Near the time of elections, people may be gathered in groups to get information about the elections. This information can be purely logistical or it can provide citizens with a deeper understanding of the electoral process and voting and the democratic principles that necessitate the regular occurrence of these events.
Not all groups of people are the same. A voter education programme should be aware of each group and the type of meeting that best suits them.
- Briefings are held for people who will be able to integrate the information into their own programmes in support of an election.
- Workshops are longer events held with people who want or require more in-depth information and understanding.
- General information sessions are held as the election date draws nearer, in public spaces where people will listen as they go about their daily lives. These sessions provide basic information in a short, fixed time period.
Briefings
Briefings are meetings held by key groups or institutions with organisations providing voter education. Briefings aim to assist organisations in the work they are doing in the field by providing information relevant to their target groups. Those attending briefings are usually able to take the information back to their organisation and feed it into the voter education programme.
For the sake of informing the public, groups such as political parties, electoral authorities, and relevant government departments may decide to call together a certain constituency or group of people to provide them with information about the elections that is pertinent to the work they are doing and the information they are wanting to give citizens. They also provide practitioners with an opportunity to question experts on key issues; and get up-to-date and accurate information on
issues, debates, and dates leading up to the elections.
Briefings are usually short, and happen at times that are convenient for the desired audience. They may also be called at short notice in cases of crisis or changes in important decisions. Topics of briefs for voter educators can include the following:
- voting and political rights
- registration procedures
- how boundaries have been set and wards demarcated
- important dates leading up to the election and the date of the election itself
- voting times
- the locations of voting stations
- voting station setup and other regulations and procedures
- the availability of special voting services such as early, absentee, or mobile voting
- issues connected to elections such as fraud and intimidation
- identification people need in order to vote
- mechanisms to ensure the secrecy of the ballot
- complaint adjudication procedures
- information on how votes will be counted and aggregated
- an explaination of how votes translate into seats
- information on when preliminary and final results will be made available
Information packs should be prepared to provide more in-depth information to those attending. They may contain the following:
- a short information sheet on the organisation or institution
- an explanation of why the briefing is being called
- a history or recent account of events that have led to a certain juncture, point of view, findings, or decision
- statistics and graphics on the particular subject or issue
- analyses of the situation and expected outcomes
- a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document
- a copy of the electoin law
In preparing for a successful briefing, groups should remember do the following:
- invite the relevant people well in advance
- make follow-up calls to ascertain who will be attending
- book an appropriate venue
- arrange catering
- invite speakers and confirm their attendance
- inform the press, if necessary
- prepare information packs
- ensure that there are enough copies of the information packs
Workshops
In voter education programmes, workshops provide logistical information as well as a more extensive look at the purpose and value of elections within broader concepts of democracy and human rights.
As with other face-to-face work with citizens, workshops are labour intensive, but the value of direct interaction with people who are trained and know about elections includes the following:
- Citizens are able to probe the value of elections and their importance in establishing and maintaining stable democracies.
- Citizens will come to a deeper understanding of the process, which will allay concerns they have about a process unfamiliar or new to them.
- Information gathered at a workshop will be passed on to families, friends, and neighbours.
- After workshops, people who have attended can be recognised as information sources in their communities.
Each country has a different context in which democracy takes root and becomes stable. Different statutory and nonstatutory organisations can choose to emphasise different aspects of democratic elections given the particular context of the country and mandate or mission of the organisation. Areas that may be emphasised in workshops include the following:
- the history of the country and its transition to a democratic dispensation
- human rights associated with elections
- the values and procedures of democracy
- transparency, accountability, and integrity associated with free and fair elections and good governance
- the importance of citizen participation in elections as part of fostering a democratic culture
- constitutional, national, and electoral legislation that governs and ensures free and fair elections
- current political debates
- social and economic issues of public concern
A number of factors contribute to effective workshop programmes. These factors include the following:
- a thorough and representative needs assessment
- knowledge of the infrastructure of the area, including transport, road infrastructure, telecommunications, and electrification
- knowledge of and sensitivity to the political situation, obstacles, and sensitive geographic areas
- knowledge of the population density and movement of people in an area
- knowledge of the people, their language, customs, priorities, level of education, and daily routine
Tips for Running Good Workshops: It takes a lot of time, commitment, and hard work to organise and run workshops. A number of key factors contribute to well-organised workshops:
- make logistical arrangements for workshops well in advance
- obtain permission to use suitable venues and pay for these where necessary
- have all the necessary equipment
- know the objectives of the workshops and convey these to the participants
- have accurate information
- have sufficient participant materials
Cost awareness : Workshops need not be very expensive. Keeping them at community level, using the resources available, will help educators run workshops at minimal cost. Budget constraints often determine the scope of work of voter education programmes and keeping costs down can enable educators to run more workshops than planned.
Having workshops in very expensive venues can create a misrepresentation of resources that are available for public education programmes, and can create false expectations of community workshops.
Possible costs that need to be taken into account for running a one-day community workshop include the following:
- transport for the educator/facilitator
- transport for the participants
- venue hire
- catering
- supplies for the workshop educator/facilitator(newsprint, markers, etc.)
- supplies for the participants (pens, writing paper, etc.)
- copies of handouts and other workshop materials
Minimising Cost: Local educators should be used rather than getting people from outside to do the sessions as this keeps transport and accommodation costs down. Making use of public spaces is another way in which the cost of workshops can be minimised. Organisations and electoral authorities should make arrangements to use local venues (church, school, or community halls) either free of charge or for a nominal donation.
Catering costs can be kept to a minimum by asking people to bring their own food (if the workshop runs over lunch), getting donations from food suppliers, or by using local community caterers. Venues should be accessible so that participants do not have to spend much or anything on transport. Buying equipment in bulk also reduces the overall cost of items.
General Information Sessions
The purpose of voter education is to encourage as many people as possible to vote. Giving information to as many people as possible assists in achieving this goal. Information sessions are an important way to do this. They are labour intensive, but they are valuable because they are immediate and people are able to ask questions and get answers. They are verbal, and so are appropriate for illiterate and semi-literate people. The educator may not have another chance to speak to the same people, so this short opportunity must be used carefully.
Information sessions are short, formal or informal meetings that provide basic information on the elections to groups of voters. Accurate and up-to-date information is provided to people in a very succinct way. People can learn the date, voting times, and how to find out where their voting station is, as well as simply how to vote.
Giving people information too far in advance of the election will not achieve much. People may forget the information and details may change. The dates should be given once they are definite. People will want to find out about the elections in a quick and precise way as the date approaches, and information sessions provide this service.
Which Groups Organise Information Sessions?: Both official entities and civil soceity groups may organise voter information sessions (sometimes jointly) as part of nonpartisan public education campaigns. The goal is the quick and accurate dissemination of up-to-date logistical information. Voters are also encouraged to go to the voting stations and participate in the democratic process.
Strategy: Information sessions are held at convenient times and do not last as long as workshops. They may take place during lunch times in busy commercial areas in a community center or gathering point. The same information may be given several times a day in the same or different places to different audiences.
Complementary Information: Leaflets reinforce the verbal information by the educator and are easy to take away. They can provide contact details for the local election authorities, candidates, political parties, and monitoring organizations. They can also include telephone information help lines.
Tips for giving a good information session include the following:
- know more than simply the topic so that broader questions can be answered
- be clear and concise as there is a limited amount of time
- make logistical arrangements of the session well in advance
- obtain permission from the relevant authorities
- allow time to answer questions
- make sure that there are many copies of leaflets and other take-away bits of information so that people have copies to give out to friends and neighbours (This is particularly effective for people at school who can pass on information to parents and relatives.)
Cost Awareness: Local educators should be used to do the sessions, as this will keep transport costs down. Making use of public spaces is another way in which the cost of information sessions can be minimised as there will be no payment for venues. Using spaces at times when there are many people present means that they will listen to messages while they eat their lunch in the town square or wait for their transportation in railway or bus stations.
Equipping Voter Educators
To enable voter educators to run these face-to-face sessions effectively, it is important to provide them with the right tools. They should
- have a thorough understanding and ability to relay information on the logistics of the elections,
- know and have a political understanding of the issues and concerns surrounding the elections,
- be able to satisfactorily answer common questions from the public,
- receive proper training as well as up-to-date and accurate information,
- wear identifying clothing of an nonpartisan organisation to establish where the educator is from and something about the purpose of giving the information.
- provide educators with some sort of documentation, whether mere identification, a certificate, or a letter of support which can be used to further establish their identity, organizational affiliation, professional credentials, or relationship to the election authority should questions be rasied
The person giving the session will be seen as part of the message. It is important that these people are able to create trust in elections, so credible people should be used. The recruitment of voter educators is crucial. Recruiting from reputable organisations or from electoral authorities can ensure this but it is the responsibility of coordinators of such programmes to constantly monitor people in the field to make sure they are unbiased.
