Overall Expense of Voter Registration
Voter registration is often the most costly part of conducting an election, at least as far as
election administrators are concerned. Of course, parties and candidates often spend vast sums
in their campaigns for election, but in almost all instances the funds they spend are raised
privately. And in some countries, such as the Scandinavian democracies, parties do receive at
least some public funds to underwrite their campaigns. Nonetheless, the registration of voters is
often the single most costly expenditure made by registration and election administrators.
Registration: A Complex Task
As the section on the administrative considerations of elections (see Administration Considerations) indicates, a key
reason for the high costs associated with registration is the wide range of responsibilities
included in the process. The sheer magnitude of the task of gathering current information on
every single eligible voter in countries with populations ranging anywhere from tens of
thousands to hundreds of millions can be daunting. In addition, the importance of developing
comprehensive and inclusive procedures, and the fact that effective voter registration is critical
in conferring legitimacy on the democratic electoral process, magnifies the importance of task
even more.
With the registration process as complex and difficult to manage as it is, any unnecessary or
redundant procedures will result in inefficiencies that will further strain valuable resources. In
1994, the election authority in Nepal, for example, maintained separate voters lists at both the
national and local levels and required that voters be registered on both.32 Simplifying
the system to a single voters list, from which other lists may be produced, is an obvious solution
to conserving resources.
Cost Options of Voter Registration
Questions of cost emerge at every turn in developing comprehensive and inclusive voters lists.
How many registration centres should be established, for example, and how many workers must
be trained to staff those centres? The answers to these questions will have a direct bearing on
personnel costs. Are voter registration cards necessary, or do most citizens already carry
sufficient personal identification to make the cards unnecessary? If cards are used, do they
require a photograph, fingerprint, or other secure marks? If the cards need laminating, can a
cold laminating process be used, eliminating the need for electricity, yet another cost factor?
Are there other sources of data on voters that can supplement updating the lists on a
shifting voting population? Between eighteen and twenty-four percent of the Canadian
population, for instance, moves every year. Such mobility can have a serious impact on the costs
of maintaining current and accurate voters lists.
Similarly, how costs are distributed in the first place can be an issue. Are they concentrated in
the period between elections, requiring exceptional expenditures in election years, or are they
spread out throughout the electoral cycle? The answers to these and many other questions have
important implications for the overall cost of the registration process.
Costs of Computerization
The costs for computerizing the voter registration system should never be underestimated.
These costs include building the computer system with initial investments in hardware, software
and skilled support staff. The next layers of costs, or expense, will be for the ongoing operation
and maintenance of the system. If maintenance includes upgrading the hardware and software as
new releases and performance improvements become available, then that cost can be
considerable. The cost of continually training operators and support personnel is also on-going,
as well as the cost of using the technology between and during electoral events.
Finally, if all the administrative functionality (i.e., the manner of operating the entire voter
registration initiative) is built into the computer system, effective contingency plans must be
developed for occasions in which the system may fail. This can include generators, alternative
networks and other back-up systems and round-the-clock support services (contracts). All of
these factors can involve very significant costs which must be considered when deciding to
computerize.
Cost Savings and Efficiencies
Although comprehensive and inclusive voter registration initiatives may incur significant costs,
some rules of thumb that can lead to greater efficiency and cost savings include:
- Don't reinvent the wheel. Much has been learned about voter registration in many
democracies. Adopt models that have proved successful elsewhere.
- Use existing databases. If possible, incorporate reliable data from existing databases, such
as tax records.
- Combine activities to increase efficiency. When contacting voters to advise of current
registration information, use this as an opportunity to provide information on voter education,
such as informing voters of their polling station.
- Strive for a sustainable process. When designing a registration process, incorporate ways in
which the data can be used again or elsewhere.
- Use an integrated system for the compilation and storage of data. The data system created
for one aspect of the voter registration initiative can be drawn upon by another. The data may be
used for boundary delimitation, for example, as well as for drawing up voters lists.
- Share information wherever and whenever possible. This can avoid duplication of effort or
tasks at different layers of government or administration. Some jurisdictions collect virtually
the same data at the national and provincial levels (i.e., states or provinces), creating
inefficiencies that are difficult to justify.
