Self-initiated Registration
The key principle underlying self-initiated registration is similar to voluntary registration. Because
voting is a right of citizenship, it is up to the citizen to contact the election administration officials
to ensure he or she is registered. The difference is that voluntary registration can be initiated by
either the individual voter (self-initiated) or the election authority (state-initiated). The adoption of
a self-initiated system of voter registration is based more on practical necessity than principled
decision making.
In some settings there may be significant practical barriers to state-initiated registration. For
example, the postal service may simply be inadequate to the task of effectively reaching all or even
a substantial majority of voters. In addition, the high costs associated with door-to-door
enumeration can make this option impractical.
The self-initiated system, in which prospective voters make the initial contact with election officials
at registration centres established by the election authority, may prove the only practical solution.
One implication of a self-initiated registration system is that rates of registration tend to be lower
than when the state initiates contact. This is largely because of the voluntaristic character of
registration. But, steps can be taken to increase registration in such settings, including the
following:
- establish a large number of voter registration centres;
- use mobile voter registration centres to decrease the need for voters to travel long
distances;
- complete all aspects of the voter registration procedure, including the issuing of voter
registration cards, if applicable, in a single registration contact. One should not underestimate the
difficulties of implementing this procedure, especially if a complicated voter identification card
must be produced, or if records must be checked to confirm the identity of registrants;
- enable individuals to register family members, thereby decreasing the number of people who
must attend the registration centre;
- appoint regional deputy registrars to relieve administrative bottlenecks;
- permit registration by mail when conditions are favourable.
State-initiated Registration
The key principle underlying state-initiated registration is that election administration officials
take responsibility for attempting to register all voters. This may be the case either through a
system of door-to-door enumeration in a periodic list format, or through the maintenance of a full,
complete and current continuous registry, or civic register. A middle ground exists between the
two poles of self- versus state-initiated registration, whereby the state takes steps to facilitate
registration, and the individual must also carry some of the responsibility for completing the
process.
State-initiated registration necessarily has increased costs compared to self-initiated registration,
because the state bears responsibility for establishing first contact with all citizens. For this system
to be comprehensive and inclusive, the state must also establish contact with hard-to-contact
voters, including those who frequently move, those in non-traditional homes, or those who do not
respond to initial queries for information. However, although more expensive, this process will
produce a list that has a larger proportion of the eligible electorate than will a voluntary registration
system.
To a certain extent, state-initiated registration also presupposes a greater capacity on the part of the
election administration officials to locate all citizens, a characteristic of more-developed
economies. This is true for two reasons. First, in more-developed economies, it is likely that
citizens have permanent residences, which are in turn served by a national postal system. Second,
the election administration bureaucracy often is more developed, and invariably better funded, in
countries with highly developed economies.
A Mixed Strategy
Lacking the resources and infrastructure of the more highly developed economies, countries with
lesser-developed economies can attempt to increase rates of registration by adopting a mixed
strategy, somewhere between the pure self-initiated or the state-initiated systems. The mix entails
the government establishing a highly visible and salient registration period with a large number
of registration centres, including mobile registration centres. Although the first contact still comes
from the citizen in such a scenario, the costs in terms of travel time as well as the psychological
costs, in terms of understanding the system of registration, can be reduced by a forward-looking
and inclusive registration effort on the part of the election administration.
