Definition of a Continuous List of Voters
A continuous list of voters is one in which the electoral register is maintained and continually
updated by the election administration. This system requires an appropriate infrastructure to
maintain the list, adding the names and other relevant information for those who satisfy
eligibility
requirements (attaining citizenship, satisfying residency requirements, attaining voting age) and
deleting the names of those who no longer meet the eligibility requirements (through death,
change
of residency, etc.). Because the continuous registry is regularly updated, there is no need to
conduct a final registration effort immediately preceding an election, as is often the case with the
periodic list. In addition, the continuous list may be maintained either locally, as is done in the
United Kingdom, or nationally, as in Australia and Canada.
There is considerable interest among election officials as to which of the two methods, the
periodic
list, or the continuous list, is more cost effective. There is no simple answer. There have been
relatively few instances in which the election authority has changed from one system to another.
When Elections Canada made a shift from a periodic list system to a continuous list, it suggested
the savings would be approximately CDN $30 million for each electoral event.66 The
primary savings accruing from the change to a continuous list in Canada comes from the sharing
of
voter registration data among the federal and provincial levels of government. The savings result
mainly from the rationalization of the use of information, reduced duplication of effort and
expenditure, and information sharing.
When to Use a Continuous List
The continuous list of voters requires a more elaborate electoral infrastructure than the periodic
list, and a somewhat less elaborate infrastructure than the civil registry. The requirement to
maintain and update voter information on the continuous list represents a substantial increase in
effort compared to the periodic list. The election authority must devise adequate mechanisms to
track voter mobility and mortality. On the other hand, the election authority is able to do so
throughout the period between elections, and thus does not face the same magnitude of spending
spikes as is the case with periodic lists.
In contrast with the civil registry, the requirements of the continuous list are far less extensive
and
daunting. In civil registry, considerable integration is required of information sources across
agencies and departments, whereas a continuous list of voters can remain within the purview of a
single department or agency, or of an electoral commission. The continuous list represents a
middle road in the complexity of registration systems.
Adopting the Continuous List in Canada
In March 1996, a project team at Elections Canada submitted a report to Jean-Pierre Kingsley,
the
chief electoral officer, on the feasibility of adopting a continuous list of voters. At that time,
Elections Canada used an enumeration procedure to compile a periodic voters list before each
national election. (In a remarkable illustration of inefficiency and duplication of effort, separate
enumerations also were conducted for elections at the provincial and municipal levels). One year
after the completion this report, Parliament amended the Canada Elections Act to provide for a
continuous list of voters.
In a report to Mr. Kingsley, the project team described the essential characteristics of a
continuous
list, and suggested why this method was superior to the periodic list for voter registration in
Canada. The report argued that the continuous list was superior because of the increasing
difficulties with enumerations for the periodic list, the advantages of a shorter time period for
elections, and the projected cost savings of the continuous list (see Elections Canada - The Register of Electors Project: A Report on Research and Feasibility).67
Integrity of the Continuous Voters List
An advantage of the continuous list over the periodic list is the greater opportunity to ensure the
integrity of the data (see also Voter Roll Maintenance). This issue was addressed with colourful language by the
Electoral Commission in the Philippines when it adopted the periodic list:
By
reviving
and readopting the registration system embodied in Republic Act 3588, this bill seeks to confront
decisively the problem posed by the padding of the voters list, a practice commonly resorted to
by
politicians bent on winning the election at any cost. It was this nefarious practice that spawned
the
flying voter, that electoral abomination that since time immemorial has debased the ballot and
reduced elections to a virtual charade in not a few areas of the country ... With registration
conducted at a leisurely pace ... a closer and more thorough screening of every applicant for
registration is assured.68
