Electronic Voting & Counting Technologies - IFES

INTERNATIONAL ELECTORAL DECISION IN STANDARDSPRINCIPLEone decision or another. For example, if thebenefits of using electronic voting or countingtechnology are many and the additional perelection cost are small then there is a strongcase for the new technology.More likely the ‘balance sheet’ will be verymixed. There may be a significant additionalcost involved in using electronic voting orcounting technologies but some importantbenefits resulting as well as some potentialproblems. It will be up to the Feasibility StudyCommittee to decide whether the benefitsto be realized by using electronic voting orcounting technologies are sufficient to justifyany additional expenditure and make itsrecommendation accordingly.Issue 6: Institutional Capacity — A criticallyimportant issue for the working groups toconsider is whether the institutional capacityexists to implement electronic voting andcounting technologies. This issue does notonly relate to the EMB, but also to otherbodies which would support the conduct ofelections using these technologies.A number of key areas should be consideredin order to reach this assessment:• EMB Organizational Capacity — Themanagement of an electronic votingand counting technology project is anincredibly complex task, even if onlyfor a small pilot of the technology. TheEMB will need to coordinate a range oftasks to implement the project, includingprocurement of the technology, logistics,procedural development, training,voter education and IT configuration“If the benefits of usingelectronic voting or countingtechnology are many andthe additional per electioncost are small then there isa strong case for the newtechnology.”and support. This will require thatthe capacity exists within the EMB toprovide sufficient qualified resources forimplementation of the project.• Training Capacity — Implementationof electronic voting and countingtechnologies requires a significantrevision of the procedures for polling andcounting. Revised procedures, howevergood, will have little effect if they are notproperly communicated to all staff whowill implement them. This will require arobust training infrastructure, especiallyif it is required to deliver training to allpolling and counting staff.• Information Technology Capacity —Significant information technologyexpertise will be required at many pointsduring the implementation of electronicvoting and counting technology projects.The EMB will need to conduct full testingof any electronic voting or countingtechnology being used. The centralelection management system will needto be configured for the elections beingheld and the candidates/political partiesstanding for election. If electronic voting orcounting machines are being used thenthese machines, possibly tens or hundredsInternational Foundation for Electoral Systems 41