Initial Registration Effort Extensive and Expensive
When using the continuous list of voters, one should distinguish between the activities required
to
gather the initial registration data, and the efforts required to maintain the list, adding voters as
they
become eligible, deleting others as they lose their eligibility and changing voter records as
registrants change addresses.
Much of the commentary that focuses on the legal and administrative framework for the periodic
list has applicability in the context of planning the initial registration of a continuous list of
voters
(see Planning).
A Geographical Focus
When planning the initial registration for a continuous list, it is important to consider how
information will be gathered and stored to provide the means to update over time. The need to
reuse much of the data gathered in the initial registration is a key distinguishing feature of the
periodic list and continuous list procedures. An early decision should be made on the type of
unit
that will be used as the organising base of the list. The choice is between basing the list on
people
(who are increasingly mobile) or on residential address, which is highly static. Most
administrators
will find that a more compelling case can be made for geographic organisation of the list, as
subsequent updates can be focussed on the residences within a geographical area.
Mexico's Experience with an Initial Registration
In the early 1990s, Mexico created a new voter registration list that is the basis of the continuous
list that is used today. The Mexican experience was striking for its sheer cost and magnitude. A
list was created with more than 40 million names, which was accomplished by employing more
than one hundred and thirteen thousand workers. The size and complexity of the system are
described in detail by Juan Manuel Herrero Alvarez of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE),
posted
here to provide an appreciation of the effort involved in some instances in which new continuous
lists are being developed (see Juan Manuel Herrero Alvarez, Mexico: The Electoral Register).71 This voter registration initiative was one
of
the most expensive in the history of voter registration.
Creating a Continuous List for Uganda
In 1994, the United Nations Development Programme aided in the administration of a
continuous
list
for Uganda by producing a report that examined the key issues to be addressed in such an
exercise.
The report takes a realistic and comprehensive approach to examining both the prospects for such
a list and the pitfalls that should be avoided. The report is highly relevant to many of the topics
relating to pressing for an initial registration exercise (see
Harry Neufeld, A Permanent Register of Voters for Uganda).72
