Although successful elections are possible without registering voters, a registration process and the production of a voter register has many significant advantages. Two major advantages are an increase in transparency of the electoral process and facilitating an appeals process for a voter who is denied inclusion.

To guide electoral management bodies (EMBs) through the implementation and reform of civil and voter registries, IFES has published Civil and Voter Registries: Lessons Learned from Global Experiences. Edited by IFES elections technology expert Michael Yard, Civil and Voter Registries explores recent successes and challenges seen in three types of registration exercises: first-time registration; strengthening existing registration with new technology; and using a continuous registration system or a civil register.

Each chapter offers a discussion of procedures, challenges and recommendations for future voter registration efforts based on globally accepted principles and recent case studies from Afghanistan, Canada, Georgia, Guyana, Iraq, Kosovo, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Following is an excerpt from Civil and Voter Registries. The complete publication is available online by clicking here .

“The concept of registering voters seems simple enough — all that is needed is a list of all persons who are eligible to vote and adequate information to uniquely identify each eligible voter. Yet implementing this simple concept consumes a huge amount of resources. In reality, it is rarely done to the complete satisfaction of stakeholders or election administrators.

“The apparent simplicity of the task belies the actual complexities and challenges of creating an accurate, acceptable and sustainable voter register. There are always groups and individuals who may seek to fraudulently sway the register, either by adding ineligible persons or by creating obstacles to registration of legitimate voters. Ineligible persons may include deceased persons, voters who no longer reside in the area, youths who have not reached the eligible age, multiple registrations by the same individual or outright fictitious names. Legitimate voters may be prevented from being registered by physical intimidation, social pressure, misinformation or no information, cumbersome administrative requirements, limited access to registration centers, lack of required identity documents, etc. Groups may be specifically targeted for exclusion, such as persons of “undesirable” political persuasion, ethnicity or gender. Or they may be excluded by a failure to allocate adequate resources, such as having too few registration centers in rural and remote areas.

“A further complication of voter registration is that this process registers human beings, who resist easy and/or permanent classifications. Voters who are eligible to vote in a particular constituency today may move away from that constituency before any election date. Voters who are underage will have birthdays that change their eligibility. Voters may change names, addresses and families. Some will be hospitalized or incarcerated, work or holiday overseas, or be called to active military duty. All these scenarios impact the type and location of lists where voter names should be included. For voters that die, many countries lack adequate reporting mechanisms to ensure these deaths are reported to any authority let alone an electoral authority. The harsh reality is that any voter register that is accurate today will be less accurate tomorrow unless effective procedures are put into place to keep the register current. Depending upon the requirements of the electoral calendar this may not be a problem, as it may be more cost-effective to do a periodic re-registration. But in cases where elections may be called at any time, there is a need for well-defined procedures to maintain the currency and accuracy of the register.

“Even when all possible steps are taken to create a broadly inclusive voter register and prevent and detect fraudulent registration, electoral management bodies (EMBs) may be plagued with suspicions of registration fraud. A lack of confidence by political parties or the public can be as damaging to elections as actual fraud. It is not enough, therefore, that a voter register is accurate — the register must inspire confidence. In some mature democracies voters have confidence and trust in the voter register simply because there is a culture of acceptance of electoral processes. In other environments, this confidence can only be won by long relationship-building with political parties and stakeholders or by creation of procedures that allow complete transparency.

“The requirements for accuracy, comprehensiveness, currency, transparency, cost effectiveness and sustainability of a voter register are stringent. To ensure all requirements are met, it is worth looking for models that can serve as guides in how to go about the process of voter registration. Yet any search for models soon runs into the reality that almost every implementation includes lessons on what not to do as well as examples of best practices. Even when a very good model does exist, it is rarely possible to export that model easily to another country.

“Differences in laws, cultural norms, communication and transportation infrastructures, reliability of electrical supply and weather conditions can have an impact on selection of an appropriate methodology for registration of voters. With increased utilization of biometric technologies for voter registration purposes, even the physical traits of the population can effect what is or is not appropriate for any given country.

“When viewed within the context of constant change, political haggling and a myriad of variables that differ from country to country, this seemingly simple task of creating a list of names of eligible voters takes on a new complexity. There are no easy black-and-white answers about the best approach to collecting data, uniquely identifying individuals, keeping the data updated or how best to build transparency into the process. And yet, there is much value to be gained from studying the experiences of others because every registration process does share a number of common goals and issues. Regardless of all the variations that impact the process, every registration must determine how to:

• Establish a unique identity through the use of identification cards, documents, etc., so the voter can prove he or she is the person one claims to be
• Prove eligibility, including a minimum, age, citizenship and residency or location where the voter is eligible to be registered
• Associate every voter with the appropriate constituency and be able to connect each voter to a state or municipality, district, town or village election for which the voter is eligible to cast a vote
• Efficiently capture necessary data about every voter and store it in an accessible and usable form
• Remove voters who become ineligible due to being declared not of sound mind, criminal conviction or other reason
• Keep the data current by tracking changes in voter status if a continuous registration process is deemed necessary and/or cost-effective
• Build confidence among the public and the stakeholders in the accuracy, comprehensiveness and, most importantly, the political neutrality of the voter register”

To read the complete publication, click here.