting site provide the information stipulated by the regulations. Because of this, discussions should start at the earliest possible opportunity in the election preparation process. Once agreement has been reached as to what is preferable and what is permissible, those planning the design and layout of voting sites and providing information to presiding officers on how to set up voting sites should also take into account the need for information and the possibilities of the site providing an educational experience.
Posters illustrating voting procedures may be prepared for display outside the voting site, or they may even be affixed to voting booths. Signs on desks may mention not only the name of the particular desk (e.g., voters lists) but may also illustrate or explain precisely what the voter is required to do at that desk.
Once again, signs should have a cumulative effect, and care should be taken to display them in appropriate places and to make them in appropriate sizes (see Posters and Banners). Too much information can be confusing, especially if it is going to be viewed by a broad range of voters with different levels of literacy.
- Handout materials before and after voting. In situations where it is not possible to mail information to voters that assists them in preparing to vote, or where additional information is required at the last minute, it may be possible to prepare and distribute leaflets to people as they enter the queue to vote. Such information may replicate that which is displayed, providing basic information about voting procedures and about the voting site layout. It may list the rights of voters, and it, or a similar leaflet handed out after voting, may thank people for turning out.
As voters leave, materials that provide additional information such as the time when the results will be made available, how votes translate into seats, or information on government may be given. This is one of the few opportunities for government or the election authority to guarantee contact with the majority of voters, if not all of them, especially in developing countries.
- Information desks. Contact with voters is always likely to be limited no matter how intensive an educational programme. As a result, it may be that people arrive at voting sites with questions still unanswered. It is possible to use the time while people queue to conclude voter information and to provide services such as checking voters lists.
Such services can be offered by information desks outside voting sites. These might be on the perimeter or they may be allowed in the general election area. They are likely to include copies of voters lists and lists of adjacent voting sites so that people who are in the wrong place can be redirected. They may also be staffed with people who can conduct impromptu workshops and demonstrations for individuals and groups of individuals.
Directing People to More Information
If the logistical arrangements and the participation of local civil society volunteers allow for such a service, last minute voter education messages can encourage people to get to the voting sites where they will find assistance. In this way a great deal of time and energy on the part of voters and of educators can be saved. This is the one place where voters will want to be, where they will be motivated to learn, and where they may know what it is they want to learn. A very brief input can become a most effective one.
